We have been in the house for 10 years, with carpet on main floor.
Surprisingly just found under the old carpet is hardwood floor! Removed all
the carpet, the hardwood is basically in good condition, don't think it
needs a refinish. But there are dozens of small nail holes scattered on the
floor (don't know why the previous owner made them). Also there will be
holes along the walls after I remove nail track strip.

How to repair the holes? just want to make them more invisible.

Thanks!

On 5/18/2008 6:02 PM John61 spake thus:

We have been in the house for 10 years, with carpet on main floor.
Surprisingly just found under the old carpet is hardwood floor! Removed all
the carpet, the hardwood is basically in good condition, don't think it
needs a refinish. But there are dozens of small nail holes scattered on the
floor (don't know why the previous owner made them). Also there will be
holes along the walls after I remove nail track strip.

How to repair the holes? just want to make them more invisible.

I guess the obvious method, which is filler of the appropriate color.
You might want to get several small quantities of wood filler of
different colors and try each on some out-of-the-way holes to see which
one blends in the best. Hint: after the filler dries, wet it with water
to see what it'll look like under finish (varnish, etc.).

The only other choice is to fill it with wood (toothpicks, etc.), which
might not be any better than using filler.


--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter.

- Attributed to Winston Churchill

On May 18, 9:02 pm, "John61" wrote:
We have been in the house for 10 years, with carpet on main floor.
Surprisingly just found under the old carpet is hardwood floor! Removed all
the carpet, the hardwood is basically in good condition, don't think it
needs a refinish. But there are dozens of small nail holes scattered on the
floor (don't know why the previous owner made them). Also there will be
holes along the walls after I remove nail track strip.

How to repair the holes? just want to make them more invisible.

Use a filler that's designed for prefinished/engineered floors. Call
a local flooring supply house as they'll have a better selection than
a big box store.

R

"John61" wrote in message
...
We have been in the house for 10 years, with carpet on main floor.
Surprisingly just found under the old carpet is hardwood floor! Removed
all the carpet, the hardwood is basically in good condition, don't think
it needs a refinish. But there are dozens of small nail holes scattered on
the floor (don't know why the previous owner made them). Also there will
be holes along the walls after I remove nail track strip.

How to repair the holes? just want to make them more invisible.

If they're small holes, the dust from sanding will fill them, but this
requires sanding & refinishing the entire floor. You may end up doing that
anyhow. If you use a filler and cover it with urethane or whatever, the
finish may not match the surrounding surface, and if either one is glossy,
you WILL notice it.

"Bob M." wrote in message
. ..
"John61" wrote in message
...
We have been in the house for 10 years, with carpet on main floor.
Surprisingly just found under the old carpet is hardwood floor! Removed
all the carpet, the hardwood is basically in good condition, don't think
it needs a refinish. But there are dozens of small nail holes scattered
on the floor (don't know why the previous owner made them). Also there
will be holes along the walls after I remove nail track strip.

How to repair the holes? just want to make them more invisible.

If they're small holes, the dust from sanding will fill them, but this
requires sanding & refinishing the entire floor. You may end up doing
that anyhow. If you use a filler and cover it with urethane or whatever,
the finish may not match the surrounding surface, and if either one is
glossy, you WILL notice it.

I did nothing and it is not noticeable unless you look for it (but I did
refinish). Only in a few places like the threshold between rooms (under the
closed door) did they get a little carried away and put too many nails to
hide. Make sure to pull all of them or they will wear down the sandpaper
faster.

If you are not refinishing, then I would just use that wax crayon type wood
filler