Just went and did a walk through on an oak floor that was damaged by water. It is 5″ wide, stained walnut color,that has severe cupping on a section about 6’x4′. The total room is close to 30’x20′. I told the woman that no matter what I do it will look like a patch. If I sand the cupping out I’ll have to restain that section and I’m not even sure that sanding just the face is a good idea. There would be voids on the bottom that no longer sit flat on the floor. My suggestion was to remove a 12’x12′ section from the center of the room,use those prestained and finished boards to replace and match the dammaged area(it’s in a corner of the room), and refloor the center section with something else on a bias, kind of like an inlay or a large plain medallion. Something similar to what you see in old homes where they cover the center of the room with carpet. Any ideas or suggestions?? She doesn’t want to replace the whole floor.