You're going to experience a day sooner or later when a cigarette burn, unintentional spill, or other blemish results in an unsightly stain on your floor. If you have some leftover materials on hand, this works well because tongue and groove joints on most hardwood flooring allow the planks to interlock. To find out about Shop Neolife, click here

When buying flooring, keep in mind to buy extra material and set it aside for situations like this one where you need to patch your floor. Naturally, keep in mind that some floorboards may be damaged beyond repair and require replacement. Older homes are especially affected by this. Older homes may also have flooring that is stained, rotted, or warped if it is located close to an old radiator.

The old floorboards can be removed using a circular saw. To avoid damaging any other good boards, always cut lengthwise and in the middle of the board. Additionally, keep in mind that cutting through the subfloor is a bad idea! Set the depth of the cut to equal the thickness of the flooring to prevent this. Use a chisel to pry out the sliced board and any leftover debris after making the cut. Make sure the replacement board's size and color are as similar to the original board's as you can.

If you are replacing more than one new board, install the groove edge first and blind nail over the tongue with finishing nails. Remove the bottom flange of the groove on the remaining board by sawing it off. By adding a bead of wood glue along the tongue-and-half groove of the final fitted joint, you can increase strength.

The final strip will need to be top-nailed after you have fitted it in. Every 12 inches, at opposing angles, and 1/2" from the edge, finishing nails must be pre-drilled and anchored into the strip. Once this is done, countersinkthe nail heads and fill them with a similar wood filler.