Background:

I'm planning to install a wood floor made of 3/8" plywood strips, that will handle imperfections & slight height changes in my house.

Check you tube - they really look nice- and perfect for this situation. That decision is made. That's not my question.

In a studio type sleeping & living room space, I want to (probably-if I figure out how) create a bit of a visual division between the two areas by replacing one floorboard with thin slices of some branches I saved from a tree that was removed. I can use larger ones, & fill in with small diameter ones, but there will be voids to fill.

I want this strip to end up even with the top of the rest of the floor, not have these little spaces between the wood slices that are impossible to keep clean.

The whole floor will be finished with several coats of polyurethane, and will be smooth. Some epoxy / resin may also be use to fill any large knots in the floor - for the same reason - smooth.

So, the questions are:

Has anyone here used some sort of epoxy for filling voids in wood. What type?

Can it be poured all at once? Only 3/8" max.

How to prep the area so it doesn't run under the adjacent boards?

Following to see what others say.

What type of tree are the branches from?

Are you going to stain the plywood?

Oak

Yes, light to medium stain on pine plywood, but not stain the round slices. I want them to be noticeable.

I don't know, I'm thinking probably clear but not sure

Why not just mask off the section you planned on putting sticks in, use the same plywood and then stain it a different color to give the transition appearance?

If it doesn't have to be super crystal clear like glass you could use this;

://www.amazon.com/Magic-Resin-Casting-Crystal-Molding/dp/B08W4WD6ND/ref=asc_df_B08W4WD6ND?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80676776179894&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584276307971508&psc=1

There is so much inexpensive Laminate flooring, LVP Flooring and Bamboo Engineered real wood flooring -- there is simply no need to create your own type of plywood floor , not in these modern times.

Last year I spent around $13,000 on 11 different flooring, ranging from lots of 400 square feet to 1100 square feet.

400 sq feet will do a no bedroom unit.

600 sq feet for a 1 bedroom

800 sq feet for a 2 bedroom

and 1100 sq feet for a 3 bedroom unit.

I paid between $0.90 / per square foot, up to $2.00 per square foot for goods worth over $4.50 per square foot.

DJ,

Sounds interesting!

You can build up layers of epoxy.

Mike makes a good point about sealing and damming the edges before pouring.

Check out the vids on YT where they make big table tops, filling large gaps in a natural tree trunk table with epoxy. Glitter optional!

Need pitcures!

Thanks for all your input.

I think it could work.

I have read that epoxy can be poured over cured caulk, so it seems that would be the way to seal the area.

Experimenting on a little mock-up first would certainly be in order.

Plenty: That was my main concern - keeping it in place

Zero: The nice wood floors from about a century ago - when builders took pride in their work - first gave me the idea. The way they would use a different type of wood to create a decorative border. I could tape & stain differently, but it wouldn't be nearly as fun or cool-looking: ).

Thanks for the suggestion, Steve, and for the warnings Phil & Mike.

After given it a bit more thought while out for my morning walk, I have a few more suggestions.

You'll need to use a very good grade of plywood to make the strips & definitely something that doesn't have a lot of voids in the inner layers. A marine grade plywood would be ideal but it's expensive. Wacky wood aka bending plywood would also be another good choice however that is also expensive. You should at the very least get something that is AC or AB if there wasn't too much of a price difference.

How do you plan to fasten the plywood strips? At the very least you should use some type of strong flooring adhesive with some nails to hold them in place while the adhesive sets up.

Woodworkers use epoxy in wood all the time to seal off knots and other imperfections. I used epoxy to cover my home bar. Use a catalyzed product. Be aware that some epoxies will "yellow" slightly over time. If you look on youtube for woodworking videos of "epoxy resin table" and you'll see what they use to make molds where the mold doesn't stick to the epoxy...you may want to create a "dam" using this in just the area you want to do. For filler, they make epoxy fillers...just need to find the color you want or clear...most are a paste. Below are two ideas, but there are many more options.

amazon.com/J-B-Weld-8257-KwikWood-Stick-1/dp/B002NJDAJY/ref=sr_1_6?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.JPfqsbY-uXuXPs46d-VJ_VlOtDgsvXSTjaxfiOH4fH6Q1qRBbXmBUxSTjORRD__PTiqyuApmRj2UbsPUeNvjR4McMgkLiOcEIr3-ILkHk838wxvCUYwzBCS30rZ6VaFH7WkHFZ6suX25hl1lr8TJQXlIVHpULqFGy-mYekPrlteuSoXJdNi5osjasGZd2OzssUc2X-tYyaP46mJabGGVpVjoI5TNXx3YsPWy6UDR5alVrC8pyWxdypGYL8oQ5fLEOUjaVxwKyS_DpaRpuHYjPOrNCDkwz3juN-k5QaKwJlI.EkXK5wvoja0qjSsrV8cgCNkg2nvWrJNmCrXswr1wuLw&dib_tag=se&hvadid=651113511825&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9016481&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=7822503619165512767&hvtargid=kwd-12737633822&hydadcr=7553_13626081&keywords=wood%2Bepoxy%2Bfiller&qid=1710769118&sr=8-6&th=1