The house we purchased had a wooden floor installed over a slab in the
kitchen. Other than (1) it having "V" grooves between the planks (horriblr
dirt catcher) and (2) very thin poly coating it has been fine except for two
areas. These are in front of the refrigerator and the door where obviously
moisture has set and discolored the floor. Is it worth my while to try to
sand these areas and re-poly them or shoud I just give it up as a lost
cause.

Thanks.

Dave

"Dave Combs" wrote in message
...
The house we purchased had a wooden floor installed over a slab in the
kitchen. Other than (1) it having "V" grooves between the planks
(horriblr
dirt catcher) and (2) very thin poly coating it has been fine except for
two
areas. These are in front of the refrigerator and the door where
obviously
moisture has set and discolored the floor. Is it worth my while to try to
sand these areas and re-poly them or shoud I just give it up as a lost
cause.

What you probably have is an engineered wood floor. Overall they are
durable and within reason can be re-finished. Quality can vary amongst
brands but you should be able to sand and re-coat to at least extend its
life. Use a random orbital sander, not a very aggressive belt sander. Don't
take off too much or the stain will be gone and you won't have a good color
match.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Dave Combs" wrote in message
The house we purchased had a wooden floor installed over a slab in
the
kitchen. Other than (1) it having "V" grooves between the planks
(horriblr
dirt catcher) and (2) very thin poly coating it has been fine
except for
two
areas. These are in front of the refrigerator and the door where
obviously
moisture has set and discolored the floor. Is it worth my while to
try to
sand these areas and re-poly them or shoud I just give it up as a
lost
cause.

What you probably have is an engineered wood floor. Overall they are

durable and within reason can be re-finished. Quality can vary
amongst
brands but you should be able to sand and re-coat to at least extend
its
life. Use a random orbital sander, not a very aggressive belt
sander. Don't
take off too much or the stain will be gone and you won't have a good
color
match.

If moisture has stained the wood, how will lightly sanding the finish
get rid of the stain in the wood itself? I don't see any way that the
stain could be removed without bleaching with oxalic acid or sanding it
out, and both of those will definitely affect the existing stain.

Your (OP's) situation is a tough one. Doing a spot fix and touching up
to match is nearly impossible for someone without _lots_ of experience
(read mistakes/failures). It's not clear from the original post
whether this is a new house or just new to him. If you can contact
the previous owner or builder and find out the manufacturer of the
flooring you could buy some replacement boards. Cutting out the old
stuff is the easy part - getting the new boards to fit tightly and stay
in place is much tougher. Again, something where lots of experience is
necessary.

An alternative might be to use a polyurethane with a darker stain in
it. This is basically just a coverup, but a rather simple one to do.
You'll have to screen or sand the whole floor to give the new finish
something to bite into, but the odds of success are much greater.

R

"RicodJour" wrote in message

If moisture has stained the wood, how will lightly sanding the finish
get rid of the stain in the wood itself?

The OP said discolored. From the original post: "These are in front of the
refrigerator and the door where obviously
moisture has set and discolored the floor."

It could be surface discoloration of the finish itself. Do you know for
certain the the water penetrated the finish and stained the wood?

If it is the finish only (most of these are pretty durable) lightly sanding
will cure the problem.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"RicodJour" wrote in message

If moisture has stained the wood, how will lightly sanding the
finish
get rid of the stain in the wood itself?

The OP said discolored. From the original post: "These are in front
of the
refrigerator and the door where obviously
moisture has set and discolored the floor."

It could be surface discoloration of the finish itself. Do you know
for
certain the the water penetrated the finish and stained the wood?

If it is the finish only (most of these are pretty durable) lightly
sanding
will cure the problem.

Hey Ed. The OP did write discolored in the body, but the subject line
is "Stained wooden floor". So I guess we're both interpreting it in
different ways.

I've never seen a polyurethaned floor where the poly itself was stained
from moisture. Seems to me that the poly, once cured, is a moisture
barrier and won't absor water - otherwise, what's the point? I guess
the OP will have to chime in and let us know exactly what he means.

R

"RicodJour" wrote in message

Hey Ed. The OP did write discolored in the body, but the subject line
is "Stained wooden floor". So I guess we're both interpreting it in
different ways.

I've never seen a polyurethaned floor where the poly itself was stained
from moisture. Seems to me that the poly, once cured, is a moisture
barrier and won't absor water - otherwise, what's the point?

Considering the locations, it could be a lot of anything. Poly is a good
moisture barrier, but it can discolor from certain dyes and chemicals.

My best guess is that the poly wore off and water sat on the wood too long
before it was cleaned up (read icemaker and refrigerated water in front of
the refrigerator). So the wood is rougher and darker at two pkaces on the
floor. Sorry I was not more explicit in the OP.

Dave
"RicodJour" wrote in message
oups.com...
Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"RicodJour" wrote in message

If moisture has stained the wood, how will lightly sanding the
finish
get rid of the stain in the wood itself?

The OP said discolored. From the original post: "These are in front
of the
refrigerator and the door where obviously
moisture has set and discolored the floor."

It could be surface discoloration of the finish itself. Do you know
for
certain the the water penetrated the finish and stained the wood?

If it is the finish only (most of these are pretty durable) lightly
sanding
will cure the problem.

Hey Ed. The OP did write discolored in the body, but the subject line
is "Stained wooden floor". So I guess we're both interpreting it in
different ways.

I've never seen a polyurethaned floor where the poly itself was stained
from moisture. Seems to me that the poly, once cured, is a moisture
barrier and won't absor water - otherwise, what's the point? I guess
the OP will have to chime in and let us know exactly what he means.

R

Santa brought a wagon with rubber tires for xmas, the tires left yellow
marks on the Maple floors...cleaner didn't work but the sun seems to
have faded them some...any other ideas to remove them.?
--
CathyLee
They neigh I pay
Nova Scotia, Canada
Zone 5a



"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
om...

"RicodJour" wrote in message

Hey Ed. The OP did write discolored in the body, but the subject
line
is "Stained wooden floor". So I guess we're both interpreting it in
different ways.

I've never seen a polyurethaned floor where the poly itself was
stained
from moisture. Seems to me that the poly, once cured, is a moisture
barrier and won't absor water - otherwise, what's the point?

Considering the locations, it could be a lot of anything. Poly is a
good
moisture barrier, but it can discolor from certain dyes and chemicals.

Thanks to all for their suggestions and help. Any other suggestions will be
appreciated.

Dave

"Dave Combs" wrote in message
...
The house we purchased had a wooden floor installed over a slab in the
kitchen. Other than (1) it having "V" grooves between the planks
(horriblr
dirt catcher) and (2) very thin poly coating it has been fine except for
two
areas. These are in front of the refrigerator and the door where
obviously
moisture has set and discolored the floor. Is it worth my while to try to
sand these areas and re-poly them or shoud I just give it up as a lost
cause.

Thanks.

Dave

If a light sanding doesn't help try some oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is
sold at any Shermin Williams. The container says wood bleach, but its
oxalic acid.

"Dave Combs" wrote in message . ..
Thanks to all for their suggestions and help. Any other suggestions will be
appreciated.

Dave

Check the label as there is a wood bleach that is NOT oxalic acid, two
part bleach many times A&B.

On 4 Apr 2005 19:58:36 -0700, (Scott) wrote:

If a light sanding doesn't help try some oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is
sold at any Shermin Williams. The container says wood bleach, but its
oxalic acid.

"Dave Combs" wrote in message . ..
Thanks to all for their suggestions and help. Any other suggestions will be
appreciated.

Dave