Borers in Kauri pine floor

[OL!]

Hey all,

Im new so hi, I'd be a bit more talkative but I just typed for about 20 minutes on the first attempt of this post and got a 'you are not signed in' error, came to the site from the registering/activating email, not the happiest.

Any way, pulled up carpets in house, found 1 room hardwood 3 rooms soft kauri pine. Booked sander/polisher (pulling staples was enough for me). The kauri boards had japan black (or whatever) on them in parts. On starting to sand he found alot of borer holes in the lounge room. Some of the boards having them running along the full length of the room. And on one side of the room all along it it seems. A few other bits around the place.

He offered to fill them but said it would still look bad / obvious when he had finished polishing etc etc.

looking for some advise.

Do i try to replace them with more kauri pine (I did this with 4 damaged boards already of which two of them had these borer holes as well)?, fill them and hope they look ok, or replace the whole floor with something else (concerns of cost, matching size etc etc).

TIA for any advise etc

regards,

OL

[craigb]

Well speaking as one who has old borer holes in his Baltic pine floor, I'd say it depends on how bad it is.

Fortunately mine is only in a small section so I decided to let the floor sander fill them and call it "character". After all the house is 80 years old

I guess it depends on the look you are going for and how old your house is.

BTW, welcome to the board

Craig

[OL!]

Thanks for your reply craig.

I would post pictures but dig cam is on hols with a friend (might be able to dig out vid cam from shed which is totally full).

The room is about 16-17 sq/m, the borer holes run lenthways along the boards that are affected, ie they are not just round holes but more like looking down on your local subway map. there is 2 boards that they run the full lengths of room, then down one side there is about 10 or so boards with it in, runs about 1 foot along all these boards.

Did you stain you floor at all? or just seal/polish it? Also, is there any chance of you posting what yours finished up like?

My problem here is that i have this sander guy booked and cant get him again for a few months, so I have to let him know what the plan is otherwise miss out on getting that room finished till way after chrissy.

regards,

OL

[craigb]

Nope didn't stain them, just left them natural.

If the batteries are still good I'll post a piccy.

[craigb]

This is the best I can do . Hope it gives you some info.

That's the worst of our old infestion BTW

[OL!]

thanx for the picture. I wish i could say the same about the level of my infestion.

though it does not look to bad.

[seriph1]

hi and welcome! you'll find a bunch of great info here.....so have fun!

If you can get a pic, even from a mobile might be ok, it could help ......how old/what style is your home? (there are some killer period homes in Newcastle) Ours is 120yrs old and has a LOT of borer remains in the floor (Baltic Pine)

For me, it is just part of the character of the home (and its owners!)

Filling it will be by far the cheapest and easiest solution and as much of a floor ends up covered with "stuff" it can be easy to hide/disguise. Perhaps do some sample fills in inconspicuous areas to get a decent colour match and see how you go...... either way youre up for a sand and polish, and the cost of a new floor is high, so it is worth a try to do ANYTHING you can to repair what's there.

If all fails - re-carpet (can't believe I said that)

Have fun - and borrow someone's camera if possible.

[PuppyPaw]

seriph1, look two posts up above yours!

[seriph1]

I did look at the pic - different poster, baltic pine, ie: different material.

[Programmer]

Our Cal Bung is about 80+ years old with B/Pine floors. We 'had' borer in the entry area, a little worse than the pic as posted. Allow me 5c worth:

a) If the borer is 'active', which is unlikely since they tend to come and have a munch for a few years then simply go away (changes in conditions, no more 'sap' left to munch on) then treat it - but you'll really have to strip, treat and re-finish. Def get it checked if there is any 'frass' AKA sawdust underneath the holes or around your skirting boards. I stress, this is unlikely.

b) If the prior (likely) holes have not created a real weakness in the wood structure then just leave it. Get in underneath and have a really good look at any underside damage too. If you're uncertain get someone to check it. Be careful inviting friends with high heels for dinner....

c) Be pleased (being positive now...) that the borer found you wood nice to munch on - they are actually quite picky little creatures.

d) I've seen 'sanding guys' do great jobs and woeful jobs. Ensure you 'trust' them and be vigilant about what you want. That said, sanders are NOT easy beasts to master (no matter what the DIY 'gurus' tell you).

Cheers,

[seriph1]

all good points - especially the one about STILETTOS OFF IN OUR HOUSE!!!!!!!!!

Our hallway floor has been basically destroyed by them - it looks like elves with small hammers ran up and down the hall hittingthe floor every few inches ....

and there's practically nothing you can do about it once it's happened.

Finally, for me, I feel the old borer holes are part of the character of the home - once filled appropriately they are simply "there" until you get used to them - then they "disappear"

[OL!]

Great advise people, i decided to replace a few of the worse off boards (about 10) and leave the rest.

I paid someone to do the punching/sanding/sealing etc.

The job has been finished now and I am quite happy with the result. There was one or two that could have done with a bit more filler but in all the house looks great. I will post some pictures of the before/after shots later tonight now i have my camera back and can get the photos of my phone as well.

Questions, I got a satin water based finish put on, it was synteko brand. On one part of the floor it looks like it is missin a coat or something, not as glossy/satin looking, and feels rough to touch compared to the rest (will post pictures later). Can i get some synteko satin and fix it up? Secondly, can i put filler in some of the borer holes that were not done properly and re-seal it?

Or should i not touch it and speak to the sander guy first

regards

OL.

[craigb]

Or should i not touch it and speak to the sander guy first

That would be my first course of action.

[seriph1]

and mine dude