Deep Burns In Hardwood Floor

[NearFatal]

Hey everyone,

So here is the quick story. I moved into an apartment last September with a few guys and we decided to throw a big house warming party. Not really thinking I left my hookah sitting out in the corner of our upstairs family room and some of the "guests" thought they would light it up and try to smoke. Turns out they got frustrated at not knowing how to use a funnel bowl and decided to light coals and simply drop them on the floor....and leaving them there. My lease ends in a few months and now that I am finally done with school I finally have free time to try and fix my floor. These burns are about the size of a 3 Kings coal. I sanded the top burn mark (seemed to look the worst) to see how far down the burnt wood went down. It looks to be somewhere between 1/4-1/2 of an inch. There is a noticeable grove in the floor when wood filler is not used.

If anyone has any experience in repairing large burn holes in wood, your help would be greatly appreciated.

[dizzbizz]

buy a nice rug.

[Tuscani]

would need pics on the area, but you may need to rips the bad boards up and replace them. hardest part will be matching the finish.

[Scoop]

ouch, that looks pretty terrible.

id imagine tuscanis got it right

[delSol_si]

Damn that sucks. Not sure what to tell ya beyond using wood putty...I notice you are in Chicago, you should check out this thread---> smokefest

[Rani]

There is such a thing as a wood graining tool. It's used in faux finishes to give the look of wood grain on painted surfaces. You could try a small one over filler and matching stain and it would likely blend in. But I don't think it would get by on a close scrutiny. Replacement and refinishing may be your only option.

'Rani

[gunsboy]

You can start by getting rid of some friends.

Then, how far are those from a wall?

[Scalliwag]

There is such a thing as a wood graining tool. It's used in faux finishes to give the look of wood grain on painted surfaces. You could try a small one over filler and matching stain and it would likely blend in. But I don't think it would get by on a close scrutiny. Replacement and refinishing may be your only option.

'Rani

i'm not sure about a graining tool but if you use wood filler, a close stain and using the side of a pencil to tie the patterns back you will be fine sand/blend with #0000 steel wool. Basically you want to match the stain of the base color or the wood and charcoal draw in the patterns if that makes sense. And then blend it in with the super fine sanding.

[FamiliarJoe]

There is such a thing as a wood graining tool. It's used in faux finishes to give the look of wood grain on painted surfaces. You could try a small one over filler and matching stain and it would likely blend in. But I don't think it would get by on a close scrutiny. Replacement and refinishing may be your only option.

'Rani

i'm not sure about a graining tool but if you use wood filler, a close stain and using the side of a pencil to tie the patterns back you will be fine sand/blend with #0000 steel wool. Basically you want to match the stain of the base color or the wood and charcoal draw in the patterns if that makes sense. And then blend it in with the super fine sanding.

Listen to this man, he knows his stuff.

[NearFatal]

You can start by getting rid of some friends.

Then, how far are those from a wall?

This is basically right in the middle of the room. After the party we rearranged the room and now there is a couch sitting on top of them. My landlord hasn't seen it yet and I am trying to get some of my security deposit back when I move out. I am against replacing the plank because I don't think i will be able to match the stain and I am too afraid of damaging surrounding planks.

What i have done so far was take this photo of the burnt floor into photoshop and work on it so it looks like a regular piece of wood flooring. With wood filler I made a flat surface where the holes were. I am printing out the photoshoped photo on a high quality printer and laminating it to give it a finished flooring effect. The only problem i am running into is once again matching up the color corectly.

Any more advice for going about fixing the floor is extremely helpful.

[Stuie]

i'm not sure about a graining tool but if you use wood filler, a close stain and using the side of a pencil to tie the patterns back you will be fine sand/blend with #0000 steel wool. Basically you want to match the stain of the base color or the wood and charcoal draw in the patterns if that makes sense. And then blend it in with the super fine sanding.

That's what I was going to suggest. It won't look 100% but usually you can an almost perfect stain at a wood store.

[gunsboy]

Tips for Choosing Wood Filler and Varnish

To successfully repair a cigarette burn on wood furniture it's important to match the color of the wood as closely as possible when choose a wood filler stick. Instead of guessing and making multiple trips to the store in an effort to match the wood, buy several different shades, and take them home to match against the color. Save your receipt, and return the unused wood filler sticks for a full refund.

Correctly matching original varnish is as important to the appearance of the repair as is the color of the wood filler. Oil-based varnish is available in many different varieties that vary in luster, so consider purchasing a few different options, and test them in an inconspicuous location to obtain the closest match. It's worth the added expense when striving to achieve a professional looking repair.

Necessary Supplies

Besides matching wood filler and oil-based varnish, you'll need a pencil or a dowel rod with a diameter slightly larger than the burn, fine-grit sandpaper, a small paintbrush, a putty knife, heavy-duty scissors, duct tape, number 0000 steel wool, and orange or lemon oil.

From http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2...rn_on_wood.html

Basically what scalli said

[TheScotsman]

You can start by getting rid of some friends.

Then, how far are those from a wall?

How far ar the friends from the wall? Are we planning an execution? Not bad idea either.


The best repair would be to bore & plug them. (the way a hardwood floor professional would do it.) Need something to get the size scale, but the wood is oak, appears to be red oak from open grain, and lack of tigerstripe on any of it.

http://www.widgetco.com/wood-floor-plugs You may also find them from a hardwood floor store, or home cheapo
precut plugs if you don't want to make your own. 1" is their max.

Use a forestner bit if you can get your booger-hooks on one. They leave the cleanest hole. (lacking a forestner, use a spade bit, not... NOT a twist drill!!!) Bore first, cover the area with tape or frisket, then clean tape from hole. Use a good stainable glue (gorilla ok.) allow it to harden (foam all over, now you know why the tape)trim flat with a flushcut saw, or carful chisel use. Your stain is prety dark, cet a minwax dark oak/walnut sample from home cheapo. sand plug, stain, and goop some finish on it.

If you don't want to spend time sawing/chiseling/sanding.... the plugs can be trimmed with a sharp knife. get a good loose fit before putting them in the floor.

Try to match the grain size and direction... obvious, but easy to forget.

It won't be perfect, but even a shop-class dropout can get an acceptable appearance. Likely un noticed if done even half assed. In any case, at least they won't hand you a bill for a tearup & replace. Edited June 5, 2009 by TheScotsman

[TheScotsman]

Wrong plug type above...

http://www.widgetco.com/1-wood-plugs-side-grain-face-grain

You want facegrain plugs not endgrain.

[delSol_si]

Hmm...I have an idea that may work, probably not, but it might, depending on how close they look. Since you already have them filled, can you carve out the surface just as thick as some photo paper? Then, Since you are using photoshop to match, just print out the photoshop image onto photopaper, then cut out the little piece from the photopaper, then glue them to floor where the burns are? Since you would carve out the surface the thickness of the paper, they wouldn't stick out at all. I mean ya, it may be noticeable if you look closely, but since they don't know it has already been done, they won't know to look for anything and may just glance right over it.

[BLUE&GOLD]

Hey everyone,

So here is the quick story. I moved into an apartment last September with a few guys and we decided to throw a big house warming party. Not really thinking I left my hookah sitting out in the corner of our upstairs family room and some of the "guests" thought they would light it up and try to smoke. Turns out they got frustrated at not knowing how to use a funnel bowl and decided to light coals and simply drop them on the floor....and leaving them there. My lease ends in a few months and now that I am finally done with school I finally have free time to try and fix my floor. These burns are about the size of a 3 Kings coal. I sanded the top burn mark (seemed to look the worst) to see how far down the burnt wood went down. It looks to be somewhere between 1/4-1/2 of an inch. There is a noticeable grove in the floor when wood filler is not used.

If anyone has any experience in repairing large burn holes in wood, your help would be greatly appreciated.

dang, i'd lose it if someone did that

[NearFatal]

I appreciate everyone's input. I am going to try a few different things and let you guys know how everything turns out...(hopefully for the best).

[reddevil85]

I appreciate everyone's input. I am going to try a few different things and let you guys know how everything turns out...(hopefully for the best).

I am in the exact same situation. I am by no means an expert but in a very similar situation, except I just have one hole. It would be good to hear other peoples opinions but from my research it seems like an epoxy wood putty stick and then stain seems to be a bit better than a traditional wood filler?

[Vladimir]

I would call someone to come fix it. Likely cheaper than having your landlord do it, but this is assuming you are an honest person and want it done right. What if someone came into your property, destroyed it, and tried to cover it up with a bandaid so he could get his money back . Just saying .

[mjdx88]

Vlad has it right.... honestly dude, im all for getting an SD back but look at it this way you cover it up and someone finds it...other than the landlord or if the landlord does, you could be looking at paying the full cost of the repair + your SD

also if you take the advice given to truly repair the damage and tell the landlord that there some marks made by the couch. And you had it repaired 99% of the time they will let it slide. They dont want to deal with having someone come in and fix it or fix it themselves.

At the very least its like what 200 bucks? yeah it sucks...try getting the money back from your friends.

[ilikemyusername]

Staining can be a bit tricky because the wood filler is a different color than the actual wood was to start with. Getting it to match, you're going to need to have a darker stain than the one on the floor.
I've heard of a tinting process where you stain and then tint the area to make it darker, but if you have like a mahogany stain and you end up with a cherry color over the filler no ammount of tint will make it quite right. My advice, go down to the paintstore and speak with a professional.

[Kapten Kanel]

How can people do something like that?!?! "Friends"? The stuff i would do... seriously they would wish i put some rolland quicklights in their throats instead...