Oak flooring blues; any suggestions?

18 years ago

I know there are some crafty and resourceful folks here, so I'm going to share the latest "Little House of Horrors" story.

We removed the 1960s avocado green shag carpeting from the room that will be our office. It had been glued to the carpet pad. Then we removed the carpet pad that had been glued to the original oak flooring.

Wes began sanding the thick swirls of glue off of the oak floor. We discovered there's a 6-ft. long gash down the center of the room. It's about 3/16ths inch wide. It looks like someone used a circular saw to cut a piece of plywood on the floor, and cut through the floor boards at the same time. The gash has been filled with a white material, probably the glue that held the carpet pad. LOL

We're going to go ahead and finish, stain, and seal this floor to match the other bedroom and hallway. Do you have any suggestions of how to make this gash any less obvious?

We'll probably put a room size carpet down once the floor is finished; but we want to do as good of a restoration job as possible.

He's finished sanding the floor in what will be my sewing room. It had harvest gold shag carpeting, glued to carpet pad, glued to floor, but that floor was in good shape and looks gorgeous now.

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Comments (10)

bulldinkie
18 years ago
What you could do is rent one of those room sanders,sand the whole floor.clean well,then get a wood filler that matches closest to floor color.They have colored.stain your floor.you may have to fill after staining.Then we put 3 coats water based sealer on floor.Or get somone in that knows how to do it if you dont.The sander gets rid of alot..
mcmann
18 years ago
One of our puppies had a great time chewing on the oak step in the foyer. He ate the entire corner and about 2 inches along the front. Several people told me that the entire step would need to be replaced. When we remodeled our kitchen I showed it to my cabinet maker who said it could fix it. I had nothing to lose.

He filled the void with a wood filler and molded it by hand to resemble the rest of the step. After it dried he used a wood touch up kit to draw little lines to resemble the grain of the oak. Honestly no one can see where the original wood stops and the filler begins. He also said the filler came in one or two different shades and he picked one that was closest to the base color of the oak. Then he put down a light coat of poly to seal it.

The entire process took about an hour including drying time. And since this was the edge of the step, there was a border of oak around the rim. He carefully changed the angle of grain lines to match the original.
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pattico_gw
18 years ago
You can have a wood flooring business replace those pieces that have the gash. I know when my son still had the business going, they did a lot of repair jobs.

Also if the cut is not too deep maybe it can be sanded out.

I can ask Jeff what they would have done...

I think there is another person here (can't remember who) who's son also has a flooring business. Maybe they would have an answer.

patti
softball_80
18 years ago
Depending how handy you are, you can remove the damaged piece and replace it with a new one. It isn't rocket science.

Use a sharp chisel and split the damaged wood down the middle. Carefully remove it so as to not damage the tongue and groove of the boards on either side of it. Cut a replacement board to the proper length. Remove the bottom half of the groove of the new piece. Fit the tongue of the new board into the groove of the old board that is now exposed now that you have removed the 'bad' board. Tap the 'half groove' side into place over the tongue of the board on the other side. Nail that side into place with a few finish nails. Stain the new board to match the old.

Sounds difficult but it really isn't.
kframe19
18 years ago
Fill and tone spray might work, but I agree with Pattico, a flooring company can replace something like that quite easily.
FlamingO in AR
18 years ago
I'll get Bump to ask her son, Andy, for a recommendation, Caroline. He's the one Patti is thinking of.

I would just chisel out the white filler and replace it with a better one, that would take stain. If you're going to put a rug down anyway, I wouldn't spend too much money fixing it.
country_bumpkin_al
18 years ago
Yep...it's my son does hardwood flooring! He's not home right now, but I'll send him the link to this post and maybe he can help you out!
susanjf_gw
18 years ago
i've seen colored filler and the use of special "pens" that can color and be blended to match the wood...
ashelton80
18 years ago
heya, im bumpkins son...i do this stuff all day long...:)

As was said already, I would replace the boards...very easy to do, no special tools, and basic carpentry involved...not to mention that it would remove an eyesore if you decide to sell later on.

That being said, you can by a wood filler that will take stain just like wood once its dried. scrape the goo out, wood filler in, let it dry, sand it down, and stain as normal...the trouble with THAT is that the filler will take the stain a little darker than the floor but its definitley a quick fix that should hide it reasonably well. As was mentioned, if you want to get REALLY detailed you can get a fine felt tipped marker and draw some grain to further camo the patch.

Another option is a putty. Minwax makes a putty that comes in assorted colors that correspond with their line of stains. Its pushed into the crack after the stain and first coat of sealer, wipe off excess with a rag, and carry on as normal It tends to match better, but doesnt dry as hard as a filler.

Sorry if this is too lengthy...just tryin to cover the bases...lol.

Andy
janie_ga
18 years ago
Can you "borrow" planks from a closet or something? Then it would be similar aged wood and the same thickness. Replaced wood in a closet wouldn't stand out near as much as the middle of a room. I did this replacing ceiling molding in our last house. Took the molding from the door side of the closet and put it in the bedroom. Could not tell it was missing in the closet becasue who can turn around and look up when their closet is full! The bedroom had matching molding that I would have paid a small fortune to have custom made (not avaliable in local stores).

Otherwise I like the wood filler option.

Good luck!

Oak flooring blues; any suggestions?

Comments (10)

bulldinkie

mcmann

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