Filling Gaps In Hardwood Floors?

[jyl]

Took possession of the new place.

Wife objects to the gaps in the hardwood floors, wants to have them filled. The floors are in fine shape and do not need refinishing, except for the gaps. But she's right, if we're ever going to have the floors done, time to do it now, before furniture arrives. The more objectionable gaps are over 3mm wide, so probably need strips of oak cut and glued in place, rather than simply filler putty.

Anyone think this is a DIY job? Anyone tried trimming and gluing in thin strips of hardwood flooring without sanding and refinishing the floor? What tool would you use to cut thin (3-5mm) strips precisely enough? I was thinking table saw w/ fine tooth blade, then hand plane to fit.

[vash]

john, i've been out of it! you moved to portland?

kinda sad the single gun freak moved out of berkeley. sad! i say.

is this a regular tongue/groove type floor?

[jyl]

Yeah, been up here for 3 months, commuting back to see the family in Berkeley, but when school ends they're headed up here.

Love PDX so far. Amazing how many CA refugees I meet.

On the floor - I'll go look closely today, all I recall is oak, narrow strips, random stagger pattern, old (house is 1911).

[vash]

yea, my sister went to louis and clark for her law school. visiting her was definately a highlight. the best sushi i ever had was there. i cant remember the name of the place tho. fun place, if there ever was a sushi nazi, the lady that takes your order would fit the bill. she was pure evil. great place.

congrats on the move. my ex carpenter coworker is coming in, later. i will pick his brain. he did floors previously.

[RickM]

I remember this question being asked on this old house. The concensus was that there was no easy way to repair. What they did propose was to fill the wider gaps with cord/rope.....uh huh, rope.

[trekkor]

How big of a floor are you talking about?

Is it tongue and groove wood?

Just have a flooring contractor repair it before you move in.
Shouldn't be very expensive and it will be done right if you find a good guy.

The price of the repair compared to the cost of the home loan is nothing.


KT

[singpilot]

Have had this done several times in various houses / boats. The filler route works only of the floor is dark.

The best one I ever had done was an old one as well, various gaps, warped eges, the works. The guy sanded everything flat, then made a fence to guide the router. He figured out the widest gap, and made the rest match, filled in with a soft, lighter shaded wood. 2-part epoxy sealed the entire floor with some gloss overlay. Was beautiful. Find a good wood floor guy and trust what he wants to do.

[notfarnow]

Originally posted by singpilot

The best one I ever had done was an old one as well, various gaps, warped eges, the works. The guy sanded everything flat, then made a fence to guide the router. He figured out the widest gap, and made the rest match, filled in with a soft, lighter shaded wood. 2-part epoxy sealed the entire floor with some gloss overlay. Was beautiful. Find a good wood floor guy and trust what he wants to do.

I've also seen it done this way and it looked great. Was a lot of work, and as Singpilot explained it does mean refinishing the floors.

I don't think there is an easy way to do this, and if the floors are in great shape otherwise it may not be worthwhile. Part of the charm of an old house is the imperfections.

Probably better than what I started with:

[craigster59]

Manila rope/twine pressed into the gaps and stained to match is the best way to go. Just unravel til it will squeeze into the gap.

[dad911]

Is the floor stable? Any squeeks? If it is stable, you could rip 'wedge-shaped' strips (think clapboard) and cut flush with the top with a sharp blade.

[Dixie]

I bet by the time you put rugs and furniture down the floor will have "character" rather than "gaps".

[jim72911t]

Congrats on the house.

I just had my floors redone last fall. Mine is a (tiny) hundred year old craftsman style bungalow, so I elected to have the original fir floors refinished to a period correct, rather than perfect finish. (There was carpet covering the wood when I moved in.)

I had a guy come in and do it for me. He filled the bigger gaps with similarly aged fir, and the smaller gaps with epoxy. He then applied a very light stain and sealed it. The floor has great character now, and totally changed the feel of the house. I like the slightly rustic look, as it goes well with the architecture.

BTW, I got a screaming deal, IMO. I think it was something like $1000 to do the living area, which is around 350sq ft. (told you it was tiny ) He came in on a Monday morning and he was done by Wednesday afternoon. Considering that I would have had to take a week off work, rent/buy supplies and tools, and learn as I went, there was no way I could justify doing it myself.

Do it before you move in. We're still finding dust in strange places, 9 months later.

Jim