trying to figure out the best option

refrigerator ice maker line had a leak, soaked the sub floor but worse the wood floor absorbed the water and warped in front of the fridge. Over the past few months, since its a high traffic area we've kicked up some pieces. I really don't want to replace the entire floor. Its not a laminate but its looks like a veneer. Probably typical of 80's era cheap wood flooring.

Wondering if it would be worth my time trying to cut out the 4 or so pieces that are bad, replace them and stain to match.

Anyone do this?

Do a carpet overlay...

AstroTurf would be even better.

You live in Ohio... I promise you no one will be disappointed.

Call in a floor contractor. I’ve had several repaired on rental property I bought. Turns out fine.

Osky

KF, it's worth a try to patch , you can always replace the whole floor.

KF, it's worth a try to patch , you can always replace the whole floor.

Do it like you do, on the cheap, paint it, or put a cheap ass Menards rug over the damage .

No sense in doing it right.

might be a video on youtube on how to do it.

Do what?
Fix it or hide it,

no its very visible, been driving me crazy

but the floor feeds into the dining room and hallway so patching if it will look good is more desirable from a cost standpoint. Just don't think I'll have any lucky finding matching width/thickness so I wanted to hear what others have done.

is it something you would have done in your own home?

Is there any of that wood UNDER the refrigerator, or in a closet/etc, where you could pull it up to use for the patch?? THEN, put stuff that DOESN’T match (or whatever you can come up with), in the closet/under fridge/hidden area....

great idea! there is some in a pantry

That's going to be your best option, it still wont match because of uv discoloration but will be closer than anything else.

This kind of damage should be covered under your homeowners insurance. I've replaced several floor for leaky water heaters, dishwashers, refrigerators, water line breaks etc... All under homeowners insurance.
If you have to do it out of pocket and looking for the easiest and cheapest then I agree taking the wood out from the pantry but be aware that you said the area is high traffic so the pantry wood will most likely not match the faded worn areas. It will still stands out if that's a concern. Other than that, if you have the tools and know-how then you might try to replicate the original boards but getting the stain correct will be near impossible again. But I would try that before the entire floor if it out pocket and trying to save a few bucks.

Patch will be extremely tough to match if you don’t have the same floor to replace it with. Especially if you don’t possess the skills and tools to do it. I’ve patched in some T&G in the middle of a floor where an island was removed. I could see it, most people couldn’t, but 32 years of experience.

yea I looked a few minutes ago and its seems like its going to be a good fit, its lengthwise in the pantry so that will help. I have an oscillating saw that should help me get it started.

Its not an exact match because of exposure but I think it should be close.

No, don’t be a broke digk .replace the whole floor.

Once again, will your homeowners insurance not touch it? If not you have the wrong company IMO

they probably will, but its like 4 boards

I’d look at that route first. The other option sounds like a giant PIA.

Engineered wood, If you don't have any of the original you're pretty much out of luck. You could do a tile insert under the fridge, till you can replace it all.

If it a continual flowing floor and you can't get the correct material to fix it properly then yes, they should cover for all areas where the boards are flowing. That includes down the hall and any other areas
Can't hurt to call them! I would in a NewYork minute

We actually talked about that - just cutting a square area in front of the fridge and putting tile down like it was meant to be there in a possible spill area.

My only concern is the subfloor. I'm not sure if it has any give that would crack the tile. There may be another option to do that besides tile.

I'll probably give it a go next weekend, if I'm not happy with trying to swap out replacement wood, I'l consider my options including reaching out to the insurance company. At the moment though I don't want to file a claim.

Hardie board.

This will be fugked up. Just watch.

It’s not the subfloor that’s going to cause deflection, it’s your floor joist/truss. What are your joist in that area (2x8, 2x10?) what is the spacing and span?
STX might have an opinion on this, but we’d use the Schluter Ditra underlayment designed for using tile in areas with movement (joist deflection). Small area under a fridge I’d just lay it on Durock and get on with life.

Can’t be any worse than Roy’s wood stove install.
I’d bet inside 3mos. there’s a fireballz “prayer request, our house just burned down” thread.

Yes, and I did in a home it lived in. The touchiest part was the stain match but that blended in within a year or so pretty darn well. If they sand the entire floor or to a division point the stain can be blended easier.
The guys that pop the strips out and replace them do it faster than I would have thought.
In this area these are wood strip oak floors, in that 7/8” thickness or so. Good old stuff.
Up here bad areas areas are often near the front door which is in the main living room in older homes. Winter boots left near those doors over the years played heck on the oak strip floors.

Osky

I am with you on the claim file. I have $500 deductible, and lose my 10% policy discount for three years if I file a claim.

If I can do a repair on the cheap, that is a hell of a lot better option.

One year I also found water damage under the fridge. The particle board subfloor had to be replaced in that area. It was not a big job once exposed. I applied thin set on the subfloor, put down 3/8" hardi-board, and put tile down through the whole kitchen and laundry.

Momma was happy. That is the only critic I worry about.

For only $500 and a three year 10% policy discount it seems like the DIY cost would have to be pretty damn cheap to justify the hassle and possible Fugg up of cutting up your floorboards and splicing from on area to another.

Engineered wood only has a thin veneer, about a 1/16th thick or so, it's not solid.

Whatever fix you choose, take note ahead of time of the thickness of flooring your pulling out. If you change to tile, carpet, whatever as a PATCH you want to be sure your result is exactly surface flush with what your leaving behind.
Any varying edges in a traffic spot like that will drive you crazy. Even if you use wood from elsewhere in the same home you may have to sand it down to blend.

Osky

good points to consider

Roger knows his trade.

I think pictures would be very helpful...

If it was me, I'd use tile under the fidge, sort of like this.

I'm tempted, I have a tile saw

I'll see what the wife wants.

Just take a few pieces from the pantry and replace. It ain't hard.

Sometimes NOT matching it can work out well. My SIL bought an old house with hardwood floors that were in bad shape. There was a crawl space hatch in the floor right in front of the bathroom door. The cover was made of 2x4's and old plywood. It wasn't nearly as attractive as it sounds. She hired a contractor to refinish the floors. At the same time, he made a new hatch cover. He couldn't possibly make one to match the floor so he pieced together other old wood to make sort of mosaic pattern. It very much shows but it looks more like a work of art than a hole cover. Considering what he had to work with, it came out great.

KFWA, if you like, you might use tile in front of the outside door to balance it out.

Pretty sweet, love that wood door that opens into the side of the stove.

Offers a great opportunity to test the validity of your fire insurance.

My floor problem is not the money as Best Buy is paying for ours from a poor dishwasher install. Problem we have is no wood available, contractors too busy, and 300sq feet of random length and width redoak flooring ain't worth their time. Can't even get a bid!