Splits on edges of board due to wear

Q: We recently had some oak engineered flooring installed and have noticed two small splits at the very edge of one of the boards. I think they have steadily gotten worse as they sit right near a door threshold, which is a high trodden area. Can it be repaired or will we need to replace it? 

A: You could use some colour matched wood putty to simply mask the cracks. A good product is Color Rite. Comes in tubes. Dozens of choices and easy to work with. If the split get serious then of course the board will have to be replaced.

Similar Q: We have a Pergo floor that received some water damage, splitting a small portion of the glued pieces. What product can be used to fill these gaps? I was thinking of using BONDO® WOOD FILLER and then staining it. I’m not even sure if I can stain or paint Bondo. Is that a good idea or is there something better? Thank you for your help.

A: Color-Rite acrylic filler in tube form comes in hundreds of colours. Easy water cleanup of residue.

Editor’s note: Haven’t tried Bondo. Guest comments welcome.

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