Woodworm tunnels *PIC*

[Anonymous]

We've taken up the carpet in the bedroom of our recently purchased late 1800s terrace cottage. Underneath was old lino and then what appear to be the original floorboards. Some of the boards have woodworm holes along the edge and in a few places the tunnels are visible on the surface. The photo shows the worst area. (The photo is quite magnified, btw, making it look even worse.) What I'd like to do is clean and lightly sand the floor, leaving as much of the character as possible, and then varnish. Could anyone suggest how to deal with the areas where the worm tunnels are already exposed?

 

[Anonymous]

When you say "deal with" the exposed tunnels, do you mean fill them? This will be difficult to do invisibly. Why not leave them visible and regard them as "character"?
However, if you do want to fill them, you could hunt through the various colours of wood filler available in DIY stores and find the nearest one to the colour of your boards. You could also try mixing some of the wood dust that your sanding will create with wood glue - that makes a kind of filler. Test it before you use it, though - to be sure it's a good match.

 

[Anonymous]

Looks just like our bathroom floor. We lightly sanded and the varnished. Worm tracks exposed just add 'character'.

 

[Anonymous]

- but do be careful not to sand off too much (ie enough to remove all trace of the tunnels). You don't want wafer-thin floorboards.

 

[Anonymous]

Why do you want to sand them at all? If you scroll down a bit you'll find a very well-reasoned posting on the subject from David P.

 

[Anonymous]

Come to think of it, the sealant (or wax?) will tend to collect in, and eventually fill up the worm-tracks. Perhaps there's a way of colouring whatever you decide to use?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your thoughts. I don't mind at all having the tunnels visible - I just wondered if there might be a problem applying a finish over them - like it might flake off due to the relatively fragile structure of the tunnels (compared to solid wood). I think I will need to sand as there are some areas that are too splintery to leave as is but I do intend to be as lighthanded as possible with that!

Any suggestions regarding finishes would also be appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

I've been accused of many things in my life, but "well reasoned" has never been one of them!!

 

[Anonymous]

Gotcha !!!

 

[Anonymous]

We wax our boards and and the excess collects in the tunnels and helps fill them although they are always visible. Sanding will only reveal more tunnels so don't try and sand them out.

 

[Anonymous]

That made my eyes water!

 

[Anonymous]

Try sanding to remove as muck varnish, paint etc then treat with a ww killer or use a polish wish contains such, Do check for structural stabilty in the boards, I've seen a few where they have gone through, usually under furniture feet.WW tends to stick around for a while but I do not see it as a real worry unless left untreated. if you have old ply furniture (often the back) the little so and so's seem to like the glue. You can treat this in the same way as the boards, but watch out from May to September for little sharply bored holes as this is their flight season.once the hole is there the dittle devil has gone to lay eggs nearlby so a liitle regulat treatment can prolong the life of the wood..

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

Please see my peice.

Would not recommend any filler you can buy from DIY stores. Use a branded floor gap filler from a flooring supplier. I use Lecol 7500 cellulose jelly. Mix with sawdust and fill. Matches floor colour quite well. Much better than glue.

Regards

Toby


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