How do I patch this hole on the surface of my balcony floor?

May 28, 2017 12:50 PM

There is a hole in the surface of my balcony floor that I would like to patch up. It happened a few summers ago when I rested the edge of a hot metal grill grate on the surface before letting it cool. I'm not sure what the surface is made of but it feels sort of rough and cement-like. Ideas for fixing this?

Here is a picture of the hole. You can see it didn't burn all the way through the balcony, just through the top surface to whatever structure the balcony is made of (wood?). I would like to patch this up so that I can repaint the surface in preparation for selling. What sort of product do I need? Any tips for getting the texture right so it matches the existing surface?

Ideally I'd like to do this myself since it's not very big, but if I absolutely need to hire someone, please tell me what kind of professional I should look for! Contractors are very difficult to book out here unless you have a big project, which makes me even more motivated to do it myself!

posted by joan_holloway to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

I would use polyesther filler, the kind that needs to be mixed with a hardening agent and can be used to fill holes in wood. To get a close approxomation of the texture, I'd pat it with a hard brush before it's hard.
Try it out first, on a piece of wood, to get a feel for the material and to be certain that you know how to get the texture right.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:19 PM on May 28, 2017

... I guess cement would work, too.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:20 PM on May 28, 2017

polyester filler = Bondo. available in hardware and auto parts stores. Fill hole with bondo, try to duplicate texture, paint entire surface with floor paint.
posted by H21 at 1:31 PM on May 28, 2017

In the polyester filler category, there is also Marine Tex. You can get it at a boat store such as West Marine if there is one in your area.

I'd be concerned about getting some kind of bond between the patch and it's surroundings. You want to sand the bottom and abrade the edges as best you can.

It's going to be hard to match the texture. I'd think it terms of some kind roller, maybe even a hair roller. I'd do a trial, maybe on a stray piece of plywood, Masonite, or even stiff cardboard.
posted by SemiSalt at 10:02 AM on May 29, 2017