How can I remedy a slight bump underneath my new hardwood floor?

Question

I recently installed some hardwood floor in my living room / kitchen. I'm very happy with the job I did except for one strip of hardwood.

The problem is I can feel the some part of the sub-floor pushing up against the piece of hardwood as though it wasn't perfectly level. It's really only noticeable when you walking on it but I'm wondering if there's anything that can be done to fix this.

The floor is nailed in, so I can't remove the board and sand down whatever might be pushing it up.

Any tips?

Answer 1

Nailed down hardwood board strips can be removed (destructively) to allow access to the offending sub-floor.

It involves carefully cutting out the piece with a circular saw and an oscillating saw.

Replacing the piece involves glueing down the same length piece. You have to cutoff the bottom half the groove side to allow the replacement to drop in.

Hopefully your flooring was prefinished, which makes matching a snap

Answer 2

Depending on the severity and end-appearance importance of the job, the "cut it out and fix" answer may be appropriate. Without being able to see/feel the issue, it's hard to say. You may just find a lost nail under there; you wouldn't be the first. You can also (with varying degrees of fussiness) screw or nail down an offending board in place (or to secure it after a cut-out and replace repair). In order of increasing fussiness:

1. use finish nails and a nailset

2. use trimhead screws and countersink the heads

3. counterbore, (allowing you to use a larger screw-head) and plug (disappears pretty well if the floor is yet to be sanded and finished)

4. counterbore, and use a plug-cutter to cut a matching pre-finished plug from your pre-finished floor - if it is pre-finished.