Why you should avoid putty fillers.
How to fix gaps in old wood floors.
There are many different ways to go about correcting this type of issue but we will dive into the most common.
If you cannot fix the problem by installing a humidifier you may need to take more drastic action when it comes to filling wide gaps.
The most extensive is to have to completely replace a floor that has too many gaps to repair without losing its beauty.
The problem is magnified when the boards were not tightly laid in the first place.
Engineered flooring is made with layers of plywood placed in different directions.
Different gap repair methods.
Water logged wood will first swell then shrink as it dries out.
Another exacerbating condition is water damage.
How to fix old hardwood floors with gaps and cupping.
This leaves your floor looking even worse and requiring you to dig out the old putty and replace it.
Wood expands and contracts with seasonal differences in humidity and the older a floor gets the greater the chance that these movements will.
Putty fillers were once a mainstay of hardwood floor repair.
This allows the layers to shift and move without gaps developing between boards.
If you haven t chosen flooring yet engineered hardwood is an excellent alternative to solid.
Over time however the putty hardens chips and flakes.
Wood fillers are also not meant for use with large gaps.
If gaps remain or the floor is old it is possible to make the gaps less noticeable and prevent dirt and debris from building up in them by filling them with rope.
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.
You can fix floor gaps in a number of different ways.