Most timber floors need some repair work before they're sanded. Old houses have gaps, split boards and patches where a wall or fireplace once stood. Newer houses get water damage from dishwashers and leaking pipes. Repairs done properly before sanding make the difference between a floor that looks restored and one that looks patched.
Geelong Floor Sanders is an enquiry service. We don't carry out repairs ourselves. With your consent, we pass your enquiry to an independent local floor sander, once one is appointed, who can inspect the damage and quote. This page explains the common problems and the usual fixes.
Common repairs before a sand
Replacing damaged boards
Boards that are split, rotten, badly stained or eaten by termites or borers are cut out and replaced. The new board is fitted into the tongue and groove of the boards around it and fixed down. The aim is to keep the original boards wherever possible and replace only what can't be saved.
Gap filling
Gaps open up between boards as timber shrinks over the years. Small, even gaps that open and close with the seasons are normal and often best left alone. Wider gaps that never close can be filled. Common methods include:
- Resin filler mixed with sanding dust, for small gaps. It matches the floor's colour well but is rigid, so it can crack if the boards keep moving.
- Flexible gap filler, a sealant that moves with the boards. It suits older softwood floors that shift with the weather.
- Timber slivers, thin strips of matching timber glued into wide gaps and sanded flush. This is the traditional fix for large gaps in old pine floors and is the most labour-intensive.
Punch and fill
Older floors are often top-nailed. Each nail head is punched below the surface so the sander doesn't catch it, and the holes are filled. It's slow work on a large floor and is often priced separately.
Loose and squeaky boards
Boards that move underfoot are refixed to the joists, sometimes with screws or extra nails. Squeaks can come from boards rubbing on each other or on nails, and fixing them from above before sanding is usually the simplest approach.
Patching where walls have moved
Renovations that remove a wall or fireplace often leave a strip with no boards, or boards running in a different direction. These are filled with matching timber, ideally reclaimed boards of the same species and width.
Matching old boards
Finding a match for old timber is often the hardest part. Baltic pine, Victorian ash, Tasmanian oak and jarrah were all milled in sizes that don't always match modern stock. Options include:
- Taking boards from a wardrobe or hidden area and putting new boards in their place
- Reclaimed timber from demolition yards
- New boards ripped down to the old width
Even a good match will look slightly different at first because new timber hasn't aged. Sanding the whole floor at once and applying the same finish over everything helps the patch blend in. A stain can help more, as our staining page explains.
Water damage
Water damage needs care, because sanding a floor that's still wet can make problems worse.
- Surface marks in the coating can often be sanded out.
- Black stains that have soaked into the timber may not sand out, and those boards may need replacing.
- Cupped boards, where the edges sit higher than the centre, usually mean moisture coming from below. If they're sanded flat before they dry out, they can crown later.
The first job is to find and fix the source of moisture, whether that's a leak, poor subfloor ventilation or drainage. Then the boards need time to dry. A contractor may use a moisture meter to check before sanding. In some cases, a plumber or builder needs to fix the cause first.
Termites and borers
Termite damage in floorboards often means there's activity elsewhere in the building. Have a pest inspection before any floor repair, and fix the termite problem first. Borer damage, which shows as small round holes in older pine, can sometimes be left if it's minor and inactive, but badly weakened boards should be replaced.
Geelong conditions that affect repairs
Many Geelong period homes have suspended timber floors over a ventilated subfloor. Draughts, damp and seasonal humidity, especially near the bay and on the coast at Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads and Torquay, all cause boards to move more. That affects which gap-filling method suits your floor and when it's best done. Filling gaps in the driest part of the year can leave filler squeezed out when the boards swell again.
Typical repair costs
Repair prices vary more than sanding prices because every floor is different. Published 2026 Australian guides list:
- Replacing a single floorboard in Victoria: about $80 to $300 per board
- Replacing a patched area: about $120 to $150 per square metre
- Gap filling: from about $3 to $8 per square metre for routine filling up to about $15 to $25 per square metre for more involved work
- Punch and fill: about $3 to $8 per square metre
These are typical ranges, not a quote. Our prices page has the sources. Repairs are usually quoted together with floor sanding, so mention any damage in your enquiry and include photos if you can.
Frequently asked questions
Should gaps between floorboards be filled?
Not always. Small, even gaps that change with the seasons are normal and often best left alone. Wide gaps that stay open, catch dirt or let in draughts can be filled during sanding. Flexible fillers or timber slivers usually last longer than rigid filler on older floors that move.
Can a damaged floorboard be replaced to match the old ones?
Usually it can be matched closely, but rarely perfectly at first. The best results come from reclaimed boards of the same species and size, or boards taken from a hidden area. Sanding and coating the whole floor together helps the new boards blend in as they age.
Can water-damaged floorboards be saved?
Often they can, if the water source is fixed and the boards are allowed to dry out completely. Marks in the coating usually sand out, but black stains deep in the timber and boards that have rotted or split usually need replacing. Sanding cupped boards before they're dry can cause new problems later.
Is it cheaper to repair or replace a timber floor?
In most cases, repairing damaged sections and then sanding and coating the whole floor costs much less than replacing it. Replacement starts to make sense only when large areas are damaged, the boards have been sanded so many times that little timber is left, or the floor structure itself has problems.