Comments on: How to Fix Hardwood Floor Gaps

By: Wendy

Wendy — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 16:45:03 +0000

In reply to Michael Krause. Can you remember what measurements of mortar to paint you used? I had a hand scraped wide plank oak floor installed by lumber liquidators, and they waited the amount of time for the planks to acclimatize, but still i have many wide gaps.

By: Michael Krause

Michael Krause — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 13:47:15 +0000

I had many real major long cracks/seams in a floor (some over 3/8 inch wide) that I repaired many years ago in a 70 plus year old home. Some of the floors were hard woods (oak and maple) and some were soft wood fir. I asked many pros with no luck with a good cheap answer. I thought good and hard at the time and tried my own mixture (on a budget) and it worked out great Knowing floors shrink and stretch depending on weather conditions I knew anything hard would pop out in time or buckle the floor.What I did was made a mixture of latex paint of a brown color (to match or contrast the wood) and mortar. You read this correctly MORTAR, as in concrete. Guessing the mortar would thicken the paint and helps it dry hard, yet the latex paint stays flexible when it drys (in a day or two) I did not fill all the small cracks just the larger ones because the wood still needs to stretch and shrink. To-date (after 15 years) the floor is holding up great, nothing popped out and nothing buckled

By: BuildDirect Product Expert Team

BuildDirect Product Expert Team — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 22:38:36 +0000

In reply to William Frost. Hi William, Thank you for getting in touch! I would not suggest sliding all the planks across because you may not be able to get the boards back together again. You should be able to find a wood filler product at your local hardware store and this would be the best option to fill the gap. Please let us know if you have any other questions!

By: William Frost

William Frost — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 20:06:43 +0000

I have a half inch gap between boards right where my closet door closes. I can slide one board but cant get the others to slide. Was hopeing to slide all down and fill along the back wall. I dont see and spatles or nails holding them together. House is about 15 years old.

By: BuildDirect Product Expert Team

BuildDirect Product Expert Team — Wed, 30 Mar 2016 17:18:01 +0000

In reply to Van.

Hi Van,

You are correct about the humidifier, that is the only way to fix the flooring. I definitely do not recommend using a poly filler in between the planks because they will expand again once the humidity does go up.

If you are okay with the gaps you can leave the flooring but there could be a tripping hazard and the floor will constantly expand and contract with the changes in humidity. I would suggest trying a floating vinyl plank because it doesn’t react to changes in humidity as much as real wood does. It is also a lot easier to clean. Please let us know if you have any other questions!

By: Van

Van — Wed, 30 Mar 2016 14:11:49 +0000

Recently installed some BuildDirect engineered natural maple flooring in my motorhome that was left over from our house installation. When first installed, everything was glued down tight with absolutely no gaps and no moldings. The look was fantastic! However, as the flooring has acclimated to the very dry conditions that the coach is stored in (Phoenician dryness, and soon heat too), each piece has shrunk revealing very thin gaps between each floor board throughout the installation. The look now is similar to beveled edging because it occurs evenly throughout the installation. The flooring gaps are of 3 to 5 sheets-of-paper thickness all around each board. I have no doubt that if a humidifier were to be added to the coach, the gaps would close. However unlike a house, in this case that is not practical.

What would you suggest? Live with it, fix it or replace it with something else?

Is there a Polly filler that could be applied which would mask the darker lines this shrinkage has revealed? If such a filler were to be applied, is there a risk that it could be squeezed out if the coach were to be taken to a more humid climate? The mobile nature of the entire installation presents an interesting challenge!

By: BuildDirect Product Expert Team

BuildDirect Product Expert Team — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 19:42:33 +0000

In reply to Cris Flores. Hi Cris, Thank you for getting in touch! Unfortunately you cannot use the same methods to fix gapping in laminate floor as you can with hardwood. If you have gapping in your laminate floor it is important to try to get the humidity up in the areas to around 40-55%. I would also suggest checking if you have any areas that are larger than 750 square feet or have a run longer than 30 feet. If the floor is installed in an area too large without transition strips the floor will be too heavy to expand and contract and it can come apart. There are no quick fixes for gapping in laminate floors, but the best bet would be to check the two options above and get in touch with the manufacturer to ensure there are no known defects with the floor. Please let us know if you have any other questions!

By: Cris Flores

Cris Flores — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 21:43:48 +0000

Can you use this method for fixing gaps on laminate flooring as well?

By: Ron Allen

Ron Allen — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 09:14:13 +0000

Is there a caulk that I can use to fill gaps between my t and g pine floors. Wood fillers crack under movement and hope the elasticity of caulking will hold up. Maybe a colored caulking would work or even clear. Any negatives when caulking wood flooring? Ron Allen, Carmel, Ca.

By: phyllis prater

phyllis prater — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 04:15:15 +0000

Where are the answers to the questions from the six people above; Carla, Brian, Bogda, Jerry, and Korrey? Looked but no luck finding them.