Engineered wood failed under refridgerator

BlueBSH · 11-16-2009, 01:25 PM

we have engineered hard wood (or at least I think it is, its three sheets of hard wood glued together with toung and groove fitting) and the previous owners of the house had water leaking out of their refrigerator (the entire kitchen is this stuff) and the whole fridge bay warped and the top finished layer pealed off a few planks and drastically wrinkled or cracked on the rest under it.... how in the world do I go about fixing this? is it hard to fix and replace the boards? never did this before but it looks horrible, I have about 10 pieces of extra flooring boards in our atic for it but probably not enough... is it hard to get this stuff matched to new orders? i think its just red oak engineered hardwood... I'd assume just take a sample down to lowes and compare it to what they have in stock? but my biggest problem is how to pull up the bad and replace it with new... any ideas or suggestions? thanks!

tpolk · 11-16-2009, 01:44 PM

I have engineered hardwood flooring in my home which consists of three pieces of strip flooring veneer (approx 7"wide x 1/4" thick) attatched to a plywood base is this what you mean or is it laminate which is basicaly a picture on plywood(very thin). you will need to remove the bad flooring to first establish damage to the subfloor beneath

BlueBSH · 11-16-2009, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tpolk

I have engineered hardwood flooring in my home which consists of three pieces of strip flooring veneer (approx 7"wide x 1/4" thick) attatched to a plywood base is this what you mean or is it laminate which is basicaly a picture on plywood(very thin). you will need to remove the bad flooring to first establish damage to the subfloor beneath

yes its stained wood veneer, the boards are just like normal hardwood boards, about 1/2" thick about 5 ft long and 3 or 4 inches wide... 3 layers of wood veneers glued together... its definatly not printed on because I can sand it and restain it on test boards but the problem here is the fact the top veneer layer came off or is severely damaged by water... and I just dont know how to remove it and replace it to start with without making a bigger problem

it looks a lot like this picture http://www.yorkdaleflooringcentre.com/images/eng.jpg

tpolk · 11-16-2009, 02:12 PM

nice thing about the engineered floor is they can be refinished if not severely damaged. I would check your local big boxes if they dont recognize it check local flooring companies. there may be a manufacturers name on back of material for running down local suppliers

tpolk · 11-16-2009, 02:17 PM

is it running under cabinets in this area or butting them. if under you will need to do some cutting if butting remve shoe molding at wall and start taking up pieces to wards center. they should snap back together with proper tools

BlueBSH · 11-16-2009, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tpolk

is it running under cabinets in this area or butting them. if under you will need to do some cutting if butting remve shoe molding at wall and start taking up pieces to wards center. they should snap back together with proper tools

what type of tools should I have on hand?

JazMan · 11-16-2009, 09:20 PM

The floor can be repaired if you have enough spare pieces.

BUT, before you go through all that....don't you have homeowner's insurance? Water damage from a leaking waterline that went unnoticed is a covered event I believe.

Jaz

Bud Cline · 11-17-2009, 12:09 AM

Jaz I think the damage was done by the previous owner and he bought the house being aware of the damage.

BUT, yes under normal circumstances your homeowners insure would replace the entire floor.

BlueBSH · 11-17-2009, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bud Cline

Jaz I think the damage was done by the previous owner and he bought the house being aware of the damage.

BUT, yes under normal circumstances your homeowners insure would replace the entire floor.

yeah, we bought it like this, they had a fridge there when we did the final walk through and they said "there might be a damaged board or two" so we thought nothing major... they move out we start to move in and its like whoa... a whole 4x2ft section needs replaced

RegeSullivan · 11-19-2009, 09:46 AM

If you can not see it under the fridge why are your replacing it? It is not unusual for a floor to discolor under a fridge anyway especially if it is an older one.

Rege

BlueBSH · 11-19-2009, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RegeSullivan

If you can not see it under the fridge why are your replacing it? It is not unusual for a floor to discolor under a fridge anyway especially if it is an older one.

Rege

It's not just discolored, its warped and cracked and the veneer came off on one that sticks out 2 ft past the fridge... so its a problem

tpolk · 11-20-2009, 10:18 AM

sounds like the flooring is perpendicular to the fridge?

BlueBSH · 11-20-2009, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tpolk

sounds like the flooring is perpendicular to the fridge?

yeah the boards are running from the back to the front and out past the fridge

tpolk · 11-20-2009, 11:12 AM

Is the fridge close to a wall to the left or right. can you post a pic

BlueBSH · 11-20-2009, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tpolk

Is the fridge close to a wall to the left or right. can you post a pic

The fridge is in a built in spot but its not built in itself (we didnt but a counter depth one)... but it is inside a spot created by the cabinets to the left and top of it... to the right is a wall that sticks out oh 3 ft from the wall behind the fridge... but that wall isnt the main wall in the kitchen, its just a support wall for the end of the cabinets... there is more flooring on the other side of the wall of the same type... around the bottom of where the fridge is, is baseboard molding, which I think is the only thing holding the floor in place... i dont think it is glued or nailed down, I think its a floating engineered floor