Replace Your Hardwood Floors?
Hardwood floors are gorgeous. They come with a type of timeless elegance that’s hard to replicate in other flooring options.
Some hardwood floors can last for decades or even over a century, but like most things, hardwood floors do have a lifespan. Eventually, you’ll need to replace your hardwood floor in your Northern Virginia home.
How can you know it’s time to replace your hardwood floors rather than just refinishing them? The following factors can help you make the right choice when you’re considering a new floor.
Hardwood Floors with Moisture Damage
Hardwood floors that have experienced moisture damage may be beyond repair.
If the water damage to your floors in Northern Virginia has been extensive or prolonged, a replacement is imminent. Moisture can cause hardwood floors to buckle or bend.
You may even see gaps in between the planks. All these issues are largely unfixable.
Depending on whether or not the moisture damage is confined, sometimes replacement is your only option when it comes to water damage on your hardwood floors.
Hardwood Floors That Have Been Refinished Too Many Times
Refinishing can help restore the luster and beauty of your hardwood floors for many years to come.
However, when your floors have been refinished too many times, they can become prone to damage.
The thickness of the floor can diminish to the point that the wood becomes thin or nails show through. Each floor varies with the number of times it can be refinished; this number will depend on the type of wood as well as the quality of the wood.
Generally, you can refinish hardwood floors between three and five times. If you’ve refinished your floor more than two times, it might be time to consider replacing your hardwood floors.
General Aging of the Floor
Hardwood floors show age similarly to other materials used in a Northern Virginia home.
While distressed floors are currently very popular, hardwood floors that show their actual age don’t look quite as good.
The wood may begin to decay after an extended period of time, which could make the wood softer or make it lose its luster and the richness of its color.
If your hardwood floors experience heavy traffic or have been exposed regularly to sunlight or grime, its age may show faster.
While refinishing a floor can certainly help restore hardwoods with damage due to aging, you may have already refinished your floor or the damage may be beyond refinishing at this point.
Sometimes, with the amount of age shown and the thinness of the floor, replacement is the only viable option.
Deep Scratches or Other Damage – Replace Your Hardwood Floors
For hardwood floors that have experienced abuse beyond what’s normal, replacement may be the only choice to have a beautiful new floor again.
You may be able to refinish your floor depending on the damage.
For example, if scratches are superficial and don’t go beyond the finish.
However, if your floor has already been refinished a few times and the damage goes deeper than the finish, this might not be an option.
A qualified flooring professional will be able to tell you if a refinishing will help or if you will need to go with a full replacement.
Ready to Get a New Floor?
When it’s time to replace your hardwood floors, consider this an opportunity.
This is the time to upgrade your home to give it the style and warmth you’ve always wanted.
You can even consider trendier floor choices such as wider planks, an exotic wood species, or a different finish.
New hardwood floors provide a chance to customize your home.
Get in touch with your local flooring professionals to find out what your options are for getting new floors!
