My husband and I have spent several years of weekends working on our retirement retreat in a remote part of Washington State. This summer I am finally getting around to finishing the floors which are made of 2 inch thick, tongue & groove, cedar car decking with no subflooring. The problem is this: shrinkage plus some natural settling in of the structure have resulted in some substantial, inter-board gaps here and there. I want to fill these channels before sealing the floors but need advice on the best filler material to use. As the house is semi-rustic and the gaps are random, I’m not particularly concerned about color or textural match. On the other hand, to head off future gapping, the solution must bond to the cedar (which is thoroughly dry and has not been treated with anything as yet) and have roughly the same flexibility/pliability. Suggestions most gratefully accepted!
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"filler for wood floors"
Look for this thread in this general discussion file. Just klick on the blue highlighted header to get all the threads in the file and find the one you want. As I said in that one there is another thread out there about wood floor fillers. I just can't find it right now.
Good luck and welcome.
Could you please state the width of the gaps or post a photo of the gaps?
Thank you,
Ditch
Edited 8/1/2002 3:36:48 PM ET by luvditchburns
Hi Ditch
I can't supply a picture at the moment but I can tell you that most of the gaps are in the neighborhood of 1/8" with an occasion gap of as much as 1/4+". The gaps are not uniformly distributed across the floor, i.e. there may be a run of 3 or 4 tightly joined planks before hitting a gap. The planks are 2 inches thick and 6 inches across if that is any help.
Look forward to your ideas
gwagner
Wag,
Dandy Andy beat eveyone to the best fix. Either cut long wedges or pile in thin strips. Careful work with a hand held belt sander will take them right down.
Ditch
Nothing will work in that situation.
T
Do not try this at home!
I am a trained professional!
Slivers of cedar to fill the gaps would work best glued in before sanding
It's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Andy...yooo da man!!
Ditch
yeh, I am on occasion....lol......I did that to my oak floors here....I ripped some paper then pieces of oak and slipped in as many as would fit with yellow glue and left em all proud above the floor. I then sanded the entire floor and theres no way anyone including me can tell where there were gaps. Its been about two years and its still awesome. Dats definatly the way to go no doubt!
Be well
Namaste'
AndyIt's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
> slipped in as many as would fit with yellow glue and left em all proud above the floor. I then sanded ....
I've done that. Yes, it works beautifully. The only difficulty was that the yellow glue tends to gum up the sandpaper. I gave it 2-3 days to harden, but heat from the friction seems to soften it. Sometimes you get lucky and find grain that matches so perfectly that you can look at it with a magnifying glass and not see the repair.
-- J.S.
<<I've done that. Yes, it works beautifully. The only difficulty was that the yellow glue tends to gum up the sandpaper>>
Gum up the sander?? We're talking sanding floors with layers of poly or paint or whatever....First sanding with a loose grit will eat it up like ........... and the other sandings will polish it off. I aint a floor refinsher but I've done my share...MAybe fifty floors or so....Shoulda bought my own sanding equiptment by now but those suckers cost more then a truck....lol. Not to mention I'd rather have the Ditch man do it for me
Be well
Namaste'
AndyIt's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Andy,
Jeff J Buck....my Homey...says when those floors are ready....he's gonna be my corner man. We'll drive up and do 'em. I don't drink....but Jeffs a fish so have some premium imports for him...he's also a beer snob!!
Oh, I'm like Steve Miller....joker.....midnight toker.....see you then....
Ditch
Dude...we are soooo there,cant wait,,,,,hopin' this week will bring me to the place I been hopin' to go and we all will rock....not to mention 45 minutes to Mahatten and I know the places to go downtown.........Plenty of room in the new crib for you all (if I get it).......Cant wait to jam...money is there too : )
Be well
Namaste
Andy
It's not who's right, it's who's left ~ http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Edited 8/4/2002 11:00:35 PM ET by Andy Clifford(Andybuildz)
I did a similar thing, as Andy suggest, to my old CVG fir floor. Where the gaps between the boards were too large, I ran a 1/4" router bit down to the top of the tongue. Then using a polyurethane glue, fit in a new (salvaged) piece. Looks great, but I did trash a few carbide bits hitting a some badly placed nails.
Ken
You can glue veneer strips into the gaps. They are so thin you just keep piling them in till the crack is filled. You should be able to get veneer mail order from constantine's http://www.constantines.com/ or some other woodworking supplier.