How to fix old timber floor?

[tom138]

Hello, I’ve got this timber flooring (old Oregon I believe). It has a clear coat on it but it is in pretty rough condition:

 

 

I understand that I order to fix it properly I’d have to sand it, fix or replace the broken boards, etc. but just don’t have the time now and also I’m debating whether is it even worth it due to the condition of the floor. Also there are quite big gaps between some boards and it looks like they are not tongue and groove so I would have to use some sort of filler and I think it wouldn’t look very good. So although I’d like to keep the original floor I’m leaning towards installing some sort of vinyl/engineered/hybrid flooring over it as a long term solution. But is there anything I can do as a short term fix to stop further damage and to make it look a bit better? I just need it to last another year or two. I was looking at this product, would it help? Or am I better off sanding and revisiting the worst areas?

I’d like to also fill the gaps between boards (again no tongue and groove seems like) the bedrooms. You can actually see through to the garage. Not great. These boards are just primed and under carpet atm. This will eventually be also covered by new flooring.

 

What’s the best product to use to seal these gaps?

Looking forward to hearing any suggestions!

~Tom

[JacobZ]

Hi @tom138,

Thank you for your question.

I understand that it would be a fair bit of work, but this timber is not beyond a point where it can't be restored. I wouldn't completely rule this out in the future. You'd be surprised how much good sanding and recoating will do.

When floors are installed, they will get sanded which creates a lot of sawdust. Oftentimes, a floor installer will mix this sawdust with PVA glue and smear it over the floor surface and between the gaps. They will then allow it to dry before sanding the floor again to remove the coating of glue on top of the surface. The sawdust and glue will fill between the cracks and as it uses the same material as the boards, it will match in terms of colour.

If you are just looking for a temporary fix, you can use Timbermate Wood Filler in a colour of your choice. You can use a Pro Renovator 100mm Plastic Scraper to apply the filler to the gaps. Once dry, you'll have to sand it lightly, so it is flush with the surface of the boards.

As a temporary measure, the Feast Watson Surface Restore will be great to restore and protect particularly troublesome areas. Ensure you follow the manufacturer's instructions to get the best result possible.

Allow me to tag @Jewelleryrescue, @Nailbag and @JoeAzza for their thoughts.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[Jewelleryrescue]

HI @tom138 

@JacobZ   Idea  of re using the timber  dust mixed with PVA is a  good one as  the gaps  will be filled and sealed as well as the sunken nail holes. The machine will gather plenty of dust to fill all the  gaps. You will need a coulple litres of PVA

@tom138  Hire a  timber  floor sander and there is a specialized sander  for getting closer to the wall and corners and you will be greatly rewarded  with a rare and lovly  floor long past remembering the effort it  took.

If you have a  loose or squeaking floor  board I like to lift the board and dot the  floor joists  with liquid  nail before  rescrewing them rather than nailing  them  thats my personal  choice there nails vs screws.  You have the gararge undeneath maybe liquid nails  can be cualked  under the loose  floor boards with out fully lifting them as a  time saver.

RE  replaced  boards well honestly the different color boards will add to the finished  charm of the  project and you  can  point out to people if  they notice and tell em about you flooring project/  Mahogany is  expensive but imagine a  flame red boards striking contrast to the oregon timbers.  I might even  replace a few floor  boards to maximise the efffects.

Short side story.

My parents lived up near dorrigo  and the local saw  mill had an order of mahogany cancelled so they gave  the locals rock bottom prices on that timber so my parents build there house  frame  out of pure mahogany the blood  red flame had passing builders pull over just to see it.

Now you might think mahogany is super cool and it  is but that timber  also cures to be super hard almost like steel to drill and screw into at a later date so it was  mixed blessing.   But I am betting that house frame still there in 300 years lol.

[tom138]

Hey @JacobZ and @Jewelleryrescue, thanks so much for your suggestions! I’m super happy to hear that the flooring is repairable, I’m looking forward to working on it in the future! While I renovate my house I try to keep some of its original character where I can and maybe add a bit of modern twist to it. Also I think it’s important to always prioritise repair over replacement as it is usually more environmentally friendly option. And real timber is always better than alternatives…

Anyways for now I’m going to apply the suggested temporary fixes to prevent further damage and report back. 

Question on filling gaps in the floor covered by carpets - wood filler is quite rigid and will probably crack. Is there flexible filler like Sikaflex that would work for this application without making massive mess? Or is the PVA glue + sawdust way to go? 

Thanks!

Btw mahagony framing? @Jewelleryrescue that is so cool. We have some hardwood beams here (not sure of species) and I love them! Zero bounce on that floor

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @tom138 

The reason  why @JacobZ  and I like the saw dust pva solution is it will glue very well ( Highly unlikle to  crack)  is strong and if minimal  movments in your boards should not come apart  and match your  floor color and should take a bit of  any stain color.  Reasonably in expensive.

I  once  have a situation like  yours   and I needed to  use pva and saw dust .  I made my own saw dust out of a peice of the flooring that was destroyed and put it into a box  to capture the dust and used a  belt sand also with a vacuum dust pickup and I just sanded the board way with the coarsest  paper avaliable 50  or 80 gt soon  had a big jar of timber saw dust still have soon  left over.  So if you wanted to try this before you hired a  floor sander.  this migth help.

I lov sika  products and yes they will work  great, but the joins on a exposed  polished timber  floor wont look as good and if they are sanded tend to show as rough sanded rubber textured   look and might not take a stain should you go that way.  Expensive for large  areas.

If  just  want tempary solution just use  carpet or add some under felt for now.

Another   product if you wanted to just seal the floor gaps  and have a bit of movment and it comes in some color options if you want to match you florr  more closly that White.

Is common every day (no more  gaps) and it is $5 a chalking tube.  Simple to use and wet cloth wipe up over the filled  cracks (Wipe across the  cracks  not lenght ways as it will pull no more gaps out.)

[JoeAzza]

Hi @tom138 @if you decide on using Pva glue and sawdust, just make sure that the glue is water resistant, there are many types available, Titebond 3, Wellbond, are just to name a couple.