Tons of nails in the hardwood floor

Question

I am pulling up my carpeting, and thought that I had beautiful hardwood under it at first. Until I got further in to the job, and there are tons of nails on each end of the boards. While I know that the rustic look is really hot right now, I am wondering if this will look rustic or just look awful. 
A friend suggested that I paint the floor but I really wanted the wood look. Any suggestions or has anyone run in to this problem?

The Garden Frog with C Renee · Answer

How far out are the nail holes? If right on the edge where the carpet strip was you may be able to hide the nail holes with shoe molding or quarter round. Depending upon how many holes you could use a very good stainable wood filler and lightly sand the areas and try to match the finish. Hope this helps. good luck

Jenni Bell · Answer

Adding pictures

Carla Larson · Answer

If you really want wood but the nail holes bother you and they are pretty visible you could strip it (a lot of work !!!) and stain the floor darker so they would not be so visible..just a thought..if you paint make sure you use the right primer and paint and prep the floor so it doesn't scratch or wear off right away..Good Luck whatever you do

Cindi · Answer

I watch a lot of home shows, and flipping houses, etc., and they use wood filler and sand it down, and resurface them, and don't worry much about the edges, since furniture covers most of it. Can't say for sure, but every show seems to do the same thing so I think it would be worth a try, cheaper than new hardwood.

Chris Knutson · Answer

First of all the reason someone did that was unfortunately a way of eliminating floors that squeak! They should have shimmed from the underside. Once you pull the nails fill with a QUALITY wood filler from a professional hardwood or lumber store. once dry sand but be aware that the wood filler may show up differently (color) when the floor is poly'd. I always do the first sand on the floor first and mix the actually sawdust with the filler. dry and resand again. there will be three grits of sandpaper used total when sanding the floor. Hopefully when the poly is applied it will match much closer. Staining will NOT alleviate the problem...your filled holes will just appear lighter than the stain. Stay natural with your poly. Hope this helps!

Jean · Answer

Thanks for adding the pictures. Looks like each board has a nail on each end. I think you'll have to embrace the look because it appears that the nails have stained the wood around them as well. After making sure there are no nails sticking above the surface I would sand the whole floor, use a filler that you spread over the entire floor then sand again stain and seal. You'll have a unique look you may like. Try it in a closet first

Lori Johansen · Answer

We had the same problem in a 1927 home with pine flooring in Sweden. We mixed some fine sawdust with wood glue to fill the holes in, sanded and stained. Looked great!

Tons of nails in the hardwood floor

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Tons of nails in the hardwood floor

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