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View Full Version : Hardwood floors and water damage - AAGHH!



etwahl
03-09-2003, 05:49 PM
I just had to post to vent some new frustration. I have the WORST luck with water - the worst. Over a year ago, I had a flood. The pipe under my kitchen sink broke and flooded the kitchen (which were hardwood floors) and it leaked into the living room/dining room (which at the time were carpeted) and ruined the wood, carpets, walls, etc. It ended up costing about $13K for the insurance company (lucky we were covered). In getting the work done, we decided not to replace the carpets in the living room and dining room and instead just got maple floors throughout most of the main floor (our house is small, so it's not that must space).

Well anyway, this morning I must have bumped one of my big plants and there must have been water in the bottom of the plastic tray I put under it for "safety"....because I later came home and noticed water all over the wood floors by the front door. After cleaning it up, it was too late - the floors had already buckled at the seams. I want to scream.

I'm going to just buy a bigger throw rug for the front door, which will basically "cover" the area, but I'm just furious. I'm really hard on myself anyway, but for this to happen right now and considering my history with water (I have a bunch of other stories other than the above flood story), I just can't believe it.

Sorry, know it's not at all baby related, but just had to vent. I love hardwood floors, but I'm thinking the next house we have, I might want to stick with stone floors instead - safer.

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!

egoldber
03-09-2003, 06:12 PM
YIKES! But you know, all may not be lost. When the wood really dries, it may go back in place. And if not, you can have someone come in and "relatively" inexpensively replace that section of the floor.

Sorry!!!

Momof3Labs
03-09-2003, 06:19 PM
Wow - I'm surprised that water from the plant caused so much damage! Our hardwood floors have gotten wet (small amounts of standing liquids) before but have not been ruined from it. How many coats of polyurethane did you have them put on the floor? Next time you have the floors refinished, ask for the maximum number of coats of polyurethane (we have three).

etwahl
03-09-2003, 06:32 PM
The damage is just at the seams, where there were tiny gaps. There was actually a surprising amount of water. I guess I must have totally overwatered the plant and not noticed it (it's actually a ficus tree). It must have been standing there for quite a while. I tried using the blow dryer on the seams to dry it out faster. I think one problem is these were "pre-finished" wood floors, so in between the planks is where the water soaked through.

Since we are planning on selling the house this year, I doubt I'll go through the trouble of having them sand and refinish or replacing the planks (which would be a different color anyway, since the maple has darkened quite a bit). They don't look "that" bad (there's only like five or six seams that are damaged) it's just that I'm a perfectionist and frustrated that it happened at all. I really do hate water!!!

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!