How to Replace Engineered Hardwood Floor Planks

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Things You'll Need

  • Prybar

  • Hammer

  • New floor planks (same style and length as the damaged ones)

  • Trim nails

  • Nailset

Image Credit: Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images

Traditional hardwood floors are nailed or glued in place, making it a real chore to remove and replace one or two damaged boards in the middle of the floor. Engineered hardwood floors often are "floating floors." These boards are clipped together by tongue-and-groove edges but aren't secured to the subfloor or walls; they merely sit on the floor, held down by the floor trim. You will need to take apart some of the boards to get to the damaged area.

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Step 1

Pry off all the floor trim from the room with your prybar and hammer, taking care not to break the wood. Use your hammer to tap out the nails. Set the trim aside.

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Step 2

Pull apart the floorboards along the wall closest to the boards that you are replacing. Separate the boards by pushing them toward the small gap next to the wall (now exposed by the removal of the trim). As each board comes away from the others, leave it lying on the floor where it was.

Step 3

Work your way to the damaged boards, pulling off each successive course of flooring and making sure to set each board right down where it was in relation to the others (so you can put them all back together later).

Step 4

Remove and discard the damaged boards. Set your replacement boards in their place, snapping them together with the surrounding boards.

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Step 5

Re-set each floorboard back where it was, snapping them together end to end and course by course. Work your way back to the wall where you started. Continue until the whole floor is back in.

Step 6

Re-nail your floor trim back in place, using new nails but the same nail holes. Set the nail heads slightly under the trim's surface with your nailset.

Warning

Wear eye protection when removing the floor trim.

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