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Addressing Some Common Problems With Your Home's Timber Floors

28 March 2017 by Felecia Banks

Timber or wood floors are very durable and strong and should last for years, if not decades; they're also more hygienic than carpeting, as they don't trap and hold dust, dirt, allergens, and other irritants. As durable and beautiful as they are, however, timber floors will eventually show some damage. Note a few common problems you might have with your home's timber floors and then how to address these so the floors always look as good as new and last as long as possible.

Squeaking and creaking

If wood floods creak when you walk over them, this is usually a problem with the subfloor and not the timber floor itself; you can often hear this squeaking under carpeted floors when the subfloors get weakened, but the carpeting may simply muffle the sound.

If you have access to the subfloors through a crawlspace or the basement, find the noisy areas; note if the floor joists, those long and large crossbeams under the floor, have come loose from the subfloor itself. If so, the subfloor will move when you walk over it, creaking or squeaking. You can easily pound some small shims in between the joists and the subfloor, keeping those floorboards level and even and quieter overall.

Unevenness

If the wood floors have an obvious dip or curve to them, this might also be caused by the subfloor being soft in that spot, and some shims might help. The foundation of the home may have also settled slightly on one side of the house, and the floors then dip. If all the floors of the home seem to dip in one direction, you may need to have the foundation underpinned to brace it up and give it added support.

Blistering and peeling of coating

Timber floors will eventually need new coats of sealant as the old coat wears away, but that sealant should wear off evenly. If you notice obvious spots of blistering and peeling, this usually means you're using the wrong cleansers on the floor. Avoid any cleanser with citric acid or harsh abrasives, and especially avoid bleach.

Trying to clean this blistered area with water can make it worse, as water may get under that open area of the coating and allow it to separate from the timber more easily. You may need the floors sanded and recoated when the sealant blisters, and then be sure to use a cleanser meant for wood floors in particular, to keep this problem from happening again.

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