Gouged parquet - easy fixes?

[news.virginmedia.com]

Thanks to ex's clumsy sons moving furniture a new gouge has appeared in the lounge floor... approx 2mm deep by 6mm wide, a couple of feet long so crossing a lot of the parquet blocks - is there a simple way of dealing with this? My fiirst thought was applying steam to raise the wood fibres, presumably I'll have to remove the wax / oil to allow the steam to penetrate, and then sand and re-seal the surface... Or is it a job for a specialist?

I'm a metalworker, this "wood" stuff's a mystery to me...

Dave H. (the other one)

[Frank Erskine]

Angle grinder.

HTH -

[Jonathan]

Steam won't raise it 2mm. On a floor I think your only hope is wood filler. The trouble will be to match the colour.

Jonathan

[ss]

And a kiddies set of colored pencils might get you nearer the color match. Use the pencils after the filler has dried.

[Lobster]

Frank, do you not think that joke has worn just a *little* bit thin?

[Camdor]

I used this on my parents parquet flooring when I dropped a SDS drill on it, I bought the 2 tubes that I thought would match the best and mixed them myself to get a perfect match.

mother can't even see where I gouged it anymore, although she will never let me forget it!

[The Medway Handyman]

Don't be so silly. It's an institution around here.

[pastedavid]

[Adam Aglionby]

After a brief daliance with `power washer` which never usurped `angle grinder ` as stock solution to all DIY problems, surely after recent

2012 Tool of the Year poll, stock answer for 2013 should be `multi tool` ;-)?

Cheers Adam

[John Rumm]

Indeed, although the obvious answer for this problem ought to have been car body filler!

[John Rumm]

If the surface is just dented, then you can raise it quite a bit using wither steam, or alcohol or a mixture of both.

If the surface has actually been gouged and material removed, then steam etc won't be able to fix it on its own,

Furniture repair wax sticks are available in a wide range of colours (and can be mixed).

[harry]

If all else fails, the bit(s) of wood can be got up and replaced assuming it's a proper parquet floor & not a cheap copy.

[Dom Ostrowski]

Steam would be my first port of call. Damp-to-wet towel and a very hot iron.

I wouldn't bother cleaning off whatever finish is on there - it's already off the very bits you want to raise.

Even if it doesn't totally raise the damage out, "softening the profile" of the damage does quite a bit to reduce the appearance.

[news.virginmedia.com]

Thanks - I'll try the hot towels first, if that fails I'll try the filler / wax stick!

Dave H. (the other one)

[news.virginmedia.com]

It's proper 1960's parquet, so probably laid down in pitch...

As we're intending to be out soonish, I won't be taking any blocks up - hence the need for a quick/easy fix! I'll try steam and follow up with some polishing as required.

Dave H. (the other one)

[The Natural Philosopher]

it depends whether its a gouge - material removed - or a furrow - material compressed

Few sealants are truly watertight so try a hot iron on a wet cloth first. Be careful not to let it get TOO hot though.

If that doesn't work you are screwed really. New block or sand the lot down and refinish,

[Ian Jackson]

In message , news.virginmedia.com writes

Mine are 1954 - small rectangular oak blocks of four, side-by-side, laid on pitch, and arranged to form squares of around 5". Occasionally, I find some come loose, and I have to re-glue them. On one or two where the top has been marked, I'm pretty sure I have used the underside. Alternatively, I have swapped them for some blocks from a less-prominent part of the floor.

[The Natural Philosopher]

that's the whole point of angle griders, innit?

wear things thin..

[docholliday93]

I'd agree that fixes involving lifting a block are not the first choce - wh= en my Mother's kitchen floor, which was 1950's woodblock laid on pitch, had= to be replaced (slow leak from washing machine over several months causing= the blocks to lift) I noticed that the blocks were tongued and grooved, so= lifting a single block could be difficult, and there were grooves in the b= ase to increase the grip... Annoyingly, she got the builders to take them away before I had a chance to= take them back home for firewood.

[Richard Russell]

Notwithstanding, I find it *really* irritating. It's long since ceased to be amusing.

Richard.