Repair of Parlor Floor Pine Floor Gaps

Hi, We have the old pine plank floors on the parlor. They are in relatively great shape for their age but tenants reported that more gaps and splintering is starting to happen. I’ve repaired in the past with wood putty but looking for alternatives that would work. I’m trying to match the stain as much as possible. [2022-02-07 12](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:rGuN:2022020712.53.47.jpg.jpg) [2022-02-07 12](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:aPUn:2022020712.53.39.jpg.jpg) [2022-02-07 12](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:TGVx:2022020712.54.30.jpg.jpg) [2022-02-07 12](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:wOBO:2022020712.54.36.jpg.jpg) [2022-02-07 12](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:znwT:2022020712.54.49.jpg.jpg)

primebrooklyn

in General Discussion 3 years and 3 months ago

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andriywww1990 | 3 years and 3 months ago

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wood putty does not have the tenacity to hold when used in big gaps. it falls out. i see a couple of ways to do this but i also see some issues with doing what i am about to say.

you can clean the voids out and straighten them up and have someone run strips of wood off on a table saw and tap those in, adhered with an epoxy.

you can also fill those voids with epoxy that may hold better than the putty. the epoxy i first think of is made by mohawk and is a “stick” epoxy and it is dyed so it will sort of blend in with the surrounding area.

the problem that might occur with these repairs is, no matter how well you clean the joint, movement in the floor through expansion and contraction might cause the epoxies to crack. if it were me and it were possible and there is nothing but joists underneath, i might try to epoxy wood to one side of the joint, not bridging the gap. or i might use an epoxy with a little give in it (with wood) but doing that and tinting it off might get a little beyond what i can tell you here.

now here is something else to consider when doing this kind of repair. to make it right (level) and because as you tap the wood in or lay epoxy in, it may fall through to the other side (if there is no sub floor), you will want to make the wood strips thick enough (or lay the epoxy in heavy enough) that you have to sand it off on the top. to do that without damaging the surrounding finish, you can lay tape. but the tape will tear away from the sanding before actually finishing the job so what i often lay down in the situations like this is aluminum flashing and they sell it in little squares at HD (i think that is where i got it) and you can tape those down and sand.

i would sand any work on a floor to 120 though this will not match anyway and the surrounding wood is a little course, so it may not matter and 100 would work fine. you can finish the wound with what ever is on the floors.

i just looked at one of the last photos: even though i like to pound strips of wood into the narrowest of gaps, that last one would be very easy to force mohawk epoxy into (for a homeowner). we often by the mohawk a little light and use dyes to tone it off to match.