Why Gap Hardwood Flooring

Yes it can still have gaps.

Why gap hardwood flooring.

The gap between the hardwood flooring and any obstruction should be a minimum of 5 8 inch and 3 4 inch is actually better as shown in figure 2. Adding filler is not a good idea. Putty fillers were once a mainstay of hardwood floor repair. Hardwood gaps are generally caused by one of a few installation errors.

The problem is magnified when the boards were not tightly laid in the first place. Improperly acclimating the hardwoods prior to installation. 10098557 don t delay fixing hardwood floor gaps. This is because the hardwood flooring expansion occurs on each board.

Why do we have gaps. Not only are they an eyesore they can also collect dirt and dust. Another exacerbating condition is water damage. Water logged wood will first swell then shrink as it dries out.

They weren t there in the summer solid 3 4 hardwoods will expand and contract with seasonal changes in moisture. The best times to repair hardwood floors are april and october. If you do discover that your hardwood floor is beginning to gap in spots it s important that you take care of it sooner rather than later. Jasper hardwood canadian silver maple collection in montebello gray sku.

With older tongue and groove hardwood or even wide plank floors gaps inevitably develop between the boards mostly because the wood shrinks over time as it dries out and loses moisture content. Wood fillers are also not meant for use with large gaps. The total expansion possible is a direct resultant of how many boards there are. Engineered hardwood flooring is designed to minimize gaps due to expansion and contraction of the wood.

Over time however the putty hardens chips and flakes. But to answer a common question. Thankfully for most hardwood floors the answer is no. Often it s a floor owner concerned with new hardwood floors separating or gapping.

This leaves your floor looking even worse and requiring you to dig out the old putty and replace it. The reason hardwood floors have gaps. During winter months complaints usually start trickling in. Hardwood floor gaps cracks.

There is a very simple explanation for why some months of the year you see gaps in your floor and other months you don t. What you re seeing happen is perfectly normal for all things made of wood in your home including your wood floors. Gaps in hardwood floors can be a huge visual annoyance. The larger the room the larger the gap must be.

Failing to install the first board perfectly straight in a hardwood flooring installation. For normal gaps no repairs are needed. For larger gaps that don t close up call in a professional contractor who can repair floors properly. It will get pushed out as the wood expands with moisture.