Furniture is damaging wood floors!

I have a question for people who are used to living in Japan with the wood floor - I think my furniture is damaging the floor and I am not sure of what the liabilities will be.

For example: I placed my stereo on my coffee table while I was moving in, and left it there for about 3 days while getting settled. It turns out that the table has small circular rubber rings on the bottom, now the floor has these small circles as indents.

My stereo is now on a stereo rack that has wheels similar to those on an office chair. I moved the rack yesterday to get behind it, and I noticed these indents in the floor where the rack sits. I am very scared about this as I do not want to damage the floor!

So I need to know - is this normal? Is it usual to have indents in the floor from furniture? Also, I have a 100,000 Yen refundable deposit (also paid 400,000 nonrefundable) - if the floor is damaged like this can they try to make me pay more than the 100,000? I understand if they take the whole 100,000 but I do not want them coming after me for more than that, especially when I am trying to be very careful with the floor.

Any advice is appreciated,
Ryan

I think it depends on how bad the floor is damaged now. It is difficult to say unless we actually see it. It is best that you call your landlord or the agent a.s.a.p, and show them the damaged part of the floor and explain to them that the dent was made accidentally. Please tell them any problem you have without hiding it. I don't think they will charge you much if it was not made deliberately. By the way, I advise you to put rug or carpet on the floor to prevent further damage.

Is it the *real* wood, or is it the so-called "flooring"? meaning, the wood-like often plastic sheet or plywood layer?? If it's "flooring," it should be easy to replace (I mean by the landlord). If it's real wood, that's where I might see some point in the comments by the earlier poster.

Still, I'd say do not worry too much; unless your stereo set is extraordinarily heavy, the dent (I don't know how bad it is though) should be considered "normal wear and tear," which the landlord is supposed to fix for the next tenant after you at their own cost. And unless something is done intentionally, they will simply take away the full deposit but ask no more.

If such dents happen again with other pieces of furniture, yes, then some kind of carpet or rubber "shoes" for the legs and wheels of your furniture would help.

Please excuse me for any ignorance I might have, but I've never heard of wood that will not be affected by rubber pressure, and I've never heard of wood that will not be affected by wheels, be it artificial wood or natural.

As for the rubber stains, you can wipe it off with a damp cloth (not too wet) or an eraser (the type you use for erasing what you write with pencils). To prevent further damage, put a cloth over the rubber. If you go to the so-called "home center"s or even larger supermarkets, you will also find felt pads to put on your furnitures to avoid damaging floors.

As for wheels, all new furniture with wheels come with a note that warn you about the damage it may cause on your floor. You can avoid this by placing a rug underneath.

And yes, any maintenance fee can be subtracted from your deposit when moving out. To avoid this, many residents put some kind of a cover over the floor or reverse fusuma panels the minute they move in.

However, you can consult to an expert to see if your deposit money will be properly used. Often free consulting in foreign languages are available at your local ward office or city hall.

I believe it is a standard wood laminate type flooring, I do not believe it is solid wood. I talked to a friend who has lived here a while and he recommended I stop by Tokyu hands and bought a bunch of stuff for preventing any more damage, I have what are essentially square pads my stereo rack now sits on, and I am buying some more items later today to add more protection to my apartment.

This was the first wood floor I have lived in - all the U.S. apartments I am used to were carpet, so issues with furniture on wheels and such did not exist before.