# Hardwood Floor Repair



## ross.anderson (Dec 27, 2008)

Hey all-

I have a few holes in the hardwood floors of my house. Can't really tell from looking at them if the previous owners were drilling everywhich way or what. The holes aren't round in shape, but almost look like they took a small drill bit and chewed up these odd shaped holes.

Anyway, I want to fill them in. I was going to put some Minwax wood putty in there until I realized it won't harden. 

Am I heading down the right path, or is there something else I should consider?

The largest of the holes is smaller than a nickel.


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

You might try a trick used by turners. Take some sawdust from the type of wood the floors are made of and mix it with some epoxy. Fill the holes, let it dry and sand flush. Viola! No more holes.


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

Curiousgeorge has a good idea, but with a nickle sized hole you should just fill the hole with a wood plug.

You can even use a router to cut out a hole and then inlay it with a matching material(for the bigger holes only).

Or get some similar stock and use a drill with a plug cutter. Use the epoxy and saw dust to fill what the plug doesn't cover.

Ross what color? I have some floor filler designed for holes up to about a dime size in a few colors. I can send you some if I have a match. I have about 50lbs left over from my flooring days. Hardness like a rock, sands like wood and is water based so you can shape it and set it in with no sanding if needed.

Message me if you want.

The pictures are of what the plugs look like after cutting and then placed in the hole. Of course you would use the same color. A self centering plug cutter will work fine with a hand drill, I used the non self centering, but it does tend to slip.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI Ross

Just one more way to repair it,,,it's the same way you would hide screw heads in a cabinet ...

Here's just one place to get what you need but you can find them a lot cheaper, about 10.oo for the set and the hole cutters for 5.oo bucks..

Just drill the hole and tap the plug in place sand and stain and it's done..

The set I have goes up to 3/4" diam. 

Tapered Drill Bits and Countersinks
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10609&cs=1
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10614&cs=1
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http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=7608
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=6956
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ross.anderson said:


> Hey all-
> 
> I have a few holes in the hardwood floors of my house. Can't really tell from looking at them if the previous owners were drilling everywhich way or what. The holes aren't round in shape, but almost look like they took a small drill bit and chewed up these odd shaped holes.
> 
> ...


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

That Rockler set goes back on sale this weekend for 12.95 so wait until next weekend. I got one at 12.95 last week and at that price its nice. For 34.95 I am no so sure about it. Plus you need the quick change chuck to make it worth while and they want another 13.49 for that.

They have the combo set for 79.95 on sale for 34.95 in store only right now and that definitely is worth it:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10605&filter=insty drive

Nick


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## ross.anderson (Dec 27, 2008)

Thanks for all the tips so fast! Since a lot of the suggestions center around size, I went and measured the largest one (that I know of so far). Its 1.5" by 0.5". So without making it bigger than it is, that probably rules out a few of the options here.

Its also within an 1.5" of the wall, so I don't think using a router will be much of an option.

As for color, everything in the room seems to be Golden Oak based the putty I have, but the one board this hole is in is slightly lighter than golden oak.


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

Well you can get an offset base for a trim router no problem. I think my trim router gets in at about 1 1/2" normally.

It sounds like filling the holes with piece of wood and clear epoxy mixed with saw dust until you get the right color is a good option for you. Not many store bought fillers are for holes that size. You could always keep adding as the filler shrinks though.

For me I think matching the grain and color of the wood then using a bow tie or oval template and plug is how I would go about repairing them. It is hard for the eye to pick up those shapes if the new wood matches, especially in a floor.


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## ross.anderson (Dec 27, 2008)

I'll have to pickup some epoxy and experiment with that and see if I can come up with a method.

Looking back at the wood plug suggestions, I think that might be an answer to another project I'm going to tackle.

As I'm just a beginner, I don't have a drill press. Can the plug cutters be operated with a drill? I notice in a picture it looks like a hand drill with a plug cutter in the chuck... Also any recommendations on the Rockler vs the Harbor Freight ones? 

I'd prefer not to spend too much as I'm just getting started and not sure what direction my projects/skill will take me. ...


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI Ross

Yes you can use a hand drill but it must be a good one. 

I have the HF sets and they are OK,,,not the the high end but I don't them all the time  just now and then..I did break the small drill bit but I put in a 1/8" drill bit and it works just fine now...

========


ross.anderson said:


> I'll have to pickup some epoxy and experiment with that and see if I can come up with a method.
> 
> Looking back at the wood plug suggestions, I think that might be an answer to another project I'm going to tackle.
> 
> ...


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## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

Another trick is;
if you have some hidden places like closets, under a fridge or range, you can get a plug/piece from there so the wood matches, type, finish, age etc all effect the color. Getting new wood to match is next to impossible, put new wood plugs in the hidden place you robbed from.


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

That is a great suggestion.


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## parkerdude (Aug 16, 2008)

Bogydave said:


> Another trick is;
> if you have some hidden places like closets, under a fridge or range, you can get a plug/piece from there so the wood matches, type, finish, age etc all effect the color. Getting new wood to match is next to impossible, put new wood plugs in the hidden place you robbed from.


Hey BogyDave,

That's my kind of answer, quick, cheap, expedient.

later,


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## Dejure (Jul 27, 2009)

I've done several repairs on various wood floors. A plug works great, even in larger sizes, if you have scrap you can cut several plugs from, so you can get the best match. I've done some fairly large holes and even I forget they're there after a while.

If I have too much damage. I cut a board out, trying to land on centers of the underlying supports. 

This means cutting the tongue off the piece going back in and doing a careful job of cutting ends and such (I use my Fein Tool for much of this) for a good tight joint. If I have to do several side by side, I stagger the boards, which may require having to glue a support piece onto the back side of (underneath) the adjacent boards, since I may not be able to joint over the center of a support beam.


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## Tomcleverley (Aug 8, 2011)

Nice thread guys. We'll throw this a reference in our hardwood floor repairs section.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Welcome to our forum, Tom


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