Wood floor gap filling

​Wood floor gap filling methods

Gaps in wood flooring are caused by the long-term expansion and contraction of the wood. Although significant gaps in relatively new wood flooring are relatively uncommon along the lengths of the board, you may find that newer floors develop gaps at the ends of the boards. Old floors on the other hand are likely to have gaps, both along the lengths of the boards as well as at the ends, due to the years and years of expansion and contraction the floor will have faced. Shrinkage in floors is more common with solid wood floors, than engineered flooring.

We are using three main methods of filling flooring gaps :

Dust & Resin mix

If the floor is being sanded, perhaps the best way to fill the gaps between planks or parquet is to use a dust and resin mixture. In this method the fine dust which is generated during the sanding process is mixed with a resin compound to form a paste. This paste can be worked into the gaps and then allowed to dry before the floor area is re-sanded. The benefit of this method is the exact match concerning the flooring colour. This is the least effective way as it can easily crack and fall out, however this method is least costly than others.

Reclaimed wood slivers

These are pre-cut strips and angled at each end from 0mm – 6mm or 0mm-8mm . Mostly used on Victorian pine floorboards when there is a problem with draughts coming up from a cellar or, simply, if it makes the floor more aesthetically pleasing. Each sliver is covered with PVA wood adhesive and hammered into the existing gap , left to dry and then the excess wood is chiselled away before the sanding and finishing stage . This method guarantees that the filler will not pop out or drop down below the floor, because they will be able to rest on the joists too. What’s more, filler strips also create a very stable and attractive end result.

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Colour match acrylic filler        ​

The simplest way of filling gaps is using a colour match acrylic filler or mastic. This is an easy and quick product to apply and any excess can be wiped away easily. Essentially a mastic, this method is fast, efficient and doesn’t require sanding at the end. The biggest problem with this method is that it can be difficult to choose an acrylic colour which matches the colour of the wood perfectly.