How To Repair A Knothole In Wood Flooring

Have an open knot in a wood floor that you’d like to fix? Watch our tutorial or keep reading for all of the steps.

An open or broken knothole is usually not a serious problem, but can cause concern for a homeowner.

It makes a person wonder:

Is my floor falling apart?

Did I buy a good quality floor?

Will this happen to other areas of the floor?

A simple fix involves a hot soldering iron and some wax. With a few simple steps, you can fill that knothole and have a worry-free floor taht looks great again.

Tools you’ll need:

Blue painter’s tape

Wax that matches floor or knot

Soldering Iron

Plastic or Metal Scraper

Color markers that match flooring [optional]

fixing an open knot in a wood floor — Before

open knot in a wood floor repair — Before

Step 1 – Tape Off Knot

When using a dark wax, it’s a good idea to tape around the edges of the hole or crack to avoid getting excess wax on the surrounding flooring.

filling an open knot in a wood floor with wax — Next, melt your wax into the knot with the iron.

Step 2 – Use Matching Colored Wax To Fill In Open Knot

Heat up the soldering iron. When ready, use iron to melt wax into the opening until just above board surface. Let dry for a couple minutes.

repairing a wood floor knot with wax — Next up – remove tape and use your scraper to take off excess wax.

Step 3 – Remove Tape and Scrape Off Excess Wax

Remove blue tape and scrape off excess wax with the plastic scraper. Use a dry towel to wipe off any excess wax not removed by the scraper.

filling in a hardwood floor knot — Last step and optional – use markers to blend in the knot. We used a couple different colors to make the knot color look like the other knots in the flooring.

Step 4 – Use Color Markers to Blend in Knot [Optional]

To create a more realistic look, you can use markers to blend in your repair. We used a mix of gray and browns to add color to the outside areas of the knots. You can also use a lighter color marker on the knot itself to make the knot less prominent.

Have Other Touch-ups To Do?

One of the best tools and skills you can have as a flooring professional is a good wood floor touch up kit, and the ability to fix problems that seem too big for a homeowner can actually earn you a great reputation and lead to word of mouth advertisements.

Check out our guide to wood floor touch ups to learn how you can quickly and professionally fix scratches, dents, and chips. We also have a free checklist of all the things you need to build your own wood floor touch up kit below.