Wood Floor Repair & Restoration in Savannah, GA

The call we get more than almost any other goes something like this: "I think we're going to have to replace the whole floor."

Sometimes they're right. But most of the time, they're not.

There's something about damaged wood floors — a buckled section after a leak, a cluster of deep pet stains, a soft spot that moves underfoot — that makes the damage feel worse than it is. When you're living with it every day, it's hard not to assume the worst. And a lot of homeowners end up replacing floors they didn't need to replace, or worse, putting new flooring down over problems that were never properly fixed.

We've pulled up brand-new luxury vinyl tile installed over a subfloor that was soft with moisture damage. We've refinished floors with pet stains that the previous contractor said couldn't be saved. We've fixed squeaks in 80-year-old Savannah homes that had been driving families crazy for years — from above the floor, without tearing anything up.

Most damage is repairable. The key is understanding what you're actually dealing with before you make any decisions.

Here's what we handle.

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Hardwood Floor Repair & Patching

Wood floors get damaged. Boards crack. Gaps open up between planks. A wall gets removed during a renovation and leaves a strip of exposed subfloor that nobody thought to plan for. A heavy appliance gets dragged across the floor and leaves a gouge that goes down to bare wood.

These things happen in every home, and in Savannah's older housing stock — where original floors have been through a hundred years of use, renovation, and sometimes neglect — they're especially common.

Patching hardwood floors is genuinely one of the more skilled parts of this trade. It's not just about filling a hole or replacing a board. It's about making the repair disappear. That means matching the species correctly, sourcing boards with similar grain character, cutting the repair with clean edges, and then staining and finishing to blend with the surrounding floor.

When it's done well, you can't find the patch. When it's done poorly — wrong species, mismatched stain, visible seams — it sticks out permanently. We take patching seriously because the floor's final appearance depends on it.

Common repair situations we handle:

Cracked or split boards
Gaps that have opened between planks over time
Areas where walls were removed and floors were never patched
Surface gouges and deep scratches that go through the finish into the wood
Missing sections from old vents, radiators, or previous renovation work
Transition areas between rooms where flooring doesn't meet correctly

We also handle board-level repairs as part of larger refinishing projects — addressing any damage before finish coats go down so the final result is clean throughout.

A homeowner in the Thomas Square Streetcar District called us last year after a kitchen renovation. The contractor had removed a load-bearing wall and left a six-inch gap running the width of the room where the old wall had sat. The original floor was red oak, at least 80 years old. The homeowner had been told the gap couldn't be matched and she'd need to replace the entire room.

We sourced salvaged red oak close enough in character to do the job. After staining and finishing, the repair blended naturally with the surrounding floor. She kept her original floors.

Pet Stain Removal & Wood Repair

Pet stains are among the most stubborn problems in hardwood floor repair — and they're also the ones we get the most questions about.

The challenge is that urine doesn't just sit on the surface. It penetrates through the finish and into the wood itself. In severe cases, it soaks through the boards entirely and into the subfloor beneath. When that happens, surface sanding doesn't fix the problem. You sand down to bare wood and the stain is still there, sometimes darker than before.

The approach we take depends on how deep the damage goes.

For staining that's primarily in the finish and the surface of the wood, full sanding and refinishing can significantly reduce or eliminate the appearance of the stain. We're honest that some deep staining may still show a slight variation in color after refinishing — pet urine chemically changes the wood, and no finish coat covers a black stain.

For deeper damage, we assess whether board replacement is needed. Removing the affected boards, treating or replacing the subfloor beneath if it's been compromised, then patching with matched material gives the best result. This is more involved, but it's the only reliable way to address severe staining.

We've seen homes where pet damage affected dozens of boards across multiple rooms. We've also seen situations where a single heavily used area — usually a spot near a door or in a bedroom corner — had concentrated damage while the rest of the floor was in fine shape. Each situation gets assessed individually.

What we evaluate during assessment:

Depth of staining — surface finish, wood surface, or through the board
Whether the subfloor has been affected
Scope of damage across the floor
Whether patching, full board replacement, or targeted refinishing is the right approach

If you're buying a home and suspect pet damage in the floors, have us come out before closing. We can give you a realistic picture of what remediation will cost, which is useful information to have before you finalize a purchase.

Squeaky Floor Repair

Squeaky floors are one of the most common complaints we hear from owners of older Savannah homes. Victorian District homes, Ardsley Park Craftsmans, bungalows in Thomas Square — the older the house, the more likely it's developed at least a few spots that announce every footstep.

The squeak itself is almost always caused by movement — wood rubbing against wood, or the subfloor shifting slightly against the joists beneath it. In older homes, this typically comes from a combination of wood that's dried and shrunk over decades, fasteners that have worked loose over time, and subfloors that have seen their share of seasonal movement.

The good news is that most squeaks can be fixed from above — without pulling up the floor.

We use a combination of methods depending on where the squeak originates. For squeaks between the finished floor and the subfloor, we can often drive screws at specific angles to pull the layers together and eliminate the movement. For squeaks deeper in the structure — between the subfloor and the joists — access from below is sometimes necessary, but we assess that before recommending it.

We don't guarantee that every squeak in a 100-year-old house will disappear entirely — older structures have natural movement built into them. But in the vast majority of cases, we can eliminate or significantly reduce the problem without any major disruption.

Homeowners are often surprised by how targeted the repair is. They expect us to tear up a section of floor. We show up, identify the source of the squeak, make a small targeted fix, and it's done.

Common squeak sources:

Movement between finished floor boards and subfloor
Loose subfloor panels over joists
Dried and shrunk wood that no longer sits tightly against fasteners
Inadequate fastening from original installation
Seasonal wood movement that's created persistent problem areas

Subfloor Repair & Leveling

The subfloor is the foundation everything else sits on. When it's compromised — soft spots from moisture, uneven sections from decades of settling, old adhesive residue from previous flooring, or structural damage from rot or pest activity — every flooring type installed over it will eventually show those problems.

This is one of the most frequently skipped steps in flooring installation, and it's also one of the most consequential. Squeaks, soft spots, flooring that flexes underfoot, grout cracks in tile, and premature adhesive failure in glue-down installations — a significant portion of these problems trace back to a subfloor that wasn't properly addressed before the new floor went down.

We assess subfloor condition on every installation project we take on. But we also handle subfloor repair as a standalone service — for homeowners who've discovered issues, for renovation projects where old flooring has been removed and the subfloor condition is a question mark, and for situations where a previous flooring installation has failed and the root cause needs to be addressed before anything new goes down.

What subfloor repair and leveling covers:

Soft spots from water damage or rot — replacing compromised panels and addressing any remaining moisture issues
Uneven sections — using floor leveling compound or structural corrections to bring the surface into acceptable flatness tolerances
Old adhesive removal — grinding or chemically removing adhesive residue left from previous glue-down installations
Fastener work — re-securing subfloor panels that have worked loose from joists
Height transitions — managing subfloor height differences between rooms or at thresholds
Inspection for pest or moisture damage before new flooring is installed

Savannah's older housing stock presents subfloor challenges that newer construction doesn't. Original board subfloors — diagonal 1x6 or 1x8 boards rather than plywood panels — are common in pre-war homes and require a different approach than modern OSB or plywood. We know how to work with both.

For coastal properties on Wilmington Island, Isle of Hope, and Whitemarsh Island, subfloor moisture assessment is particularly important. Homes closer to the water or on crawl space foundations can have elevated moisture levels that need to be understood and managed before any flooring goes down.

Water Damage Floor Restoration

Water is the single most common cause of serious hardwood floor damage in Savannah. The combination of coastal humidity, aging plumbing in older homes, the occasional hurricane, and the slow leaks that go unnoticed for months creates a steady stream of water damage repair calls throughout the year.

The damage ranges from relatively minor to severe — and the approach depends entirely on what the water actually did to the floor.

Cupping happens when moisture enters the wood and the boards swell unevenly — the edges rise higher than the center of each board, giving the floor a washboard feel underfoot. In many cases, if the moisture source is eliminated and the wood is allowed to dry properly, the cupping will partially or fully reverse on its own before any sanding is needed. Rushing to sand a cupped floor before it dries is one of the most common mistakes we see — you sand it flat while it's still wet, then it dries and the center of each board rises above the edges.

Buckling is more severe — the boards have actually lifted from the subfloor and are visibly raised above the surface. This typically means the moisture exposure was significant and sustained. Some buckled boards can be re-secured and refinished. Others need to be replaced.

Staining and discoloration from water can penetrate deep into the wood, especially from gray or black mold growth beneath the finish. In some cases the staining sands out. In others, replacement is the only way to fully address it.

Subfloor damage is often present alongside floor damage in serious water incidents. We always check what's beneath the finished floor before recommending a repair approach.

Earlier this year we had a homeowner in Midtown Savannah whose dishwasher had been leaking slowly for several months before anyone noticed. By the time they called us, there were cupped and cracked boards in the kitchen, a soft section of subfloor, and dark staining from the sustained moisture. It looked like a full replacement situation. We dried the area thoroughly, replaced the compromised subfloor section, replaced a handful of boards that were too damaged to salvage, and refinished to blend. The homeowner kept her original floors.

That outcome isn't always possible — sometimes the damage is too extensive or the window for drying the wood has passed. But it's worth having us assess before any decisions are made.

Our water damage restoration process:

Identify and confirm the moisture source has been resolved
Assess moisture levels in the wood and subfloor before proceeding
Allow adequate drying time if moisture is still elevated
Evaluate which boards can be saved versus need replacement
Assess subfloor integrity and repair as needed
Sand, patch, and refinish to restore the floor's appearance

Water damage situations we handle:

Dishwasher, refrigerator, and washing machine leaks
Plumbing failures and pipe bursts
Storm water intrusion
Slow leaks from bathrooms or showers
Condensation damage in crawl space homes
HVAC condensate line failures

If you've had a water incident — even a relatively minor one — and you're not sure whether your floors were affected, it's worth a quick inspection. Moisture that goes undetected in a wood floor or subfloor can cause ongoing damage and, in some cases, mold growth, long after the visible water is gone.

How to Know When Repair Is the Right Call

We get this question often, and our answer is consistent: repair is the right call more often than people expect. But not always.

Repair makes sense when:

The damage is localized to a specific area and the surrounding floor is in good shape
The wood is original to a historic home and genuinely irreplaceable
The floor has been refinished before and has remaining wear layer
The subfloor issue is correctable without full floor removal
The cost of repair is significantly less than replacement and the result will be comparable

Replacement may make more sense when:

The floor has been refinished multiple times and the boards are too thin to sand again
Damage is widespread across the majority of the floor
The species or material is not worth preserving
Subfloor damage is so extensive that the floor above needs to come up regardless
The homeowner wants a different species, width, or style that can't be achieved through restoration

We'll tell you honestly which situation you're in. If replacement is actually the right answer, we'll say so — and we can handle that too. But we're not going to push replacement on a floor that can be properly repaired for a fraction of the cost.

What to Expect: Our Repair & Restoration Process

1. On-Site Assessment

We come out and evaluate the damage in person. We check moisture levels, assess structural integrity, identify the source of any ongoing issues, and give you a clear picture of what we're working with before we recommend anything.

2. Scope and Estimate

Based on the assessment, we outline exactly what the repair involves — which boards need replacement, what subfloor work is needed, whether refinishing is required to complete the job — and give you an itemized estimate.

3. Source Matching

For patching and board replacement, we source material that matches your existing floor as closely as possible. For historic species like heart pine or old-growth fir, we work through salvaged material sources when needed.

4. Structural Repairs First

Any subfloor work — repairs, leveling, moisture mitigation — happens before any finished flooring work begins. This is non-negotiable. Cosmetic repairs over an unresolved structural problem don't last.

5. Board Repair and Replacement

We replace damaged boards, fill gaps and cracks as appropriate, and prep the repair areas for finishing.

6. Sanding and Finishing

In most repair and patching jobs, some level of sanding and finishing is needed to blend the repaired areas with the surrounding floor. We match the finish type and sheen level to what's already there.

7. Final Walkthrough

We walk the floor with you before the job is complete. If something isn't right, we address it before we leave.

Frequently Asked Questions

Not always, but more often than people assume. The key factors are how long the moisture was present, whether the subfloor was also affected, and how much the boards have moved. If the moisture source is resolved quickly and the floor is dried properly, many water-damaged floors can be restored without full replacement. We assess each situation individually.

It depends significantly on the scope. A targeted squeak repair or small patching job is a very different cost than a water damage restoration involving subfloor work and multiple room refinishing. We provide itemized estimates after an on-site assessment so you know exactly what's involved.

Sometimes. If the staining is primarily in the finish and the upper surface of the wood, full refinishing can reduce or eliminate the visible stain. For deep staining that has penetrated through the board and into the subfloor, board replacement gives the best result. We assess the depth of damage on every pet stain job before recommending an approach.

In most cases, we can address squeaks from above using targeted fasteners or other methods that pull the layers of the floor back together and eliminate the movement causing the noise. Access from below is sometimes needed for deeper structural squeaks, but it's not always required.

Yes, it does. Diagonal board subfloors are common in Savannah's older homes and require different preparation than plywood. They're typically not level enough for direct installation of certain flooring types without additional prep, and they may need to be assessed for structural integrity before anything new goes down. We work with original board subfloors regularly and will walk you through what's involved.

It depends on whether the wood needs drying time before repair work can begin. If moisture levels are still elevated when we assess, we'll recommend allowing the floor to dry before proceeding — rushing this step creates worse problems. The actual repair and refinishing work, once the floor is ready, typically runs three to five days depending on scope.

In most cases, yes — closely enough that the repair blends naturally into the surrounding floor. An exact match isn't always possible with wood that's aged in place for decades, but with careful species selection, grain matching, and stain work, a good patch is very hard to find. We take patching seriously and don't rush the matching process.

Yes. Crawl space homes in Savannah — common in older neighborhoods and coastal areas — have specific moisture management considerations. We assess both the subfloor condition and any moisture issues originating from the crawl space before recommending repair work.

Absolutely. We do a lot of pre-sale repair and restoration work. In many cases, the investment in getting floors into good condition returns significantly more than it costs when it comes to sale price and buyer interest. We can give you an honest assessment of what's worth addressing versus what a buyer isn't likely to notice.

That's exactly the kind of question we answer during an on-site assessment. We'll look at the floor honestly, tell you what we see, and give you a clear recommendation either way — including the cost difference and what results you can realistically expect from each option.