Water damage can occur for a number of reasons. You may have a slow leak that you aren’t aware of until it’s too late or you may have a flood either due to natural forces or a more severe leak in the property. You may have left the bath tap on upstairs and flooded the bathroom which has come through the ceiling to the lower level or you may have a burst pipe. However the water has got into the property the first thing to do is assess the situation and see if you can remove it manually yourself using rags, towels etc. Ventilate the room and do everything you can to remove the water. If the leak is more serious then you will call us and we will send out a team with water extraction equipment. Time is of the essence when it comes to the protection of hardwood flooring and if the water gets into the wood then the wood will become damaged.
The first thing we will do is to determine the source of the water and prevent any further leakage if we can. You may need to call out an emergency plumber if it is down to burst pipes. We will remove as much of the water as we can with water extractors and drying fans. We also have a vacuum pad that we can install to reduce the moisture in the wood over the course of a few days.
Once the water is extracted we can assess the damage to your floors. We may be able to patch the floor where it has been affected if it is only a small area. If we can repair the floor without it looking out of place then we will do so. If, however, the damage has been more severe, widespread and has penetrated the wood completely then it is likely that new flooring will need to be laid. Once we remove the damaged flooring we will ensure that the area has had time to dry out thoroughly before we go ahead with the installation of new flooring. If the damage is confined to a certain area and we only need to replace a percentage of the floor we will of course do our best to match it up to the existing floor although this may involve the whole floor being stained and coated to get a good match.