If you have timber floors under carpet and you feel some soft places where your foot sinks in a bit more than it should, it’s worth having a closer look. It may be just a busted board but it may also be borers.

In this renovation in Bangalow, after I ripped up the carpet, I found that Lictid Borers had been through all the original floorboards and they all had to be replaced…

The boards were so soft in some spots I could push my finger through without much resistance at all. Dry Weetbix had more structural integrity.

Lictid Borers aren’t much trouble with new boards because they attack the sapwood part of the timber and the sapwood is cut out of new boards to avoid this sort of problem. Quality control on boards years ago wasn’t as strict. Probably because they tried to use all the timber out of the tree to avoid waste.

Originally we were going to sand and polish the old floors. Replacing them all was a lot more expensive but you can’t argue with the final finish and the new floors will be safe to walk on and last another lifetime.