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Hi!
We recently bought a villa. There is a dark stain on the floorboards in the living room. We do not know the type of floorboards, or what caused the stain. We are hoping to lessen the appearance of the stain without needing to replace any boards. Would any floorboard cleaning products or acids work? Are the risks to these products causing more obvious damage? '
Would sanding and revarnishing help? And if so, can anyone advise from this photo what type of varnish seems to have been used?
(In this image, the boards are a little wet because we tried scrubbing with bleach and a toothbrush as a first step, which did not make any difference.)
Thanks for your help!
Holly
Hello @HollyF
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us. and thanks for sharing your question about your floorboards.
It looks like the floorboard seal has worn away and it was left unprotected causing the timber surface to dry up and turn dark. But before we move forward, can you please confirm that you have an actual timber surface and not a laminate flooring with a worn-down surface. It's also possible that you have a laminate flooring with faux timber lining on the surface.
Once you've identified the type of flooring that you have, we'll be able to give you more recommendations on what you can do to repair the damage.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Eric
Hi @HollyF,
To determine what type of flooring you have, a good method is to check any exposed ends of the timber, especially in places like inside wardrobes or transitions between rooms. If you see that the board has an MDF base with a thin veneer of timber on top, it's likely a laminate flooring. On the other hand, if the boards are solid timber throughout their thickness, then you're dealing with real hardwood.
If it's solid timber, then sanding and revarnishing could help restore the floor. However, if it's laminate, the stain might be more difficult to treat without causing further damage to the surface.
For the best results, especially if you want to achieve a high-quality finish, I'd recommend reaching out to a flooring specialist to help with the repair.
Regarding the varnish, it could be a water-based polyurethane coating similar to Cabot's CFP.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
