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How to protect timber floor?

Hi, I'm excited to join this community, thanks in advance for your advice!

I have recently repaired some flood damage to a section of my timber flooring with some new floorboards - they are solid hardwood American Oak, same as what we originally laid 10 years ago.

I know I need to sand and re-polish the whole floor to get the right colour match (and in any case the old flooring needs rejuvenating). But we have some relatives coming to stay so we don't want the hassle or cost of a complete flooring sand and polish right now.

What is the best approach to ensure the new untreated floorboards are protected until I treat the whole floor in 9-12 months time?

I can sand the new portion of the floor myself, its only about 3-4 sq metres. Any idea how I can best match the colour (eg should I take a piece of the old and new flooring to Bunnings for them to help me colour match)?

Should I use a polyurethane or oil coating?

Is there any risk that I permanently stain the floor if I don't get the colour right? Or will next year's professional sanding work be able to remove any sanding or coating mistakes I make?

Thanks!

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MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Frazwell88. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about protecting a timber floor.

Is the new section of the floor rough to the touch, and does it need sanding? I can see there are some blemishes, so you are able to sand the new floorboard if it's needed.

I don't believe it's going to be possible for anyone to give you a specific product that is going to match exactly. You'd need to know what was used previously to get an exact match. It could have been an oil or a poly that was either oil or water-based. Let's presume it was a polyurethane coating. An oil-based poly will give the timber a honey-coloured hue, whereas a water-based poly keeps it quite natural. I suspect that it might have been an oil-based poly, but I'd recommend doing a test section to ensure that's correct. If it sends the timber too yellow/orange, then I'd use the water-based version instead.

I can't see you causing any irreversible damage, and whatever coating you use should be removed with the total sanding and re-coating later.

I just wanted to bring up the quite substantial lip on the last board there. You might want to address that if possible, as it's a large amount of timber to try and sand out. You'd likely end up with a depression in that section. Perhaps you could wedge it up to be more in line from under the floor.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Frazwell88

Thanks for replying Mitchell, that's all good advice. New flooring is rough to the touch so will need a sand. What grade sandpaper do you recommend?

I will test an oil-based poly as the rest of the timber has a slight honey hue (see different pics). Unfortunately, the lip will have to stay for now as I can't lift the floorboard up now it's complete. I think that will have to be sanded out next year when I get the whole flooring done by a professional.

cheers,

Simon

skirting board1.jpg

MitchellMc

It really depends on how rough it is @Frazwell88. Perhaps start with some 180-grit and then move on to 240-grit. If you're not making any headway with the 180-grit you can drop it down to 120-grit, but be careful not to put deep scratches into the timber. Always sand with the grain (along the length of the boards) unless you are trying to get a particularly stubborn scratch out that runs with the grain.

Mitchell

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