Refinishing hardwood floors

[Timur Aydin]

The sapele hardwood flooring in my living room and bedroom requires refinishing after many years. Problem is, there are currently large cracks present. At some locations, the cracks are 5mm wide. How should I go about filling these cracks? Any suggestion on how to do this appreciated!

http://www.taydin.org/web/masif_parke/scaled_img_2759.jpg



http://www.taydin.org/web/masif_parke/scaled_img_2760.jpg

[Timur Aydin]

Some areas of the flooring (especially areas that are underneath cabinets), were not so badly affected:

http://www.taydin.org/web/masif_parke/scaled_img_2761.jpg


http://www.taydin.org/web/masif_parke/scaled_img_2762.jpg

[Kevin Bourque]

I wouldn't repair the cracks because:

1) The filler will just cause the floor to crack somewhere else

2) The filler will discolor and look worse that the original crack

3)The filler will crack and fall out.

[Myk Rian]

+1. Just refinish it as you intend on doing.

[Mark Bolton]

+2

It looks like there may have been a liquid filler put on the floor when it was first laid. It never holds. Just re-finish and live with it.

[Mike Cutler]

If you have to fill it, because it would drive you nuts not too, than your in for a lot of tedious work.
Basically an edge guided router, set for a light pass, and a flush cut plunge bit equal to the diameter of the widest crack, a brass wire wheel and a filler strip of the same wood will be required.
Clean all of the crud out of the crack, set the router to takesa 1/16" to an 1/8" of material off the surface. Reference the edge of the bit to the centerline of the crack, or the edge of the board that appears most likely not to have shrunk. Yep, your going to guess sometimes. Clean the corners of the router groove with a chisel, or make filler stock that will match the radious of the bit you're using, glue the patch into place with an epoxy like T-88, a gap filler. You may have to go the length of the individual board from end to end to make it look nice. Allow it to set, than sand the floor when all of the cracks are filled.
Outside of this you can wire brush the cracks, clean all of the crud out, and fill the cracks with an epoxy stick(s) of the correct color from Mohawk Finishes. You may have to blend your sticks to get the right color, and that color will be the color of the finished floor.

Both methods are very time consuming.

[Timur Aydin]

I have sapele wood available in my home shop. What if I generate sapele sawdust using the table saw and mix this sawdust with the filler?

Mike, I can definitely cut stripes of sapele to put into the cracks, but wouldn't the stripes be visible after the finishing operation is complete? It seems to me that the visual pattern would change ...

[Mike Cutler]

You have to select not only the color, but the grain orientation also.
The material isn't going into the cracks. Your creating a "Dutchmans" patch of sort. If the crack is like the one shown, where material seems to have come off one side, than you would router that side and place the fillier strip on top and against the adjoining edge. the lines won't change, they'll be in the same place. Everything is referenced off the adjoining edges of the two boards, so the gaps stay the same. The hardest part is stopping the router bit. It works best if the piece of flooring is short, or really long. In between is harder. You want to go end to end so that your filler strip stops at the tongue and grooved ends of the board.
If the crack is caused by two boards wideneing, that the router is run right doiwn the middle and two filler strips are placed side by side to keep the appearance of the lines straight and true. It can take an hour or more just to set up for one router pass. It is not quick.
20+ years ago it took us almost a month to do one floor, but it was much worse than the pics you posted. We were also doing repairs to the centers of the boards. I've also helped do it on boats decks.

[Timur Aydin]

Ok, I see now what you mean. So the operation will be like widening each individual plank in the floor with the inlays. And for the cross cracks, I need to put inlays with the correct grain orientation. I see now how this would take a long time...

[Timur Aydin]

Mike, I am trying to think how it would look like if I create the grooves you mentioned and just use two long strips end to end without any color matching. Would this look too ugly?

[Mike Cutler]

If you don't meet at the T&G ends, it will take some type of a scarf joint to blend the two strips. I've never been real successful at scarf joints personally, so I wouldn't try it myself.
You really want to find flooring that comes close to matching to get your pieces from, if it doesn't it will stick out. That will hide it much better.
I didn't see that you were in Turkey. I guess that leaves out the Mohawk Finishes option, as they are here in Connecticut.
Cut your pieces before you even start up the router. If they don't match, you'll see it right off. These are really thin strips of wood, so if you have to hunt around for a board, it wont take much.
I've never seen a Sapele floor. It must look gorgeous in the right light.
If it's worth saving, it's worth the time in my opinion.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

I've done lots of floors.
filler will be fine.
choose a good color:
http://floormechanics.com/wood-floor-filler-woodwise-filler))73.php

[Mark Bolton]

I've done lots of floors.
filler will be fine.
choose a good color:
http://floormechanics.com/wood-floor-filler-woodwise-filler))73.php


This is the filler I was referring to. And while it will look good for some time it will never stay forever especially if there is significant movement in the floor or if the gaps are wide. Most of the liquid/trowel fillers, like any filler, have width limitations because they simply wont last in a large wide gap. In a period of time the homeowner winds up vacuuming/sweeping the filler up as it crumbles in the joint.

[John TenEyck]

I would either just refinish it and live with it OR carefully tear it up, re-mill all the tongue and groove joints, and reinstall it. You will need a few more pieces of wood to make up for those that get broken and the fact that the boards will end up slightly narrower after milling.

John

[Timur Aydin]

Thanks a lot guys for the helpful responses.

John, ripping the planks up and remilling them is certainly another option. I have a shaper in my shop, so I would just need the mating cutters (male and female part).

In order to prevent any shrinkage, should I stay away from water based finishes? I would rather use water based, because the stink of the solvent based finishes will last a very long time.

[John TenEyck]

WB finishes will not cause the wood to shrink. The new WB floor finishes would be my first choice, too. Very little odor, very fast drying times, and very durable.

John

[Anne Coarr]

I would just refinish the floor. The old filler might have come out due to expansion and contraction due to moisture (even from the basement, if you have one) and/or temperature. Any new filler would just do the same thing, so it would be a waste of time and materials.

I have refinished several hardwood floors in the past.

[Timur Aydin]

What do you guys think about the OSMO brand of hardwood floor finishes? It looks like this brand is available here in Turkey.

I wish just refinishing the floors would be sufficient, but at some areas, the gaps are 5 mm and more wide. My wife is definitely not happy with those :)