If you purchased a home that has older hardwood flooring, there may be some repairs you have to make. This is especially true if the home has not been lived in or well cared for. Below are three of these repairs and how they are done.

Floor Buckling

If you see raised areas in the hardwood flooring, then it is likely buckled. This happens when the subfloor and the hardwood floor are no longer attached together. This can be a difficult repair to make sure you hire a professional to do this for you.

To make the repairs the contractor will remove the buckled wood planks and reattach them if they are in good condition. They do this using nails that are made for wood floors. They may also have to use brand new wood planks in their place. If they do this, they will make sure the wood they use matches your flooring. 

Cracks in Wood

Over time, hardwood flooring can develop cracks. If you see only a few small cracks in the flooring, angled nails can be used to secure the pieces of wood together. If you do this, wood putty can be used to cover up blemishes. 

If your wood floor has many cracks or cracks that are deep, you will need to have the floor refinished to take care of this problem. Refinishing involves sanding the floor to remove cracks, scratches, and other problems. A sealant is then placed on the wood floor to make it look new again. 

Gaps in Planks

Gaps between the wood planks are often due to moisture or high humidity levels in the home. Over time, the wood will expand and contract and eventually cause gaps to appear. The gaps will start out small but eventually become much larger. Because of this, have the wood flooring repaired as soon as you notice any type of gap. 

A contractor can tighten the floor to close the gaps. You also need to take care of any high humidity problems inside your home to prevent this from happening again. You can do this by installing a dehumidifier. If you have tiny gaps, when the humidity levels get back to normal these gaps may close on their own. 

Talk with the hardwood repair contractor to learn more about what types of damage to look out for. They can also give you tips on caring for your flooring.