best method/product for filling cracks between floorboards ?

[intexasatthe moment]

Has anyone any pointers or advice ?

Old floorboards ,not yet sanded .

[Jenny1]

Never used it myself, but I have a friend who swears by home-made papier mache.

[Jenny1]

PS As I remember it, PVA glue is part of the mix. I'm sure there'd be info online re that.

[Jules-and-Boo]

keep the wood dust from sanding the floor and mix with a resin filler.

here's a vid

if the gaps are too big, you will need to pack with strips of wood.

[*Bob*]

I think it depends on your gap sizes, the colour of your floor, what you want it to look like - and the level of effort and cost you're interested in.

In the end - for ours - I used some stuff which I think is called 'draughtex' now, which is a big roll of squashy dark grey rubber tubing that you stretch out and push in with a supplied applicator tool. It's easy to use, no glue/mess, looks good (with our colour floorboards anyway, you don't really see it), isn't permanent in case you change your mind later - and most importantly, hasn't fallen out yet.

If there's a lot of variation in your 'gaps' you might need a couple of different width tubes. If the gaps are really big, over a certain width, it won't work.

They used to let you order a few free samples to try it out first..

[Jeremy]

The guys who sanded our floors used the sawdust-and-resin method. We weren't expecting it to last a lifetime, but it all started dropping out within a couple of months (maybe OK for very small gaps though). We should have probably found someone able to do the thin-strips-of-wood thing instead.

Have filled in some gaps myself with brown decorator's caulk which seems to work OK, but is a bit of a messy job.

[intexasatthe moment]

Thanks all - looking like "draughtex" or "stopgap" or

http://www.screwfix.com/p/stikatak-cork-expansion-gap-inserts-brown-18-pack/72555?kpid=72555&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&gclid=Cj0KEQjwr7S-BRD96_uw9JK8uNABEiQAujbffCz5m3M3B8tLup3XHy4HRf5kR5N7EL3FXzhWxokhDbMaAg818P8HAQ

[*Bob*]

Strips of wood / splicing is the top-end solution - but it's only as good as the person who does it and can take a long time and cost wedge. If you've got lots of variation in gaps it's a bit of an art to get it looking good.

I started out with a bag of sawdust and a tin of clear sticky stuff and did a few experiments first - decided pretty quickly it would succumb to gravity in lots of places. And it was a real arse.

I should say the purpose of the draughtex is to.. er.. seal the gaps and stop draughts, not to fill the gaps for a visual effect for a flat, gapless floor - it can't do that!

[Jeremy]

How about the draughtex stuff with a layer of sawdust/resin over the top? Maybe longer lasting than just the latter.

[*Bob*]

Yeah that would probably work better.

tbh I didn't really like the way the sawdust thing looked anyway.. it looked a bit like fluff, dirt and 'stuff' had just fallen into the cracks and built-up.

I prefer the gaps between the boards look - just not the icy blasts that rush up from them during winter.

I was only doing sporadic areas though, not a whole room.

[red devil]

Jeremy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The guys who sanded our floors used the

> sawdust-and-resin method. We weren't expecting it

> to last a lifetime, but it all started dropping

> out within a couple of months (maybe OK for very

> small gaps though). We should have probably found

> someone able to do the thin-strips-of-wood thing

> instead.

This is because the timber floorboards will expand and contract with temp/moisture changes. The floorboards need a gap to expand into...

[malumbu]

Where is the foor and do you need to fill the gaps in? As it will be a floating floor no doubt houses breath in part through the floor.

Will there be any sort of covering?

If you do need to fill the gaps, thin slithers of wood as has been already suggested. Anything else will just be messy.

[Jeremy]

red devil Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> This is because the timber floorboards will expand

> and contract with temp/moisture changes. The

> floorboards need a gap to expand into...

Not 100% convinced, people manage to have fitted hardwood floors without the need for gaps for expansion.

[DaveR]

All the flooring companies recommend that you leave a gap at the edges to allow for expansion, and that's with flooring products that have been manufactured to minimise it.

We used the sawdust & glue method - ok for a while, but over time it becomes more brittle and with expansion it pulls away from one side, eventually cracks and falls out. You can get silicone products in 'wood' colours that supposedly get over the problem, but not tried them.

[red devil]

That's right DaveR. If you want the close boarded look, the best solution is a perimeter expansion gap under the skirting so it's not seen, i.e. the skirting board sits slightly above the floor boards. The gap can be filled with a flexible mastic to prevent draughts in either clear or a colour to match the floor boards. Personally I'd leave the gap if it's a period property as the building needs to 'breathe' a little...

[Seabag]

I found that boarded, judo mat style thick underlay and a good wool carpet did the trick.

Bloody lovely it is now too, but stopped about a 30cm short of the and hearth and fitted a wood edge along that length. It shows the painted boards from there on (a bit like a giant fitted rug)

[Jules-and-Boo]

nice, Seabag. my sister's done similar - with carpet in the middle and the wood all around the edge - about 1m margin.

[red devil]

In keeping with what the Victorians did...

Flooring: Do try to be authentic. Carpets should be heavily patterned in dark green, red or pink and white, with large three-dimensional designs incorporating flower, animals and sometimes geometric motifs. Most Victorian houses had some carpets, but there was usually a two-foot wide margin around the perimeter, with the floorboards quite often stained or stenciled with geometric or floral designs.

[Sue]

I used plastic strips which come in two colours. Can't remember what they're called but I'll see if I can find it.

Really easy to fit, they're a V shape and expand to fill the gap, look natural (I used dark brown between white painted floorboards and they just look like gaps) and stop draughts.

There is another thread on the subject on here somewhere, and I gave the name on there. I'll see if I can find it.