Board Replacement Services in Westport
When your wood floor has damaged boards that stand out from the rest, you don’t need to refinish everything. Most of the time, we can just replace the bad ones.
As a local flooring contractor with decades in Westport, we’ve handled everything from simple board swaps to complex pattern matching in historic homes. Water damage from leaky dishwashers in Saugatuck condos, pet stains in family homes near Staples High, boards cracked from dropping something heavy – we’ve fixed them all.
The trick is making new pieces blend with your existing floor. That’s harder than it sounds, especially in older Westport homes where the wood has aged and taken on character. Most floors around town are oak, but we also work with maple, hickory, walnut and other species when needed.
When Individual Boards Need Replacing
Not every floor problem requires complete refinishing. Here’s when board replacement makes sense.
Water damage is the big one. That dishwasher leak or overflowing toilet can ruin sections of flooring while leaving the rest untouched. Rather than refinishing everything, targeted water damage floor repair often works better.
Pet urine that’s soaked deep into the wood and left dark stains sometimes can’t be sanded out. Same goes for deep gouges or cracks from dropped objects, things that go beyond what hardwood floor maintenance can fix.
Termite damage happens occasionally in older Westport homes, particularly near the shore. These boards are structurally compromised and need replacement.
Floors with significant patching from previous renovations sometimes need selective board replacement to create a more cohesive look. We see this often in older Greens Farms homes where walls have been moved over decades.
Our Board Replacement Process
Replacing boards without disturbing the surrounding floor takes skill. Here’s our approach:
Assessment
We determine which boards need replacement and whether matching wood is available. For older floors, we sometimes source reclaimed wood of the same era.
Board Removal
Using specialized tools, we carefully cut out damaged boards without harming adjacent ones. Way more precise than the full-floor sanding used in standard hardwood floor repair.
Subfloor Check
Once boards are removed, we inspect underneath for moisture issues or structural problems that need fixing.
New Board Installation
We install matching replacement boards, carefully aligning grain patterns and width. Much different than installing a whole new floor like with vinyl floor installation.
Finishing
The new boards get stained to match existing color, then finished to blend with surrounding wood. This requires careful color matching and sometimes artificial aging techniques.
Final Blending
Light screening of transition areas ensures seamless integration between new and existing wood.
Matching Existing Floors: The Challenge
Getting new boards to match your existing floor is the trickiest part of replacement. It’s part science, part art.
Wood naturally darkens with age and exposure to sunlight. A 10-year-old floor in your Westport home has color that fresh wood can’t match out of the box. This aging effect is especially noticeable in south-facing rooms with big windows – common in homes around Compo Beach.
Species matching matters too. Sometimes what was sold as “oak” years ago might actually be a different species entirely. We’ve seen floors in older Westport neighborhoods that were mislabeled when installed decades back.
Grain pattern and board width have changed over time. Older floors often used narrower boards with more consistent grain than today’s products. We maintain relationships with specialty suppliers who can source wood that matches vintage patterns.
The finishing process is where it all comes together – custom stain matching is critical.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can you source matching boards if my flooring is older or discontinued?
Usually, yes. After 40+ years in wood flooring, we’ve built relationships with suppliers who can track down older materials or salvage matching wood. For discontinued flooring in Westport homes, we sometimes pull boards from closets to use in visible areas and replace the closet with a close match. We can also source reclaimed wood that matches vintage floors. If exact matching is impossible, we’ll tell you upfront and explain alternatives like refinishing the entire room so everything looks uniform. We don’t promise miracles, but decades of hands-on experience often allow us to identify solutions that aren’t immediately obvious.
2. Will you check the subfloor underneath the damaged boards before installing replacements?
Absolutely. Removing damaged boards without checking what’s underneath is asking for problems. In four decades, we’ve learned that floor damage usually signals something else wrong: rot, moisture, structural issues, or inadequate subflooring. We inspect the subfloor, joists, and surrounding area before installing replacement boards. If there’s an underlying problem, we address it first. Installing new boards over compromised subflooring just means you’ll be calling someone back within a year. We address these issues properly before moving forward, even when they weren’t visible at the start of the project.