I need a wood filler for my hardwood floor, anyone got any recommendations?
Friday, March 5th, 2010 at
9:17 am
I need to fill some cracks in my 120 yr old hardwood floor that I am refinishing. buy medications I also have to patch a few spots with new wood. I just want something that will fill good, and stain with the wood. Should I just use the Wal-mart "Elmers" or the more expensive stuff I’ve seen in some hardware stores?
I would use a perimeter sealant. They are specifically made for wood floors, are applied like chaulk and come in a variety of colors to match your hardwood floor finish. They are silicone based so they will give a good flexible suface when you floorboards expand and contract during the summer and winter months.
Elmers wood fillers will eventually crack when your floorboards shrink during the winter. They are made specifically for furniture applications and not meant to be used on large areas. I would advise against using it.
Lowe’s Sells a good brand called "Precision Components silconized perimeter sealant" and can be found in the flooring section. You may have to ask around it is a bit tricky to find.
what i use is the old school method but works perfectly. get some sawdust from cutting some 2×4’s or anything really. mix the sawdust with woodglue. hope you like!
We just did our wood floors. We used elmers, and another brand that was like double the price of the elmers, they both came out the same.
I would definitely ask an expert in the field. Check at Lowe’s or Home Depot and ask there. You could even try asking on a home improvement forum like diychatroom.com (they have a flooring section).
Benjamin Moore Paints makes a wood filler. This is a paste like product that works great on floors. Just mix in some of the stain you want to use and rub on entire floor then rub off excess. This stains and fills. Works great for finishing oak woodwork as well. The Elmer’s stuff tends to stick out like a sore thumb. If you have some thing really wide and deep use it to fill, leaving room for the paste filler to go over top. I learned this when I worked with and old pro. I’ve done it too.
Any wood filler will stain like it is end grain. It will appear darker. If you are handy with a router and band saw or scroll saw, you can rout out a 1/8" to 1/4" strip, cut a new piece of hardwood to fit into the groove, and glue it in place. The same with "chunks" missing out of the floor. You can use the router and scroll saw to create a "dutchman" patch. Once the glue has dried, sand the repairs, and refinish the floor. The repairs may be slightly notiecable, but you will have grain structure the same as the original floor, instead of a dark patch or patches. As the floor is so old, the patches will add to the character of the floor.
I would recommend you deal with the "patches" first. I assume you are going to use the same type wood as the current flooring, and if so, you can save the sawdust and mix it with glue. Then spread it into the cracks (provided they aren’t too wide). Using sawdust to fill small cracks works very well but the lumber needs to be the same to match the color and texture (to some degree). The wider the crack, the less the sawdust filler will be unnoticeable.
good luck
The best product on the market is BONAX Pacific filler. Its made for floors and sold to professionals. Their web site is bonax.com/pacfiller