# Forum Home Renovation Flooring  Filling in borer holes in Kauri floor

## centralbeak

The house is 100 years old.   I've lifted the lino and found Kauri flooring.  Some boards have been attacked by borers.  What is the best way to fill borer holes (just the holes - I don't want to fill the cracks where the T&G meet).  I am thinking of staining or painting the floor afterwards.

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## Cecile

The only thing I can say is to make sure the borer isn't active before you attempt anything.  As for what to fill them with, there will be others here with good advice.  Good luck.

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## centralbeak

The borers have long since gone on vacation. I think they ate the sap wood about 99 years ago when the floor was new.

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## Dusty

Being Kauri,  I'd look at replacing as many boards as you can rather than filling. I've often found over the years that Borer really go to town on Kauri and eat quite a fair bit of the board (more so than what they do with, say, Baltic). 
But, if you do wish to go ahead with filling my recommendation is definitely with Timbermate putty, probably in their Brushbox colour. Mix it into a paste, about the consistency of toothpaste and spread it in during and throughout the sanding and finishing process. 
The down side to filling borer holes, is that the holes and pattens from where the Borer were are not that deep and therefore the putty is prone to popping out not long after it's all been done and finished, which can be disappointing.  This is more likely to happen if there is any flex or bounce in the sub-floor or the boards themselves, which is why I'd rather look at replacing as many as possible rather than just filling.

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## centralbeak

Thanks Dusty - take your point about replacing as many boards as possible.  I'll see how I go.

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