What will help me fix this look? Hoping to avoid sanding back if possible.

[GivingDIYaBadName]

Hi, I recently bought a house and afterwards discovered some of the floorboards in thr house had had woodworm. It wasn’t clear until I took a floor sander to them, some rooms only had minor damage, but the kitchen floor is quite bad. I’m fairly inexpreienced when it comes to working with wood, and naively applied ronseal floor paint thinking it would fill the damage. For the most part it has improved but I want to know if anyone can recommend a better method which doesn’t involve me having to sand back again. Thanks in advance for your advice and suggestions.

[dewaltdisney]

I take it the woodworm has been treated in the past and you are dealing with an old flooboard rough timber finish? If this is a kitchen I would fix hardboard over and lay vinyl sheet covering. Warm under foot, perfect for use in a kitchen and looks smart. Perfectly easy job for DIY. Carpet the rest.

DWD

[GivingDIYaBadName]

Thanks for the advice. You’re right, it’s in the kitchen - and has been treated for woodworm. I didn’t realise there had been any woodworm until I used the floor sander on it, they did a good job of hiding signs of it. I’d like to keep the boards if possible, I’m wondering if maybe there’s a clear plastic based filler I could apply on top then paint over or something?

[Grendel]

I've come across woodwormed boards on too many occasions to recall. It's not unusual to find little evidence save for a few flight holes on the surface but the interior is riddled. Further sanding won't get to a smooth surface and to be honest sanding treated timber can be unhealthy if you breathe the dust in. It's not impossible to use a car body type filler but it would involve quite a bit of work and expense so not really a viable option. You could always replace but you seem against that idea which leaves over boarding. It is possible to lift and turn the boards over and I've had to do that in the past but it's a lot of work and another method I wouldn't recommend.

[dewaltdisney]

A painted floor in a kitchen is not a great idea as such a high traffic area will soon see wear patterns and marks develop plus spills may stain. That is why vinyl sheet is the best way to go as it removes these issues. You can get some very nice styles that replicate floorboards.

DWD

[Grendel]

Here's another idea for you.
When we were looking at the house we've lived in for the past couple of decades I could see parquet flooring in the one room hiding under all the junk , furniture , rugs , dogs and general grime. When I came to clean it up I then realised it wasn't actual parquet . Prior to the people we brought off the house was owned by a builder/carpenter and at some point he had cut "blocks" out of 4mm ply and fixed them over the existing boards. I've cleaned them up and waxed them and they look pretty decent to be honest.