Repairing the Floor Boards

• 1). Pull warped, split or rotten floor boards up with a crowbar, taking care to not damage the surrounding floor boards.
  
  
• 2). Saw off the damaged part of the floor boards you removed. Try to save as much of the old board as you can, since this will lower your lumber bill.
  
  
• 3). Measure and cut replacement planks from the same kind of wood as used in your floor to replace the damaged material you sawed away in Step 2, and fill in the resulting empty spaces in the floor.
  
  
• 4). Set the sawed-down old boards and the new boards into place, and fasten them with two headless floor nails at each end of the board.
  
  
• 5). Drive any other loose or raised nails back into the floor. If they remain loose, extract the nail from the floor with a pair of needle-nosed pliers and drive a fresh nail in its place.
  
  

Sanding

• 1). Sand the main body of the floor using a power floor sander, pushing it across the floor in a slow, steady fashion. Start with a rough grit of sandpaper to remove any existing layers of stain, sealants and all scratches or dents. Then transition to a mid-grit sandpaper, and finally smooth the job off with a fine grit of sandpaper.
  
  
• 2). Work around the edges of the floor with an edging power sander, repeating the rough-middle-fine grit sanding process used in Step 1.
  
  
• 3). Sweep up all sawdust and debris from the floor, and then clean it with Murphy's Oil Soap and a dry mop. Sweep it again after the dust has settled.
  
  
• 4). Smooth the buffing by sanding the affected area with a hand sanding block and fine grit sandpaper.
  
  
• 5). Sweep the floor of any sawdust or other debris, and then clean it with Murphy's Oil Soap and a dry mop. Wait half an hour and sweep it again, to get any dust that has settled from the air.
  
  

Finishing

• 1). Stain the floor using a paint brush and your choice of a natural wood stain. Use short, heavy strokes of the brush to apply the stain. Allow the stain at least eight hours to dry. If you choose to not use a wood stain and keep the wood's natural color, skip this step.
  
  
• 2). Examine the floor for any dust or debris that has settled from the air, and remove them with a hand brush and dust pan.
  
  
• 3). Seal the floor using a natural wood varnish. Apply these with a paint brush, using short, heavy strokes. You must seal the floor if you stained it in Step 1, but if you did not stain the floor, you can leave it unfinished and not seal it either. In that case, skip this entire section.
  
  
• 4). Allow the varnish to dry for at least eight hours. Examine the floor again for any dust that has fallen out of the air, and remove it with a hand brush and dust pan.
  
  
• 5). Repeat Steps 3 and 4 to apply one or two more layers of varnish to the floor.