Hi all,
I am currently renovating one of my IPs and planning to polish the hardwood timber floors. When the house was last re-stumped years ago, they just cut straight through the floors to gain access to the sub-floor as access from the sides is limited. There used to be carpet on top so this wasn't noticeable. There is a single man hole cut out in each room which cuts through the boards both vertically and horizontally. The vertical cuts are along the joins. Some of the cuts run from wall to wall (around 3-4 boards wide) so they are long man holes!! The gap between the joins is about 5mm but greater in some areas.
I'm currently tossing up on whether I should replace the cut boards or just leave them. I called one floor sander to give me a quote who advised I just fill the gaps with putty. He said replacing the boards will be expensive as they don't make these boards anymore, so I would need to source used ones from a salvage yard. He estimates around $500-$800 worth of timber is needed. It will cost me about $1200 to get the boards filled/sanded/polished.
Has anyone had timber floors in similar condition and just done the patch job approach? What are the results like? I've been told the cuts will still be visible as the putty isn't the same colour as the timber. I'm just weighing up the cost vs return. To me I don't think replacing the boards will yield a higher return. The cuts are generally in places where either a bed or rug would normally be placed, so at the end of the day it most likely won't be visible once furnished.
Any thoughts?
Regards,
Ozi
I am currently renovating one of my IPs and planning to polish the hardwood timber floors. When the house was last re-stumped years ago, they just cut straight through the floors to gain access to the sub-floor as access from the sides is limited. There used to be carpet on top so this wasn't noticeable. There is a single man hole cut out in each room which cuts through the boards both vertically and horizontally. The vertical cuts are along the joins. Some of the cuts run from wall to wall (around 3-4 boards wide) so they are long man holes!! The gap between the joins is about 5mm but greater in some areas.
I'm currently tossing up on whether I should replace the cut boards or just leave them. I called one floor sander to give me a quote who advised I just fill the gaps with putty. He said replacing the boards will be expensive as they don't make these boards anymore, so I would need to source used ones from a salvage yard. He estimates around $500-$800 worth of timber is needed. It will cost me about $1200 to get the boards filled/sanded/polished.
Has anyone had timber floors in similar condition and just done the patch job approach? What are the results like? I've been told the cuts will still be visible as the putty isn't the same colour as the timber. I'm just weighing up the cost vs return. To me I don't think replacing the boards will yield a higher return. The cuts are generally in places where either a bed or rug would normally be placed, so at the end of the day it most likely won't be visible once furnished.
Any thoughts?
Regards,
Ozi