Hi folks, My new crisis is as follows! I've had floorboards sanded, then treated with a wax/oil treatment, by a flooring man, in 2 rooms.He assured me he would fill between the boards, (particularly impt where tongue and groove was broken for WWorm t-ment)but "decided not to".Great.I now have a problem in that they have to be filled with something.This chap doesn't know what to use, he suggested black silicone, which is hopeless and just pulls up. Anyone had this problem before?? Would really appreciate help, thanks
Hi oxfordblue71. I suspect the reason the floor guy didn't fill the gaps was because he knows it's an age-old problem that's a real hassle to solve. However, he said he'd do it - so he should; you paid him for it? The absolute best method is to cut thin strips of matching wood - with a slight taper along its profile so that it's wedged into place - PVA it and tap it into place. The floor is sanded afterwards... Other ideas are to mix sawdust with PVA to make a thick paste and to knife this into the gaps - this might work if the paste is thick enough (plenty of sawdust), but all the flooring sawdust has been chucked out, right?! Papier-maché might work - I dunno - but could equally look horrible. However, most of these solutions should be done before final sanding for best results, but could probably be done afterwards too. Wood filler - even flexible stuff - really won't work because of too much movement in the floor; it'll just crack and fall out. Something I've used in the past, with good results, is cheap 'frame sealant' (eg 24481) in brown. Cut the nozzle to suit the gap so that the bead is slightly concave - sitting a little below the floor surface - and it'll quickly form a skin but will remain flexible so won't crack. It actually looked ok too; the dark brown colour just looked like the floorboard gaps (I think your black silicone would have been too much of a contrast anyway, even if it had stuck). Really, you didn't give it a second glance afterwards - it just looked 'normal'! When I did this, I did have the floorboards stained a med-oak colour, so it fitted in particular well - you might find that a lighter shade laminate sealant (Beech? - SFD 71920) will be a better shade? (However, don't forget that floorboard gaps do look dark in contrast to the boards themselves, and are a natural feature of real floors - so I think the dark brown could work for you too!) If you decide to try this, run the bead into the gap pushing the gun forwards. Squeeze the trigger steadily so that you get an even bead. Don't worry if two little 'tramlines' of sealant form on top of the boards either side of the nozzle - this shows that you are filling the gap well - but try and keep them as small as possible. Afterwards, allow these lines to set (they'll only partially set, tho'), and try and gently scrape them off. If necessary, you can use white spirits and a cloth to wipe off any traces, but don't go over the actual gaps you've filled! Good luck - and let us know what you end up doing, please, 'cos this is a problem many peeps have asked about.
Why fill? they look ugly filled, should have taken them up moved together and relayed if you want decent job .
I used the floorboard filler made from a folded strip of plastic in our living room and hall and it collected a lot of dirt in the groove which the vacuum would not fetch out and where the gaps were a bit wider the ends tended to come up from walking over the floor. We have now pulled it up again and fitted a foam based floorboard filler. Takes a little longer to install (even with the applicator)-probably 3 hours per room. But seems to hold up well.
I tend to use some silicone between gaps in the chipboard to help stop movement between the boards too
I'm planning to mix PVA with the sand-dust created from sanding the floor to fill my floor boards. Any advice on the ratio I should use? And any experience of this method and follow on finish to the floorboards - paint versus varnish etc??? Thanks.
Just experiment with the ratio, you need as little PVA as you can get away with and it still be workable and all the dust wet. I'm not a fan of varnish.
You could use this http://www.draughtex.co.uk/ or this http://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/product/bona-gap-master?gclid=CKmHnuH8mskCFQ63GwodAQwGjw
HI. Moonshine is right, the only way to fill gaps in floorboards properly and permanently is by using wooden slivers. They are actually quite cheap now, probably the best place to get them no sis the website below www.fillgapsinfloorboards.co.uk Once you sand over it you end up with a completely gapless floor