I’d appreciate any tips on patching in some new pieces to an existing hardwood floor. The existing oak flooring is pre-finished 3.4″ T&G and I now have an open plywood sub-floor area where I ripped out a dishwasher & peninsula. The previous owners put the hardwood around the cabinets and dishwasher and I now need to make this repair look as seamless as possible without any obvious joints as there will be no cabinetry to cover this in the new kitchen.
Any suggestions on how to make this look not so obvious? Thanks in advance. As mentioned, the wood is prefinished so I don’t have to worry about staining or sanding, just making it blend it without a joint line.
Mike
Replies
The first questions is ... can you find new wood that matches, both in size (width and thickness) and in color?
You should probably get a book that has pictures, but here's the concept:
Remove boards back to the next joint in both directions, so you have a jagged line rather than the current staright line. Then cut new boards to the necessary length and glue or nail them in place. You will probably have to run the new boards through a table saw or router table to rip off the bottom half of the groove side. Then you wiggle the tongue into place and push down on the groove to get it to seat.
To remove the old boards, get a router with a straight cutting bit and set the depth equal to the board thiockness. Then rout a couple of grooves the length of the board, right up to but not quite touching the next board, then casrefully pry out the pieces with a flat bar. The goal is to remove enough of the middle of the board so you can collapse it toward the middle to clear the tongue & groove of the adjacent board.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Hi F.E., fortunatley the owner was good enough to keep a left over bundle in the basement so I should have enough for this 4 x 4 patch and matching shouldn't be a problem. On a different note..... this same guy used one of those 'cheater vents' as featured in the last FHB to vent the drain line for the laundry in the basement. As far as I know, they are illegal in my part of the country (Saskatchewan) and no inspector will pass them. It's unfortunate but I assume it has to do with our climate and the greater likelihood that if they ever failed in the middle of winter with windows and doors closed tight, there could be some serious sewer gas issues.
How about the rest of you? Any other areas where they are deemed illegal or non-compliant? Sorry to change directions in this thread but it just came to mind.
Mike
That it's prefinished makes it tuff. The T&G ends will not be where they should be at least on one end of the board. I suppose (thought I've never replaced what you are doing) I might take out the finishing pcs on one side and fill to the other side (toothing it in). Micro bevel the end of the board you leave and the same with the end of the one you're installing. Take a look at this thread, might give you a couple tips. You'll have to take out the finshing pcs. on one side and the starting pcs on the other side to be able to stagger the patch. http://quittintime.infopop.cc/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=Const&Number=4301&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1
Hope to hanna that they did a real good job running to an imaginary line on the other side so your replacement bds don't need taper cut.
Somewhere along the line, you'll not be able to leave the tongue on and will need to face nail.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
I had thought about the taper problem, but decided not to mention it so he didn't get too scared.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
A valiant thing this poster is undertaking. I know when we go around an island, it's a real thrill when you match up perfect. Now I know how columbus felt.
Happy Columbus day by the way.Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Along with the other advise you've already gotten-step the old flooring back, cut to fit, etc. , there's a couple of different ways to make the cuts to tooth the old floor.
The old-fashioned way, and the most labor-intensive, is to use a SHARP chisel to chop out the old floor. Score a line with a utility knife and a framing square, making sure its square to the long edge of the flooring, to give you a line to cut to. Don't chop right to the line at first, get rid of the majority of the waste first, and then clean it up to the line.
After you've done 1 board that way, and want to get done this century, you can use the router technique someone else mentioned, or, as I've done the last couple of times I've done this, use a Fein Multi-Master with an e-cut blade. I still score the flooring to give me a place for the blade to register against, but its sooo much faster.
I use a circular saw to rip a couple of cuts down the middle of the floor pieces that needs removing, and pry them out with a bar. Sometimes a small chisel is needed to cut out any leftover pieces of tongue stuck in the groove of the remaining flooring.
What you say is right, but I don't understand why you would do it that way for this issue. Why not remove boards back to their natural ends, rather than making new end cuts?
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I'm just figuring that it won't always be convenient to go back to the natural ends. I agree its better if you can, but we both know repairs don't always work out like we plan tham
Thanks for the tips and will tackle it this week.