DIY: Mobile Home Floor Repair To Get It Looking Like New Again

There’s no doubt that our floors suffer a lot of abuse over the years. Not only do we stomp over it all day long every day, but gravity means that anything that falls, falls down hard. Even though you might not be aware of it right now, were you to go and inspect your mobile home’s flooring, you would probably find it covered in tiny scratches, dents, and stains.

Moving furniture, dropping everyday objects such as kitchen utensils, heavy toys, tools, and equipment, and just about any other impact with a heavy, solid or sharp object inevitably leads to some marks. This is particularly likely to happen with the most common types of mobile home floors which are laminate wood flooring, vinyl flooring, and hardwood flooring. Mobile home floor repair can be costly unless you learn to do it yourself!

Whatever your mobile home flooring is, we have the solutions to fix those common small, yet visually annoying blemishes. Read this last article in our “fall fixes” series to find out how you can have a shiny-looking floor once again.

Repair laminate floor

Laminate wood floors are a very convenient flooring option. When first installing it, it’s an easy DIY project as the pieces simply slot together. However, this quickly turns into a con when you need to repair or replace individual boards as you might have to pull up a significant portion of your floor to replace the one.

For that reason, it’s definitely a more attractive to repair boards instead of replacing them.

Repair minor scratches and chips

Chances are if you drop a knife or move heavy furniture over your laminate flooring it will develop scratches or chips. Let’s see how you can easily get rid of them yourself.

What you need

• Laminate floor patching material – Either take photos of the flooring or a sample plank to your nearest DIY store so that you can find matching colors. You can always mix and match colors to get an approximate match.
• Cleaning solvent
• Plastic putty knife
• Flat surface to mix on
• Furniture touch-up markers (optional)
• Utility/carpet knife

What to do

1. Inspect the floor and find all the areas you want to repair.
2. Use the cleaning solvent and thoroughly clean the floor in the area you are about to repair. Let it dry out completely before continuing.
3. Squeeze some of the laminate floor patching material onto the mixing area and mix until starts to dry.
4. Smear a little into the chip or scratch. If it’s a bigger chip or scratch you don’t have to fill it in one go but let it dry for one hour in between applications.
5. Now it’s time to get creative! Use a putty or carpet knife to replicate the grain in the flooring.

Repair vinyl floor

Vinyl floors are a very popular choice for mobile home owners. It’s a relatively inexpensive way to get whatever pattern flooring you want. It’s also surprisingly durable.

Repairing bubbles under vinyl

Bubbles form underneath vinyl for one of three reasons. Either the vinyl wasn’t properly applied when it was installed or there are small gaps in your underbelly that allow air to pass through or lastly because of water damage.

If the problem persists or has a large area of effect you might need to inspect the whole floor.

What you need

• Utility/carpet knife
• Vinyl floor adhesive
• Glue syringe
• Plastic putty knife
• Cleaning rag
• Rolling pin
• Heavy, flat objects such as books or bricks

What to do

1. For every bubble present, cut straight through it with the knife. Try to go along the longest length.
2. Use the glue syringe to squirt the adhesive underneath the flaps. Don’t squirt too much.
3. Spread the adhesive evenly beneath the bubble using a plastic putty knife or similar tool.
4. Press the flaps down and clean any excess adhesive off the area.
5. Use a rolling pin or flat object to run over the bubble, ensuring that it’s completely flat.
6. Use the heavy, flat objects to hold the area in place, consult the adhesive’s packaging for drying times.

Repair wooden floors

Wooden floors have always been a favorite option because of their aesthetics. Although not as easy to install as laminate flooring, they may be much easier to replace individually. However, they are just as prone to small scratches and chips. Luckily, out of the different kinds of mobile home floor repair, these are easy to DIY.

These steps are only appropriate for really fine scratches in hardwood floors. Deeper scratches or gouges should make you consider replacing the affected areas.

What you need

• Premixed wood filler – Take photos of your floor or an example piece to get a matching color.
• Varnish or polyurethane
• Steel wool (for very fine scratches)
• Lightweight sandpaper, 180 grit (for slightly deeper scratches)
• Mineral spirits
• Plastic putty knife
• Lambswool applicator or natural bristle brush

What to do

1. You don’t want to keep switching between sanding and working as this is a nightmare to clean and will interfere with your finishing. Properly assess the area and do your sanding first or divide it into suitable areas that won’t affect each other.
2. Use the steel wool and lightweight sandpaper and sand the wood. Be sure to follow the grain for an even look. Sand until there is a consistent texture.
3. Now, take the mineral spirits and clean the sanded areas. This will also smooth it out a little more. Let it dry up.
4. Don’t apply too much filler at a time and use the putty knife to distribute it evenly over the area. Give it ample time to dry according to product specification.
5. Sand the area with the filler again until there is a really even finish.
6. Now apply the varnish to finish off the area with the lambswool applicator or bristle brush. We use these because they won’t create bubbles like a general roller. It should look brand spanking new! If there’s a noticeable seam you might want to varnish your whole floor. Do as many coats as is necessary.

Remove water stains

Water stains are a type of damage that is unique to wooden floors. They can be very unattractive. Luckily, they are fairly easy to remove.

What you need

• Mineral spirits
• Varnish
• 100 and 150 grit sandpaper
• Steel wool #0000
• Tack cloth
• Wood wax polish

What to do

1. Use the 100 grit sandpaper and sand away the finish of the wood. Move with the grain.
2. Now, move up to the 150 grit sandpaper and sand the same area until smooth. You can use the steel wool around the edges for a smooth transition.
3. Use the tack cloth to remove the dust from the area and surroundings.
4. Once the area is clean, get out the varnish and give it a few coats. Don’t go too heavy and finish off the perimeter with the steel wool brush so there are no bumps.
5. Once it is completely dry use the polish and finish off the area. If it’s too obvious you might need to varnish a wider area or just varnish the entire floor.

Carpet repairs

Anyone with a carpet knows the dangers it faces every day. If your carpet is a few years old, chances are it has already racked up plenty of tears, pulled fibers, and stains. Although carpets are relatively easy to replace when compared to laminate or wood floors, it’s expensive to buy a new room-size carpet.

Although replacing the piece of spoilt carpet with a new one seems like a strange solution, it is very effective when done correctly and will leave little, if any, evidence.

What you need

• Piece of carpet – For this repair, you need a piece of replacement carpet. Look for offcuts from the original carpet or take a piece of the carpet to the store to compare.
• Utility knife
• Scissors
• Marker
• Single-sided carpet tape or carpet adhesive

What to do

1. Firstly, mark the area you want to cut out of the carpet. You can use any rimmed object such as a glass or can to make an impression around the imperfection.
2. Do the same to the piece of replacement carpet and cut it down to the same dimensions with the utility knife.
3. Before you do anything else, take note of the direction that the nap of the carpet goes. Try and match the direction of the nap in the new piece with it.
4. Use the utility knife and cut along the impression until you can lift out the piece of carpet.
5. Now get the carpet tape. Measure and cut the carpet tape slightly longer than the hole itself. The longer you do this the more securely the piece will fit, but the more difficult it is to insert. If you are going the carpet adhesive route, simply glue the inside of the area and spread the glue out evenly.
6. Work the tape in underneath the carpet until you cover up the hole completely. This can be tricky so take your time and make sure it sticks properly.
7. Now let the perfectionist in you come out. Put the replacement piece in the hole. Try and spot where the fibers are too long or short compared to the surrounding carpet and trim them to flow seamlessly. Also, massage the fibers into each other. Do this until you are satisfied with the result. If you used glue, wipe off any excess glue that pressed out.

Repair tile floors

If you have tile floors, we have some bad news for you. The only way to fix it so that the damage is not obvious is to replace the affected tiles. Luckily you can do this one tile at a time without damaging the surrounding ones.

What you need

• New replacement tile
• Putty knife
• Tile adhesive
• Mineral spirits
• Old cleaning rags
• Rolling pin
• Clothes iron

What to do

1. Gently run the iron over the tile to heat it up. This will help to loosen up the adhesive underneath. You can do these steps with multiple tiles at once.
2. Use the putty knife to loosen the tile all around the perimeter. Once you’ve made a little headway, start working it in between the tile and the floor and wedge it loose little by little.
3. Dip the old cleaning rags in mineral spirits and use it to slowly but surely remove the remaining adhesive from the floor. This should dissolve most of the adhesive. For tougher spots use the metal putty knife and scrape them away. A flat head screwdriver is also effective at breaking it up to be removed. Just be careful not to gouge the floor underneath too badly. You should also work with care to not accidentally bang and crack adjacent tiles.
4. Use the putty knife to scrape up some adhesive from the container and apply it to the tile. It’s better to take less and add more than to start with way too much adhesive. Fill the space, but do not use too much, remember a tile still needs to fit in there! You can use the adjacent tiles as a judge of the height, but make it just a touch higher than their adhesive. Remember, you will still press the tile down and the adhesive will dry.
5. Now, put the new tile in place. Make sure it is straight and sitting well.
6. Use the rolling pin to make sure the tile is in place and level with the surrounding tiles.
7. If there is any excess adhesive, wipe it away. If it is too little you can easily add a bit and work it in with your finger.

Mission “Mobile Home Floor Repair” complete!

There you go! As you can see most of these small DIY projects shouldn’t strike fear into the heart of the casual home-DIYer. In fact, mobile home floor repair can be pretty simple and inexpensive and should leave your floor looking shiny and brand new. That’s especially important since you never know when you might scratch it again and an expensive, intensive project is just not worth it. If you’re feeling inspired, then check out the other repairs we recommend you tackle this fall.