Water Damage From Washing Machine Buckled Floor

Question:

I have parquet flooring. My washer leaked water all over my floor and now it has buckled badly. How can I repair without tearing up my entire floor and replacing all of the tiles? Please help. Thank you very much.

Lisa

Answer:

Dear Lisa

You don’t have to replace the entire floor, but it sounds like a major repair. Parquet floor repairs are a bit of an art, not all floor men can do it. You will need to get the matching size (precisely the same size, hopefully the same brand) and species. Remove all the loose and semi loose tiles, and allow the subfloor a week or more to dry out. Renail the subfloor. Use a good quality adhesive (Dri-Tac is the best) and patch the spot with the new parquet. Allow the glue to dry 2-3 days and resand the entire floor, or at least the area to the nearest doorway, where there is a place to stop the sanding.

If done correctly you should not even notice the repair. But if you cannot find the proper wood you may, sadly, end up replacing the whole floor.