I have a poly finished soft-wood floor installed in my kitchen. One of the boards has split slightly and the smaller, still attached, split portion is warping and now sits slightly above the rest of the boards. I tried to apply glue along the grain of both pieces but this repair didn’t work.
My question: what is a better way to do this repair? I could nail down the split, raised piece but I’m afraid that will damage the finish and it’ll begin to chip away around the nail hole. Any thoughts?
Thanks, M
Replies
As you get older you find that the answer is often "Depends".
Depends on how large the split-off piece is, where precisely, the run of the grain, how much you're worried about the finish, etc. One extreme would be to get a floor guy in to replace the split piece. What I would probably do (though I'd reserve the right to change my mind after seeing the situation) is carefully drill one or two pilot holes in the split-off piece, work glue down into the crack, and then run finish screws into the pilot holes. Not a perfect patch, but not likely to be noticed unless you point it out to someone.
If you have leftover flooring
I would cut out the bad pc and replace. You should be able to make this patch way less noticeable than the split pc is now. Prefinish and place with care. Fill small fastener holes with colored wax filler. The multimaster tool was made for this repair.
The multimaster tool was made for this repair. Cut ends where you think it most appropriate (over joists if no subfloor). Slit down the middle with a circular saw, pry out. Cut the bottom of the groove off the replacement and work the tongue in first.
More work in set up, but you could make a jig and rout out the bad area of the board and glue in a dutchman.