I have never owned a home with real hardwood floors. So while I am remodeling my kitchen, i decided to put real hardwood in the kitchen/hallway and dining room.

I pulled up the cheap laminate and installed it. Prefinished Red oak. Looks great.

But the stuff dents really easy. drop anything on it and a dent will appear. Is this how hardwood floors are? how do i fix  the dents and such?

Steam the dents out.

Heck my hardwood oak floors are so hard I'd have to abuse them before they would "dent".

they are beautiful .....   I have oak hard wood floors and mine get scratches in them from my dog (Lab)  but they come out with some 600 grit very light sanding , try puting on some diamond coat it will help and not very expensive....

Those aren't dents...  those are character...



I've got hardwood throughout my house.  4 kids and 2 dogs...  I've got character to spare.

Quoted: Those aren't dents...  those are character... I've got hardwood throughout my house.  4 kids and 2 dogs...  I've got character to spare.

Character huh?? I need less that. Guess I will enjoy the character for a few years and then refinish it.

Quoted: Those aren't dents...  those are character... I've got hardwood throughout my house.  4 kids and 2 dogs...  I've got character to spare.

What he said...'cept I have 2 kids and one dog.
I LOVE HW floors...My first floor is all HW and ceramic (second is WW carpet in bedrooms and I hate it)
The dents and scratches give it "patina" or "character."

Hey, people pay money to have new hardwood floors beaten with chains to get that same look.   You're getting yours for free!

It's NOT a dent, it's character.

Spit on it.

Wood fibers are long skinny tubes filled with water. Dent it, you crush the fibers and push the water out. Give it more water, and it will lessen, but not completely fix the dent.

Best I got.

dont use prefinished flooring.   most of it is poor quality


it may suck to do it right but you would be more pleased with it

HW floors dent and scrtch.. It's the way of life. Live with it, and refnish it when you sell the house but depending what house it is, some people like em all fucked and gone.

Well, stop dropping stuff.  That's why I didn't go with Hardwood in the kitchen-just the family room. With granite countertops,and a tile floor in the kitchen,any dish or glass that gets away from you is history.

I have scored and stained Concrete throughout my entire house.  Almost zero maintenance.

And, to the OP's point, in every event where I have dropped something on my floor since I built the house, the floor has won!

FluxPrism

FluxPrism - Any specific sites or books you would recommend about making concrete look decent? My main floor is carpet (vinyl in kitchen) over a concrete slab. The carpet is nasty, I need to get rid of it, and if I can make the concrete look decent I can put off flooring while I spend the home repair budget on more pressing concerns...

Quoted: FluxPrism - Any specific sites or books you would recommend about making concrete look decent? My main floor is carpet (vinyl in kitchen) over a concrete slab. The carpet is nasty, I need to get rid of it, and if I can make the concrete look decent I can put off flooring while I spend the home repair budget on more pressing concerns...

Unfortunately, if you didn't have the concrete surfaced extra smooth when it was poured, it will likely never look quite as good as the brochures/galleries would have you believe.  I spent several hundred extra to have them spend the hours finishing up the whole slab, except the garage, to an extra smooth finish.  Depending on how good or bad your concrete was done, it might look great, or it might look pretty bad once it is stained.  You'll have to look at it once you get the carpet up.

There is a lot of info out on the net about staining concrete, but I would start here:

Kemiko - Makers of the #1 Concrete Stain

There are other manufacturers, but I had great luck with Kemiko and they are the number one name in the field.

One real problem you might have, is if the concrete has ever been subjected to any kind of Acid.  Any Acid wash would have already used up some of the reactant material in the concrete and the stain will come out odd at best.  This is a reason to test on a small section in a corner before you commit to staining the whole floor.

Look at the Galleries and you will see that even without the fancy scoring (which is a pain in the ass...) stained concrete looks like a million bucks.  If your concrete is up to the task, it should serve quite well while you wait to put down hardwood or whatever in a few years time.

One last thing, you will definitely want to use Sealer over the stain.  It both protects, and makes the stain look a million times better.

FluxPrism

Thanks...you're the man. It's a 30 year old townhouse so I'm going to bet the concrete is not "extra smooth"

Looking at the website, looks like if I get lazy I'm in one of two cities in my state with a "professional applicator"

Ceramic tile FTW!

height=8

Quoted: FluxPrism - Any specific sites or books you would recommend about making concrete look decent? My main floor is carpet (vinyl in kitchen) over a concrete slab. The carpet is nasty, I need to get rid of it, and if I can make the concrete look decent I can put off flooring while I spend the home repair budget on more pressing concerns...There are also companies that can grind your existing slab down smooth in order to apply a stain.

Quoted: Quoted: FluxPrism - Any specific sites or books you would recommend about making concrete look decent? My main floor is carpet (vinyl in kitchen) over a concrete slab. The carpet is nasty, I need to get rid of it, and if I can make the concrete look decent I can put off flooring while I spend the home repair budget on more pressing concerns... Tyro, There are also companies that can grind your existing slab down smooth in order to apply a stain.

This is true.  I didn't mention it because, though I haven't personally been through it, I have been told by 3 different folks that it was a nightmarish mess inside a finished house.  Despite all the efforts by the contractors to contain and remove the concrete dust, it made an unspeakable mess in one house, and merely contaminated every room of 2 others.  Those folks were still finding dust 3 years later in all sorts of places, and had to replace all the carpet on the same floor as the concrete grinding.  I told them they should have just done the whole first floor!

But, it is an option, and if you are extra careful about making sure the contractors do everything possible to contain the dust it might turn out OK for you.

FluxPrism

Quoted: I have never owned a home with real hardwood floors. So while I am remodeling my kitchen, i decided to put real hardwood in the kitchen/hallway and dining room. I pulled up the cheap laminate and installed it. Prefinished Red oak. Looks great. But the stuff dents really easy. drop anything on it and a dent will appear. Is this how hardwood floors are? how do i fix  the dents and such? www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/kitchen_135.jpg

quit dropping stuff.

now you know why you dont see many HWFs in kitchens....duh

Wait until you drop the big knife point down. < moms house
I ripped up the old carpet in the living room and hallway. Installed generic Pergo(Home Depot), took about 4 hours. Its been 2 years with 2 teenagers and 2 medium dogs. Very few scratches due to the kids and their friends. Not bad for about $350.

Edit my floors look like the OPs pic.

Quoted: Ceramic tile FTW!

Personally I would love to have cement floors in my house with a drainage system. Dirty??? Just get out the hose!!!

Quoted: Quoted: Ceramic tile FTW! Personally I would love to have cement floors in my house with a drainage system. Dirty??? Just get out the hose!!!

I like the way you think.

Quoted: Ceramic tile FTW!

Clean room for a kitchen?

I like it.

set a wet rag on the dent and use an iron to steam it out.

Quoted: set a wet rag on the dent and use an iron to steam it out.

You been hanging out in the C&R forum too much



....He's right.  For us C&R guys, when we get a dinged up stock I take a wet rag and iron and it'll really make and old beater stock look presentable.  



Please post pics of you ironing your hardwoods

Standard AR15 answer:

It's just a TOOL FLOOR.

"You been hanging out in the C&R forum too much "

What's the C&R forum?

people pay extra money for flooring that has been dented and destressed.


the more dents the higher your resale value!!

10 4