Article: Start at the side closest to the damaged board or boards. Carefully pry away baseboards and molding from the wall and pry thresholds up from any doorways with a pry bar. This method works when the damaged boards are close enough to the edge of the floor that it is possible to remove a small number of surrounding boards to get to the damaged boards and replace them. Try your best not to damage any of the pieces that you pry away so that you can replace them afterward. Insert a pry bar under the boards at their seams and press down on the end of it like a lever to pop the joints loose. Work from the edge where you removed baseboards and molding in towards the site of the damage until you can remove the damaged boards. Set aside the boards that are still good, in the order you removed them, so that you can replace them afterward. Line up the tongue and groove of the new board the same way as those of the board you removed were lined up. Snap the new piece into position. Save the damaged board so that you can use it for future repairs. For example, if you need to match the color to repair scratches and chips, you can take it with you to the home improvement store when you go looking for the repair kit. Work in reverse order as when you removed them, starting with the boards that surround the replacement board. Line up the tongues and grooves, then slide or gently tap them back into place with a hammer if there is a lot of friction. If you use a hammer to tap any boards into place, use the damaged board you removed as a buffer between the hammer and the good boards to prevent damaging them. Line up the baseboards, molding, and thresholds in the same order you removed them to reinstall them around the edges of the floor. Gently tack them back into place with baseboard nails and a hammer using the same nails and holes as before. Use new baseboard nails if any of them got damaged when you pried them out earlier on.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Remove any baseboards, thresholds, or molding from around the area. Lift out the boards starting with the ones closest to the edge. Replace the damaged board with a new one. Return all the boards you removed to their places. Tack any baseboards, molding, or thresholds back in place.