We need to service our refrigerator and want to protect our new hardwood floors from damage. What is the best way to do that?
First, put down red rosin paper, and then put some 1/8" masonite board on top of that. Roll the fridge out on top of that layer of protection, and you should be fine. You can get both at Home Depot.
When our fridge was delivered, they had a bunch of 4 x 4 foot mats of thick plastic like the ones your office chair is on to protect the carpet, but without the little points. Worked like a charm, but I have no idea where to get them.
Good ideas. I unfortunately made this mistake with mine, and still have creases in the wood where I scooted the fridge.
Has anyone tried repairing such things? I was told wet a rag and press it against the wood with a hot iron and that should help, but am reluctant to try putting water into the wood.
Thanks, that is exactly what I will do.
The water might leave a barely noticeable stain on the floor which can be treated. There’s no guarantee you can steam out the creases but it’s worth trying.
You could also use sliders like these–Link is to Lowe’s but you can find them anywhere:
Appliance sliders work, but you have to get the fridge onto them first and you leave a set (that you will have to cut to size so they don’t stick out) under the fridge permanently. They come with double sided sticky tape to help fix the permanent set to the floor. They almost always buckle and move around inconveniently, so it takes care and patience. You can leave the extra pieces under the fridge for when you need to move it again.
You can rent an airlift which work great, but you still need one or two people to steady the appliance (it will want to tilt off to the side) and another to operate the lift. We have a couple at the shop and they work very well but do get punctured if not stored carefully.
The guys mostly use a appliance straps and set the fridge carefully on hardboard or a sheet of formica. This is the most reliable method, but it is physically demanding.
I have damaged hardwood floors before when rolling the fridge on 1/8" hardboard. It is not enough protection for some hardwoods. You can raise the dents with damp rags but you can never completely get rid of the damage, believe me I have tried.
I will never build another house with hardwood in the kitchen. Just too much of a headache.
Just to add: when a new hardwood floor is damaged, by a bad appliance installation for example, the damaged floor boards can be cut out and new ones glued in. That section of the floor will no longer float with the rest of the floor, but there is no other way to reliably fasten them, top nailing is insufficient. This only works with prefinished hardwood, site finished hardwood requires a new section to be feathered in, sanded and likely the whole floor to be refinished.
We end up doing this a couple times a year because some plumber or other tradesman screws up on a brand new floor.