Wood flooring

[heidiiiii]

What do you all use to fill in the gaps in skinny stick wood flooring? I am probably answering my own question but I thought either wood filler or bowling alley wax or something like that.

I know to sand the heck out of it, wipe with damp cloth, stain, and poly. I just wonder what I should use for gaps.

I was thinking about wax because I could do it after it was stained. But you all can tell me what I could do. I have a basement full of goodies so I wont have to run out and buy supplies.

Edit: I meant butchers wax, not bowling alley wax...LOL

[Peggi]

I didn't need a filler when I did my dance floor with skinny sticks--just glued them very tightly next to each other.

[heidiiiii]

Looks great Peggi. I posted a pic in gallery of the attic floor and it looks like your pic.

I wondered how everyone got their floors so smooth and so shiny. I want a more polished look for the main rooms of the house..

Unless I am just being nit picky with my work. I am going to be staining the main floors with Red Oak stain which is different then the attic which is mahogany. I wanted a darker stain for that room.

I have been very selective with the sticks (no bent ones, or discolored). I have glued them down with tacky glue on paper. I have done a run of 5 rows at a time and then let dry plus pressed pressed pressed. No warping. So I am getting the hang of it.

I am working on the kitchen floor right now.

[havanaholly]

Heidi, save the sawdust from the sanding you're doing on your sticks and mix it with wood glue & a tiny bit of your stain to make your own wood putty that matches your floor to fill any gaps.

[heidiiiii]

Thanks Holly! :o

That was what I was worried about. That what ever I filled in the gaps with wouldnt match the stain. I still have more sanding to do on kitchen floor and I have a table full of sawdust.. Luckily I read this before I did a clean up!

[havanaholly]

Only clean up EVERYTHING after the house is all completed, or you'll throw away something you desparately need (need we ask how I know this to be true? I think not, we're all intelligent adults here).

[Peggi]

Holly: I went back and looked at your pictures--it is looking good. I didn't need a high polish on my floor due to it being for a dance studio--needed to look a little worn. I think I've heard some say they would lightly sand between coats of stain and then use polyurethan to get a high shine.

[Minis On The Edge]

lightly sand between coats of stain and then use polyurethan to get a high shine.

That's what I do I sand in between coats and then in the end I use a clear varnish (Sometimes matte finish) to go over the entire floor.

[Charlene]

Really should sand between the coats -- removes any grit, bumps, etc and then you get that really great shine. Haven't used skinny sticks for floors, so can't help there, but they do take a stain nicely and your's is looking good so far. I've always used polyurethane 'cause the one experience I had with real varnish was a disaster -- takes forever to dry in high humidity.

[havanaholly]

The only floors I've seen that look good with a high shine are basketball courts. I sand between stain coats until I get the color I want and then I varnish and when that's dry I "sand" it with a piece of brown paper grocery bag and get a satiny finish.

[heidiiiii]

I took your advice Holly and did the sawdust, glue, stain and filled in the gaps. I finished the kitchen floor, wallpapered the attic. No pics yet. Both sets of batteries for camera are dead and are charging as we speak.

Batteries charged. This is the kitchen floor. I have posted the attic room in gallery too.

[havanaholly]

Beautiful! Dontcha just love it when things go like you want them to? The nice thing I've found from scribing my floors directly onto the plywood is that there's no gaps to fill On the other hand, if I need a floor to lie at right angle to the wood grain I'm back to laying floors again.

Melissa, I may have to PM you my snailmail addy & send you some money to send me about half of those thousands of coffee stirrer sticks you & Darrell got!

[Minis On The Edge]

Looking Good Heidi!

[woodinville guy]

I did a similar floor. I mixed wood filler with water to make a slurry. Then I rubbed it all over the floor. After it dried I sanded the heck out of it. Then wipe the floor with a damp rag to get the dust out. Prior to staining the wood I put on a stain sealer then stained it. It came out nice.

-Dave