Dishwasher + Hardwood = Repairable?

Sir Red of the Manti

An acquaintance of mine had their dishwasher overflow, all over their hardwood floor. Unfortunately they couldn't get to it in time and there's significant damage. Is this sort of water damage repairable, and if not, what sort of insurance options might be available to them?

Lucky Cynic

Hair dryer?

Aurin

If it's a real hardwood floor, it's likely warped if there's significant damage. They'd have to look into their homeowner's insurance to see if it would be covered, but likely since it was an accident it will be.

The extent of the damage really depends on how long the water was able to sit, and how much ended up all over the floor. I lived in a house where a water heater blew once, and the hot water was able to soak into the floor for a few hours... though this was particle board under carpet, it warped it all to hell.

Improvolone

You can repair the hell out of hardwood floor. How much it will cost is all a matter of damage, however. I've seen refinished floors that look brand new after looking like they were used for a hundred baseball games.

MichaelLC

Expanding on what Aurin said, if there's warping, they're hosed.

Is it real nail-down hardwood, floating-floor laminite or engineered wood? If it's not nailed down, they should disasemble the planks immediatly and get any water out from underneath. THen just let the planks dry and it may be OK.

If it is nail-down hardwood, and water got in between the planks, that could be the end. Most places that install floors won't "uninstall," so may need to find a gen contractor, or they can try pulling up the planks. If it's just surface damage, then yes, hardwood can be "rescreened".

Probably best to call insurance and see what they require.

matt has a problem

The great thing about hardwood is you can replace small sections of it. Unless there were some psycho-anal installers, none of the joints will have any sort of pattern, so simply cutting out the damaged section and replacing it with new boards is possible. If it's just surface damage, then a weekend with a belt sander and matching stain and varnish is all it will take.

Disco11

The other problem you are going to have is that even if the wood dosen't start to warp you will probably have a mold problem that can become a serious health risk.

OhtheVogonity

Definitely repairable. How long was the water sitting? That is an important factor.