How to remove old parquet? How to restore old parquet

Among all materials for finishing the flooring, parquet floors deserve special respect from consumers. They are appreciated for their natural and attractive appearance, reliability and durability. However, even with the most careful attitude and proper care, there comes a time when the old parquet needs to be completely changed or repaired. To perform these works, you can attract specialists, and you can save money and do all the work with your own hands.

How to independently dismantle the old coating and whether it is possible to restore the original appearance, we will consider in this article.

Define the work front

Depending on the nature and extent of damage to the old coating, the scope of repair is determined. If the old parquet is very worn, the plates have a large number of cracks, blackouts and chips, it is subject to complete dismantling.

In the event that defects have appeared only on certain elements of the coating, the slats can be carefully removed and replaced with new ones.

If the boards are pretty well preserved, but have ugly scratches, chips, and the floors themselves began to grimly unpleasant, then you can do without dismantling. In this case, it is enough to restore the parquet and make it a small repair.

Also, there are often situations when the cover has not lost its presentability yet, but the owners of the premises decided to change the situation and change the facing of the floor. In this case, you can carefully remove the expensive material and put the old parquet in another room.

How to properly perform the work in each of the above cases, we will discuss further.

Preparation for removal of parquet

Before dismantling, the room should be freed from furniture. Do not forget about your own safety. It is necessary to prepare in advance tight clothing, protective gloves and a hat. If there is a wiring in the area of the skirting boards, the room must be de-energized.

During the works you will need the following tools:

• a hammer;

• hatchet;

• chisel;

• Circular Saw;

• Fomka.

The degree of complexity of this process will depend on the type of parquet (rack, piece, panel) and the way it is fastened to the base (using nails or glue).

Complete dismantling of piece parquet

If the old parquet is presented in the form of piece slats, which are attached to the base with glue, it will not be possible to remove it neatly. In such cases, the boards are split and come to full disrepair. Modular and plank decks are removed much easier.

The process of dismantling a piece of parquet includes the following steps:

1. With the help of a fomka all skirting boards are dismantled.

2. Cover the tap with a hammer, and from those places where the sound from the impact is deaf, begin to disassemble the parquet.

3. If the dies are fastened with nails, the work is done with a nail duster, and if the laths are fixed with glue, an ax and a crowbar are attracted to work.

4. Permanently glued elements can be removed using a perforator with a flat nozzle. In this case, you need to protect your eyes from splinters, wearing protective goggles.

Removing the parquet board and modular cover

The installation of a parquet board is very similar to the process of installing a laminate. Elements are attached with special locks, so all that needs to be done to dismantle them is to gently flush the fixing grooves.

In this case, the coating is not damaged, so it is possible to reuse it. For example, in rooms where you can put an old parquet.

The dismantling of the modular deck also does not require much effort. Here it is important only to determine from which side the elements with an open crest are located. Since the laying of such a coating always starts from the window, it is more logical to start dismantling from the opposite wall.

The corner module is pushed by the fomka and detached from the base. If nails are used for laying the coating, they are previously removed.

Many people are interested in the question: how to remove the old parquet, if it is fixed with resin? In this case, the underside of the module must be carefully cleaned of the adhesive with an ax.

How to perform partial repair of parquet

In the process of using such a coating, the slats can dry up and lag behind the base. In such situations it is possible to do without a complete replacement of the flooring by performing the repair of the old parquet.

To do this, you need to do the following:

1. The old varnish must be completely removed in order to detect all the loosened elements.

2. Strongly dried plates, between which a distance of more than 5 mm, are removed and replaced with new ones. To dismantle unnecessary elements, their chisel is split into chips.

3. To install a new die into an empty space, a protruding spike is cut off from it. The base is covered with glue, after which (at an angle) the new element is laid so that its groove is put on the spike of the next plank.

4. If the slots are small, glue is poured under the plank. This area is pressed down by a heavy load and left for the night.

5. The reconditioned flooring is sanded and varnished.

Color Restoration

Under the influence of external factors, the coating of natural wood gradually loses its appeal, begins to fade and darken. However, this phenomenon can be easily eliminated, it is enough only to restore the old parquet a little. The coating, which does not have large mechanical damages, is easily repairable and does not require high costs for it.

To do this, you need to do the following:

1. Using a grinding or baking equipment, the varnish is removed.

2. The surface is cleaned of dust, fine cracks and cracks are shpaklyuyutsya.

3. If the owners have a desire to change the shade of the coating, at this stage the floor is covered with the stain of the desired color.

4. Using a sandpaper with fine grain, the floor is re-ground. This is necessary to eliminate chips and shadows.

5. Smooth surface is cleaned and processed with 1 layer of primer. After that, the floor is polished again with zero sandpaper and again covered with varnish. Such processing can be performed up to 9 times, until the surface becomes perfectly smooth.

6. After applying the final layer of varnish, the floor is left to dry (for 3 days). The room should not have drafts, high humidity and sudden temperature changes.

Eliminating Scratches

Scratches are the most common defect in parquet floors. If they are not very deep, they can easily be eliminated with a parquet repair kit or special wax pencils. But what if the old parquet is covered with deep and numerous scratches? Laying a new coating in this case is not necessary, but repair of the damaged will take time and effort.

In order to remove deep defects, the parquet should be completely cleaned of varnish and with the help of a sewing machine to remove the damaged layer. At one time this will not be possible, so you need to be prepared for several treatments.

Further, the room is thoroughly cleaned of dust, and the floors are varnished several times (as described above).

What to do if the floor became very squeaky

Old parquet can begin to creak for several reasons:

• if there are voids under the slats;

• if the spacer wedges are loose;

• If the straps loose.

To find out the reason, in the first place the plinths are removed and the wedges are inspected. They can dry up, as a result of which they will cease to perform their functions. In their place, new wedges are installed and for a week they observe the sounds of the floor. If the squeaks did not disappear, it's something else.

If certain elements creak, it means that emptiness formed under them. Then, in the center of the strip, a hole is drilled, through which the glue is poured under the board (until it ceases to be absorbed). This area is pressed down by something heavy and dries 3 days. When the mixture is completely solidified, the hole is completely filled with putty.

If scratches are observed all over the deck, the above methods will not help. This defect is eliminated by completely restoring the parquet.

As can be seen from all of this, in the process of operation, parquet floors gradually lose their original qualities. Nevertheless, they are very easy to repair, so any acquired flaw can be removed and continue to enjoy the beauty of the natural coating.