I have very old wide board floors, old growth, 150 yrs old with no tongue and groove that were caulked with a 1/2″ resin. The resin is now cracked and missing in many places. I want to restore the floors to fill the grooves. An old way was to mix the sawdust from the sanding process with glue but I’d like to improve on that.
Any ideas? Oh, we live in a cold New England climate where the house is warm in winter so whatever the solution it needs to be able to expand and contract.
Thanks
Replies
I saw an episode of "Ask This Old House" where Tommy used stained rope to fill the voids like on wooden boats. It will expand and contract with the weather.
Another old wooden boat trick on planking that had open up and dried out was to rip Cedar strips at and angle and tap them down to fill in the space. Cedar would expand and contract with the humidity and stay tight. Since you are going to refinish the floor ecstatically it would be a lasting fix.
I think appearance is going to dictate how to proceed. Since you aren't replacing it all, you're going to have to match what is there. It was probably done with varnish and sawdust. Make some samples to see how close you can get it. You could even add some tinting colors to the mix if necessary.
Rich
I have a situation where I need to do the rope trick on a porch with spaced decking. Long story. Do you apply the rope with an adhesive or just pound it in?
I havn't done the rope , but I would think if installed dry, the floor finish would bond it well enough. There are flexible deck caulkings , as used on wooden boats, that can be sanded after they set for a flush smooth surface. They are polysulfides IIRC. Check out Wooden Boat Magazine for a supplier. Might be Sikkens or Interlux, but I'm just guessing.
Rich
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=2017&familyName=Caulking+Irons
See cotton wicking, cotton caulking, and oakum on links same page
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse.cfm/4,6511.html
I just saw the New England part
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Great resources guys. I have an old stair carpet tool that will probably do the trick too.