How do I repair my engineered floors?

Caryn
by Caryn

Hi! I bought a 20 yr old home recently and the floors looked really bad. I had a floor tech come out and say he thinks someone stained the floors and put down poly but not very good. He suggested replacing floors with laminate and although I want to do it… it’s not in the budget for 2-3 years. It’s about 450sq ft to f wood floors. Based on the condition of the floor in the pictures what do you suggest I do to make them look nice for a few years? Thanks for your opinion!

Kitchen area

Half bath- small section less than 100 sq ft

Foyer about 100 sq ft

Kitchen largest area

  20 answers
  • Kathy Gunter Law Kathy Gunter Law on Jan 18, 2022

    Try Rejuvenate for flooring. It's a really good product and could help.

    You can also try rubbing a walnut (on the meat side) on scratches. I've never tried that but I've heard plenty of people who have with success.

  • Since you don't really know what was put on the floors, I would get some area rugs to cover most of them until you can replace them.

  • William William on Jan 18, 2022

    You can use Rejuvenate or Bona to clean the floor and polish the floor


    https://prudentreviews.com/rejuvenate-vs-bona/

  • Mogie Mogie on Jan 18, 2022

    Throw an area rug over the floor. It doesn't have to cover the entire floor just hide the worst parts of it. If you are eventually going to replace the floor you could just paint it to hide the bad parts. You don't have to paint the entire floor one color make it look like an area rug.


    Did You Know You Can Paint a Rug?

    https://omglifestyle.com/did-you-know-you-can-paint-a-rug/

  • Janice Janice on Jan 18, 2022

    Since you plan to replace the floors eventually, you might try getting Sharpie pens in a couple of colors that match well and use them to "mend" some of the scratches so they're not so noticeable. Also, nice area rugs work well on smooth floors and can totally change the look of your home. Good luck with your new place!

  • 17335038 17335038 on Jan 18, 2022

    IMO as you are planning to replace the flooring anyway in 2-3 years time, do not throw any additional money on it, trying to 'fix' the damage, or transform the look.

    I agree with others who have said to cover it with attractive area rugs (that can be used anywhere should you replace the floor earlier than anticipated), in the meantime, and save up for the flooring you really would like to have.

  • Redcatcec Redcatcec on Jan 18, 2022

    I would color in the flooring as a stopgap approach to the obvious spots, if that is not an option, there are many beautiful rugs. Visit a rug outlet store, yard sales, thrift stores....

  • Kmdreamer Kmdreamer on Jan 18, 2022

    You could stencil a patern on them or sand them down then varnish

  • Dee Dee on Jan 19, 2022

    I would use Bona on those floors. If the varnish was applied haphazardly, you are still going to have a problem. If you can get a nice area rug that may be the solution. Try the site Rugby they have nice inexpensive rugs

  • Caryn Caryn on Jan 20, 2022

    Thank you, Everyone! I will take the advice use Bona and area rugs until I’m ready to replace the floors…

  • Annie Annie on Jan 21, 2022

    Is a big job, but you could try sanding the bad spots and re finish. Then use good old floor wax and polish them up

  • Homeroad Homeroad on Jan 23, 2022

    I had very scratched floors and I used a mop on acrylic sealer on them until I was able to sand and refinish the floors. It helped hide the scratches.

  • If you're going to replace them anyway and you aren't satisfied with the area rugs, you can sand and paint them, but it is a lot of work and you do need to seal them well.

  • Sharon Sharon on Jan 24, 2022

    I would get some Rejuvenate at the local hardware or home store to try restoring them first. That stuff can work miracles. If that doesn't work for you, I would get some stain in the same color or have a paint store match it for you. Then I would touch them up and apply some spray spar varnish in the same finish (satin? or semi-gloss)

  • Kmdreamer Kmdreamer on Jan 25, 2022

    Try giving them a good washing. If they were varnished they should shine

  • Agnes Chrzanowska Agnes Chrzanowska on Jan 31, 2022

    engineered floors will not scratch like that .. it must be something else

    • Caryn Caryn on Jan 31, 2022

      Thank you! I looked throughout my home inspection paperwork and it said the floors are Laminate T&G….

  • I’m with Flipturn here, if the plan is to replace in the near future, rugs are your best temp solution as laminate is not the easiest to make nice again.

  • In tis case, you can just make use of a rug to cover these.. on the other hand,you can also make use of the product Rejuvenate for the floor.

  • David David on Feb 14, 2022

    Fixing the floor is an important activity. If you want to make the floor beautiful, I recommend you to use exterior polyurethane. I found out about him on this website https://www.wood-turned.com/best-exterior-polyurethane/. There is a lot of useful and important information regarding this topic. I think there you will be able to learn a lot more about the correct repair of a wooden floor! Use it!