Old Hardwood Floors Have Gaps
In many areas there are gaps from 1 32 to 1 16th of an inch between the boards.
Old hardwood floors have gaps. Hardwood takes on and loses moisture as the temperatures and the humidity rises and falls. Wood expands and contracts with seasonal differences in humidity and the older a floor gets the greater the chance that these movements will. Is there a filler i can use. It s available in both satin and glossy finishes.
Set the angled tip of the tube into the gap and pull the trigger. Our house built in 1939 has a few gaps in the hardwood floors. We haven t refinished the floors yet. Tearing them out really isn t an option.
What about gaps in hardwood floors that are old. Water logged wood will first swell then shrink as it dries out. This stuff is created to restore previously sealed old hardwood woods. I am assuming the floors will have to be refinished after the filler is applied and has dried.
It is common to have gaps in hardwood floor after installation or when the floor gets old. Now you are ready to actually correct the gaps in your hardwood floor. This is especially noticeable with site finished floors whose final appearance after the work has been done is near flawless. Often it s a floor owner concerned with new hardwood floors separating or gapping.
This happen when wood loses its moisture content. Why does my floor have gaps or some similar version of that like can you fill the cracks in my floor it s not fun to have your floors refinished and the boards are tight in the summer and then just a few months later when things start to get colder they start opening and being full of gaps. Expansion and contractions causes hardwood floor gaps. The problem is magnified when the boards were not tightly laid in the first place.
Another good to know products like these that were created to refresh floors without sanding have a thick consistency that will fill light scratches and soften small dings. I have 2 inch wide red oak flooring throughout my house which was built in 1984. For years the floors were covered in carpet if that makes any difference. Whether your floors are newly installed or you ve had hardwood floors for years you can use humidifiers to reduce the likelihood of gaps.
It may take years for gaps to show up in your hardwood floors. Another exacerbating condition is water damage. How to fix old hardwood floors with gaps and cupping. Before you begin filling gaps in old wood floors with caulk make sure you have properly inserted the tube into a standard caulk gun.
They weren t there in the summer solid 3 4 hardwoods will expand and contract with seasonal changes in moisture. With older tongue and groove hardwood or even wide plank floors gaps inevitably develop between the boards mostly because the wood shrinks over time as it dries out and loses moisture content.