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Woodworking Home Repair Flooring

Fixes for compression from dog nails on engineered birch wood floors?

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

We have engineered birch wood floors throughout a new condo we rented 2 years ago and we are in a pickle because over the course of time, these dent-like scratches on the very surface of the wood are dispersed throughout from the dog walking about. We assumed (ignorantly so) that it would be an easy fix considering these scratches aren't visible to the naked eye except at certain angles and only when light hits the floor in said angles. We put a hefty damage deposit to rent the condo and we're trying to figure the most cost-effective solution in repairing these scratches. We put area rugs in most places, so the scratches are only isolated to high traffic areas that were uncovered and we have never had this kind of issue with our previously real hardwood floors that were a more matte finish. The dog isn't the only issue though, these dents have appeared even from furniture placement, the couch, the bed etc. Anything seems to create these dents in the top layer of the floor.

Scratches are not deep enough to expose the wood or even cause a change in color.

We have called around and are being quoted $2K+ and a 3 day job to sand and refinish the floors but we are extremely tight on time and don't have the ability to vacate the condo for 3 days given the pandemic.

Current floors: Mercier Original Birch Semi-Gloss Engineered Wood Floors (MS-YBDS32-00R).

Any suggestions/ help/ advice/ knowledge/ recommendations are welcomed and super appreciated!

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Comments (6)

ci_lantro
3 years ago
How thick is the wear layer? With engineered flooring, a sand and refinish is often not possible because the wear layer is too thin.
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
These are finish issues. The wood is most likely 90% intact underneath. A 'buff and coat' will reduce the look of these by 80% (not a complete 'fix' but enough to get your damage deposit back).

A birch floor is already a softer floor. Birch in and engineered format can be even softer. Normal wear and tear is to be expected (and traditionally not worth losing a damage deposit over) but the dog + softer wood species + engineered has made for a delicate wood floor.

It is *possible to get a buff and coat done just before move out day. It will reduce the deep surface dents by as much as 80%. That will bring it 'back' to 'normal wear and tear' = full refund of you damage deposit.

A buff and coat is roughly 1/2 the price (around $3/sf) of a full sand and refinish and can take a single day (you move the furniture).

The ONE DRAW BACK of a buff and coat = it might not stick. Your cleaning regime will determine the viability of a buff and coat. Which begs the question: What have you been using to clean the floors and how often have you done that?
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I just saw this, Itsoi. I left the mustard on there for 24 hours and then cleaned it off. It faded completely after a short time (maybe a couple of days, I can't remember). I never heard about conditioning it, that could be a good idea but we've been pretty harsh on ours for the past 3 months and it's holding up really well, so might do that after a year or if a specific room needs it before. I felt that the oil finish would be easier for me to do touch ups on if I needed to. Still have construction going on but we've been living here for the past 3 months. And we routinely throw balls and toys for our dog down the long runway of the living room/hall and I've yet to see her nails scratch up anything! It's been pretty impervious to our kids dripping water in the kitchen also. I don't know how it will look in 5/10 years but at the moment, I'm still really happy with our choice. It seems like a very low maintenance, easy to clean (doesn't show much dirt/dust!) floor. We paired the Rockwood Claystone with BM OC17 on our walls and like the color combo. If you're leaning towards buying it, just buy 1 box and pop it together somewhere you can look at it for a week or so. I think you'll get a pretty good idea then if you like it or not. And if you like it, you can reuse it, win win! Good luck!
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kudzu9
3 years ago
To me, those dents and scratches look deeper than something that can be easily fixed to satisfy the landlord. I can tell you that if I owned that condo and saw what happened to the floors, I'd be keeping the whole damage deposit, and still not be happy.
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
For me, a condo owner who KNOWINGLY installs one of the softer woods (engineered to boot) in a condo is going to be in for a surprise. These finish-indents are a direct result of the construction/finish of the product the owner purchased and installed. Yellow birch ranks just ahead of Black Walnut. Walnut is known as a soft wood.

As soon as wood is made into an engineered plank, the janka hardness ratings are out. Why? Because the 'plied wood' sitting below the wear layer are often soft woods. And soft woods are easily dented (hence the word soft).

A solid birch floor can be a very durable floor but it will look and act like a soft product like Walnut. And everyone and their dog knows that walnut is soft.

I'm not saying a landlord should accept these floors as normal wear and tear, but it is clear a softer engineered hardwood is not the way to go. My personally choice would be to bring in the landlord and ask what they want done. And is it worth the renter trying to 'refinish' the floors. Is the damage deposit worth more or less than the cost of a sand and refinish?

A landlord would *probably accept a buff and coat from a tenant. And they would probably like to be ASKED what could be done to minimize the loss of the damage deposit.
User
3 years ago
Shoulda trimmed your dogs nails a heck of a lot more. If you can hear them, they are too long. That damage deposit is gone. Plus some more, if the wording provides for collections beyond.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
3 years ago
You can apply a couple coats of grain filler, then buff and re - coat.

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