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My wife and I recently purchased a 100+ year old home in Houghton, MI. We are remodeling the upstairs room-by-room and found that the entire upstairs has maple hardwood floors. We would like to sand and refinish them, but in some areas the boards are loose and the cracks between them are quite large (up to 1/8″ in many cases). I’m wondering if there is a good (easy) way to secure the loose boards and fill in the cracks before sanding and finishing.
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My wife and I recently purchased a 100+ year old home in Houghton, MI. We are remodeling the upstairs room-by-room and found that the entire upstairs has maple hardwood floors. We would like to sand and refinish them, but in some areas the boards are loose and the cracks between them are quite large (up to 1/8" in many cases). I'm wondering if there is a good (easy) way to secure the loose boards and fill in the cracks before sanding and finishing.
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Tear it all out and lay Pergo! Just kidding, DONT do that!
I had a floor to deal with one time layed in 1901, same thing your describing, cracks, pits etc. A VERY time consuming process but worked well was the same way a furniture builder deals with knots, an epoxy resin similar to whats used in boat building, poured into the cracks and sanded down VERY carefully. If the boards are not end nailed than get at them from the underside with screws (fully dependant on the extent of remodel- I.E. no ceilings downstairs) or pin nail at an angle at the joint. Any nail holes can be filled with floor sandings so as to match the color of exsisting wood. When finish sanded both resin and nail holes won't be noticed and be very smooth. Keep in mind, finish color will be key in hiding defects also, certain stain colors make defects stick out like the thumb and hammer routine. Good luck and have fun with your remodel.