How to lay miniature wooden floor boards

I have seen floor boards laid before in houses and haven't really thought much more of them.  I usually just used scrap paper for the flooring.  But with my new house the floor was really rough and I thought laying wooden flooring would be the best option.

I brought a brand of balsa wood flooring called balsa basics from Bunnings, but they can be found at most craft stores.  I also used the balsa wood craft glue (there is also a PVA balsa glue which is less messy)

 

When cutting the end off the balsa glue, make the smallest hole you can so that only a small line of glue comes out, this ensures less glue seeps up in between the planks.  Balsa is very soft so can easily be cut with a box cutter, but also keep a pen handy to mark the cuts you need to make as you go.

I started by just laying the planks down without glue.  Figure out the best way to lay the planks where you are not cutting into too many corners or doorways.

Where there are tricky spots that require planks to be cut to specific lengths, map those out first by marking the boards with a pen and cutting them out with your box cutter.

It is best to work on small spaces at a time.  If you cut out the whole floor it is quite easy to get the wood all out of place when you are trying to pick it up to place glue under it.

Once you have mapped out all the tricky parts you should be able run the rest of boards in fairly straight runs.  I tried not to make my joins line up, by cutting the lengths of wood randomly.

At this stage I would run a line of glue, and glue the planks down straight away, ensuring to keep pushing them tight up against the row laid previously.

Once you have glued all the floor boards down give them 24 hours for the glue to dry completely.

Before and after of sanded boards

 Once completely dry, sand the boards with fine sandpaper (I used 120 grit).

Wrap the sand paper in a block of wood, as this helps give an even sand.  Start by sanding on about a 45 degree angle across the boards.  If you sand slightly diagonal to the direction of the boards you shouldn't catch a corner and chip or pull it up.  Balsa is extremely soft wood so don't push too hard or you will sand big scratches into the wood.

The fine wood dust then helps to fill the gaps left between any boards.  (See before and after photo to the left)

 I was really impressed with the end result so I have not stained them darker or put a varnish over the top.

It is important to remember that the balsa glue can leave white spots on the top of the timber if it is not sanded off.  So if you find a lot of glue was pushing up between the cracks when you were laying the flooring it is really important to give them a good sand to remove the excess glue and be mindful that you may end up with a patchy finish if you decide to paint/stain/varnish them.

If you have a really small space you could consider using double sided tape as a cleaner, quicker option.