Gaps in old hardwood floors!

stl1944

15 years ago

Hello!

I recently pulled up the carpet in a room I am working on. I am considering refinishing the hardwoods underneath.

My only real concern is that there are some gaps between some of the boards...which doesn't surprise me given they are nearly 100 years old. You can fit a dime in between quite a few and a quarter between several.

Should I be concerned? I know you don't want this with new installations, but I am not concerned about getting a "new" look. I like the character that these old floors will have. Functionally will this create a problem?

The good news is it's winter here in St. Louis and I am told the gaps may tighten once the dry air leaves.

Should I refinish?

Featured Answer

PRO

Floor Sanding Dublin

6 years ago

Water Based Gap Filler

Just buy a gap filler from Bona or Junckers and mix it up with floor dust. Gaps up to 0.5-0.7 can be filled without any problems. The gap filler is flexible and it has no colour

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Comments (10)

ccoombs1
15 years ago
The gaps won't hurt a thing, except to collect dust. Gaps usually open up during the winter and tighten up in the summer, but as old as your floor is, they still may not close up all the way. I wouldn't worry about them at all. I think I'd refinish them with waterlox to preserve some of the "old" look. A poly finish on an old floor may not look as nice....sort of like putting a glossy paint job on a Model T Ford!
kec01
15 years ago
We have an oil finish on our 90 year old white oak floors. And we have small gaps, too, which open and close. We call them "character".
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stl1944
Original Author
15 years ago
Great, thank you! Now I am excited about it. I think there is enough wear layer to take the sanding. Thanks!
joann23456
15 years ago
Flooring_Advice, you say not to fill the gaps with filler because it just breaks, and you're right. But we have old fir floors in the upstairs of our house, and some of the gaps are 1/2" or more. They collect all sorts of junk in them if you leave them unfilled. What would you suggest?
probookie
15 years ago
joann, I am by no means an expert, but I did see this question addressed on (I think) This Old House. The flooring guy filled the large gaps between the boards with rope of an appropriate size to work down into the cracks. I believe he said he picked it up in different sizes at a place that sold boating supplies. He said the rope would accommodate the expansion and contraction of the flooring, and installing it was easy to do.
cdainis
15 years ago
We are restoring a 1762 house with old floors in poor condition that have large gaps between the boards. Beneath the boards, there's a thick layer of dust, dirt, hair etc. in the space between the floor joists... years and years of gunk and grime beneath the floors. Is there any way to clean out this space without tearing up the entire floor? I was wondering about services like the ones that vacuum ducts. Has anyone run into this and found a solution? Thanks for any ideas!
t_d_macdonald_hotmail_com
12 years ago
This is what I've decided to try with ours! Cute

Here is a link that might be useful: Wood Floors
millworkman
6 years ago
Floor Sanding Dublin, this post is from 2011, would hope they have it solved by now.
PRO
WeShipFloors
6 years ago
I bet they still have cracks :)

Gaps in old hardwood floors!

Floor Sanding Dublin

Comments (10)

ccoombs1

kec01

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stl1944
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Gaps in old hardwood floors!

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