Source: uniquewoodfloor.com

How to Renovate Your Parquet Flooring – 2021 DIY Guide

Having a few layers of carpets in your home to keep your feet warm and comfy is always nice, especially if your parquet floor has been damaged previously. But, leaving it damaged like that can cause mold to build up which would ultimately lead the wood to rot. No matter how many layers of carpet you have over it, it can become a health hazard for you and everyone else living in your home.

However, hiring a professional service to fix your parquet is not cheap at all, which is probably one of the main reasons why you avoid repairing it. But, have you considered renovating it by yourself? It’s cheaper and faster, and if you prepare yourself with the right tools and knowledge, you might even do better than some professionals.

Taking on a project such as this one is not an easy task. To help you with this kind of challenge, we have made this DIY guide for 2021 to help you throughout the entire process.

Take everything out

Source: totalfloorsandingandpolishing.com.au

To uncover the parquet flooring under your feet, the first thing you will need to do is remove every piece of furniture, decoration and other objects out of the room. We recommend that you don’t do the moving all by yourself because lifting things such as a dinner table, sofa and other heavier objects can lead to serious back problems. So, call a friend for a day and they will help you move out everything out of the room.

Once all of that is done, it is time to remove all the carpet flooring too. If the carpet is still in good shape and you want to reuse it, you should cut at the edges of the room and follow the walls to the corners. Cutting this way will keep your carpet in one piece instead of multiple which can’t be reused afterward. If you do not plan on reusing it then just cut anywhere you want.

Now that you have finally removed everything, it is time to do some cleaning first before you get to work. To get a clear view of which pieces of the parquet have been broken, damaged or rotten you will need to vacuum all the debris and wipe down any dirt. Get a detergent for wood washing and use a mop to wipe away every dark spot you see. Make sure that you don’t use too much water as it can damage the wood.

Check for loose blocks

Source: homebuilding.co.uk

Once you’ve cleaned every inch of the room, the parquet will be finally revealed. Start slowly walking around the room and dragging your feet along the floor. If you feel like some blocks start moving, making clunking sounds or they sound hollow, they probably have become loose over time or maybe they are damaged. Do this all over to ensure that there aren’t any other blocks that might come out. If you do not plan on removing them right away, you can mark them with a pencil or with a removable marker.

Most parquet blocks are made so that they lock each other in place, so make sure that you do not pull on them too hard while trying to remove the loose ones. Yanking too hard might pull out even the ones that are healthy.

Keep in mind that if you have an old flooring, finding a brand new block that will match yours is not as easy as you think. Check if you have any backup ones in your storage space or basement or maybe remove ones from another room that you do no plan on restoring. If you don’t manage to find backup pieces then make sure that you ask for the same wood and size from your local hardware store.

It is also possible to reuse the ones that you removed in the first place if you properly cleaned them. Once they are clean you can nail them back down either with a brad nailer or a finish nailer. You can check out cordlessdrillguide to find out what are the differences between these two types of nailers.

Clean the blocks

Source: kaercher.com

If you want to nail them back down you will have to clean their underside first since most old flooring professionals liked to use black tar to glue it down to the floor. This black tar which is also known as bitumen is not used anymore because it has been proven as a health risk to people and animals too.

At first, it might seem like removing the adhesive might be impossible, but with the right tools and enough effort, you will get it off, don’t worry. If the bitumen is still sticky after all this time, you could put it in the fridge or in the freezer to make it a bit more brittle which will make it easier to scrape off.

You will also have the clear what’s left of black tar under the parquet too. If you plan on nailing them down, you will have to remove it because the nails won’t stick. The tar will be easier to remove because it doesn’t stick as well on concrete when compared to wood, so with enough scraping, you will get it off easily.

Level

Source: jgflooring.co.uk

Of course, if you remove the tar underneath some of the parquet blocks, it is normal that the floor will be uneven. To get the same level as all the other healthy parts of the parquet, you will need to coat the concrete with a self-leveling compound. Keep in mind that one coat is around three to four millimeters.

Reinstallation

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You did the hardest part of this entire project and all that is left is to put the parquet back in its place. Analyze the pattern of the parquet to make sure that you will pick the right block to match the colors that will surround it. You have the option to spread adhesive on the back of the block or you could try to nail it back down, it’s your choice. The adhesive might be less intrusive, but the nails will hold it down for decades.

Peter is a freelance writer with more than eight years of experience covering topics in politics. He was one of the guys that were here when the foreignspolicyi.org started.