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Home Repair Flooring

Hardwood floor refinishing in small corner of large space

5 years ago

I had water damage to the floor in a corner of the main space (open living, dining, kitchen) due to a leak from a pipe in the laundry room on the other side of the wall. I'm kicking myself because I didn't know the difference between pre-finished wood flooring and site-finished wood flooring. The problem is that neither did the guys from Servpro, who cut a bigger chunk than necessary out of my floor because they thought the repair was as simple as putting down new wood strips. So I have 27 square feet of flooring that needs to be replaced. However, because it's in front of the fireplace (see photo) I can probably increase the amount of tile that was there if that strategy will help hide differences between new and old wood. This corner gets a lot of sunlight, so I'm wondering if that might hide differences too.

The flooring expert who came to give me an estimate recommends refinishing the entire main space and connected hallway, which is probably close to 800 square feet. He said that it would look awful just to replace the wood in the corner and do nothing else because the new and old wood wouldn't match. It was disappointing to hear this because the damaged spot is so small relative to the whole area and because I'm getting no help from my now former insurance company.

I keep going back and forth between just going ahead and having the entire space refinished, if I can make this work financially, and trying to figure out some other way. I don't have the luxury to see if the colors get closer over time because I need to sell the house within a couple of months.

Just wondering what homeowners who have experience with refinishing wood flooring would decide to do in their own home and what professionals would recommend. Thanks for any advice.

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Comments (3)

PRO
Oak & Broad
5 years ago
If you need to sell the home in a couple months you may want to have a pro do the work on the entire floor. Especially if you have not finished wood floors before. If it does not turn out well after you do it you will need to hire a pro to "fix" it and there may not be enough wear layer to refinish again. Just some things to consider.
Matt
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks, doing it myself is not an option I'm considering. I think your advice of paying now and having the entire space done is what I'll end up doing. Maybe the wow factor will give me a boost in sales price to offset some of the expense.
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Oak & Broad
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Agreed! Talk with your realtor about what colors may be popular for floors in your area.

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