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Hi
I've got old timber floorboards in my bathroom near the shower which have quite large gaps between them (~2mm). They end up with a lot of dust and dirt in them, and I'm concerned about water getting in and pooling - and I was considering filling the gaps - but found a lot of conflicting advice on Google about whether filling gaps is a good idea at all. There were also lots of conflicting suggestions about what to fill them with given there's likely to be future expansion/shrinkage. In addition to that, there wasn't really any advice specifically about wet areas.
Alternatively I wondered if I could just recoat the boards in that area with a layer of varnish to seal them a little? The original varnish near the shower base is pretty rough now (I've only had the house a short time but I'm guessing decades of moisture have played a part).
Thanks!
Chris
Ok - so I've filled the gaps and sanded back. When I did the sticky-tape test, the intergrain did come off, so I'll followed directions and sanded back to bare wood. However, there are a few indentations in the wood - either patterns in the wood or indentations from dropped items - which are still a little "glossy". I don't want to sand back too much - would it be safe to assume these smalll areas won't be an issue and I can just go over them, or is it worth trying to use some kind of stripper to get it all off?
Hi @Chris_T,
It's one of those things where, in a perfect world, you'd want none of the previous coating left. Will you see any adverse effects if you coat over? Probably not, but it's hard to give a definitive answer. I believe even if you were to use a stripper, you'd find it difficult to get the remnants out of the crevices. You now have plenty of surface area the new coating will bind to, which should offset any tiny areas left to which it won't adhere.
If this were my floor, I'd take the chance and coat over. The amount of work it will take to get an ever depreciating amount of coating off, I feel, outweighs the benefit.
Let me mention @TedBear to get his thoughts.
Mitchell
Some photos from the process - I haven't revarnished the floor yet, but everything else is done and it's looking pretty good!
Pre-stain
Post stain
Nice work @Chris_T! That looks very uniform after the stain. I'm waiting with anticipation to see the final results. You've certainly put in the effort.
Keep us updated.
Mitchell
It's been a while, but final got around to finishing the bathroom floor. Looking good, but the improvement is probably not so visible from the photos. This was mostly a preventative measure to try and seal the gaps and protect the boards from water drops from the shower, which it does much better now.
Here's some photos. Boards also match the old boards pretty well!
Thanks for all the help!
Great work @Chris_T! I'm pleased to see that's worked out for you. As you mentioned, even though there is also a visual improvement, the real benefit will be in preventing rot within the boards.
We can't wait to assist with your next project. Reach out any time you need assistance.
Mitchell
