Five years ago we purchased a small house that was over a century old. We have been lovingly restoring it ever since. Trying to stay with materials and styles of the era, we installed a wood floor using 6 inch wide t & g boards. These boards were supposed to be dry when we purchased them, and we kept them in the room of the house where they were to be installed for 3 weeks to acclimatize before starting the installation. Unfortunately, our precautions were to no avail. We now have a beautiful wood floor that has major separations between each and every floor board! We cannot afford the time, money or energy to rip this out and start over. The cracks look horrible and collect all the dust and dirt that is tracked in. What is the best thing to use to fill these cracks? We have already tried wood fill and white glue with sawdust mixed in. Both chipped out within a few weeks under regular wear and tear. Help!
Comment Guidelines
We welcome your feedback on Houseandhome.com. H&H reserves the right to remove any unsuitable personal remarks made about the bloggers, hosts, homeowners and/or guests we feature. Please keep your comments focused on decorating, design, cooking and other lifestyle topics. Adopt a tone you would be willing to use in person and do not make slanderous remarks or use denigrating language. If you see a comment that you believe violates any of the guidelines outlined above, please click “Alert a Moderator.” Thank you.
How big are those cracks you are talking about? I know the industry standard (as acceptable) for narrower flooring, is the thickness of a credit card, any bigger and you need a couple of things to help.
If you don't have enough humidity in the house, gaps will happen as they usually do in the winter when the air is drier. When it gets more humid again the wood expands again which is why you need a flexible filler.
When I bought my new house they told me to keep the humidity up to the point where the windows get condensation (and then turn it down a bit because that condensation will wreck your windows). You have to adjust it as the outside temperature changes or floors dry out too much and shrink more than they should. My warranty would actually have been invalid had I not had a humidifier installed.
Flooring stores have a wax crayon like product they use and it comes in various shades to match wood tones. You just rub it in. It may come out later but no big deal, just rub some more in.
For really wide gaps (like .25"+) in ancient floors I believe you use something like oakem (not sure of the spelling). Basially it's like a rope that comes in various thicknesses and then add a stain to it to match the floor. I think it's a technique actually used in boat building.
Meanwhile, call a flooring store because if you fill those gaps with the wrong stuff you are going to have a real mess on your hands or could ruin the floor if it no longer has room to expand and contract.
I moved into my condo and had this problem. It really depends on the size of the gap. In my case there were two problems...one, there was a gap about four metres long that was about 1/8th inch at one end...two, one side tended to flex more than the other so when you stepped on the gap you could easily notice a change in elevation. It wasn't so bad but bad enough to notice.
I tried filling the gap with some of the filling compound you could by at Home Depot. It didn't work so well because it didn't fill the entire space under the floor. By chance, I had a root canal and I had a spare syringe that I used to rinse my gums while they were healing. I filled the syringe with the same compound and redid the filling job but this time I was able to get underneath the floor and fill in the space. I was surprised that I used about three tubes of the compound to fill the four metre space.
So far so good. The colour doesn't match exactly but it is barely noticable unless you really take a good look at it. The floor is even and no longer sinks slightly when stepped on.
Previously I worked (as a bookkeeper) in a flooring store, and remembered one of the Hardwood Reps suggesting to us that any board wider than 4" should be glued as opposed to nailed. I don't really know exactly why, but maybe to prevent gapping, cupping, etc.
I do also remember seeing on This Old House or Ask This Old House a repair to the space in the planks of wood, they were using some kind of cording or rope to fill in the gap.???????????
I too live in a 150yr old home(only for the past 1 1/2yrs) and truly love the character and charm of it.
Good Luck!
Cameron, the flooring guy in the other forum. If there are any alternative solutions than pulling them all up, I am sure he would know. Good Luck with that. Norm
we had some problems with our hardwood floors ( damage when moving in). The professionals at a flooring store told us the only way to correct our problem was to remove the damaged boards( a special tool is required). It sounds like you will have to move ever board over, to butt up against the one closest. I think in your case you should talk to someone who really knows what you are up against. We tried fillers in our damaged area, but within days the filler changed color. I hope this helps!
Jill
We really feel for you!
I wonder if you might be wise to check nearby exterior walls, both upstairs and downstairs. We have a similar problem, and I'm trying to figure out the cause too.
In my case, we have a 1970-built home with its original hardwood flooring. It was under some wall-to-wall when we moved in, which we removed. The floor has wear, but we like it and hope to refinish it when the kids are older. Anyway, the only room that has big gaps between the boards in winter (now actually) is the master bedroom, on the second floor and against an outside wall. The rest of the flooring is solid and 'tight'.
I'm only guessing, but I'm thinking the cause for my problem might be from a cold storage closet made by previous owners. Downstairs and directly beneath the master bedroom, walls were constructed to make a cold storage closet in the corner of the laundry room, which is on street level. (not a true basement) Renters who were here when we viewed the house before purchasing said it was always cold, and no wonder: There is a metal ventilation grate to the outside that let cold air in all winter to this cold closet. When my father-in-law tore the walls of it down with a crowbar, I think he just put a board over the grate in the wall, and left the plain boards that were nailed to the outside wall. I think we should take down the boards, and see if there is proper insulation in the section of the walls that made the closet. At least, I know we have to insulate and repair that grate location properly.
My first suggestion you already tried. But, what about an epoxy type product. I'm not sure how wide the cracks are ...1/4 inch?? The boards will contract in the winter and expand in the summer. The expansion will force out the filler in the summer if applied in the winter. Epoxy will be messy to apply...may have to tape the boards. Color match may be a problem...you may have to actually highlight the cracks by using a darker epoxy. A flexibe caulking would probably not work well. Dirt may stick to the Skin of the caulk. Flexible sealant/caulk would allow for movement. We bought a home in Mahone Bay that had pine boards with wide cracks. The boards were also cracked and split. We replaced the floor with hardwood..It turned out great. Already having done your floor is a different thing. I just remembered... my wife's uncle's floor. It was wide planks with a marine sealant purposely put between the planks. He is a boat builder and was imitating a boat deck. It was very nice. Check with a marine supplier like Stright-McKay.