Why Do I Have Gaps In My Hardwood Floor

During winter months complaints usually start trickling in.

Why do i have gaps in my hardwood floor.

Large gaps in wood floors that do not close up during the summer months could be a result of excessive moisture check the crawl space below being located too close to a heating vent incorrect nail spacing or structural settlement issues. 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. Not only are they an eyesore they can also collect dirt and dust. 10098557 don t delay fixing hardwood floor gaps.

Adding filler is not a good idea. Hardwood floor gaps cracks. Don t even think about repairs until the spring the floors amy have corrected. Jasper hardwood canadian silver maple collection in montebello gray sku.

While humidity may affect your hardwood floor permanent cracking is also a possible issue. Don t put any filler into prefinished floors it never looks good. Yes it can still have gaps. Improperly acclimating the hardwoods prior to installation.

It will get pushed out as the. For normal gaps no repairs are needed. Gapping in engineered hardwood can be due to many factors including but not limited to the material s manufacturing changes in humidity and the type and quality of the installation. But to answer a common question.

Some finishes may also help reduce the risk of your hardwood floor drying. Failing to keep boards straight when working. Gaps in hardwood floors can be a huge visual annoyance. Repairing permanent floor cracks photo credit.

They weren t there in the summer solid 3 4 hardwoods will expand and contract with seasonal changes in moisture. Water logged wood will first swell then shrink as it dries out. In cases where the gaps aren t repaired by increasing the humidity levels you will need to fill these cracks. The wood shrinks because it loses moisture and gaps.

Do all this if you expect your solid wood floors to stay tight. In any case wait until spring before you do any filling and do it sparingly. Another exacerbating condition is water damage. Almost every wood floor will show some separation between boards particularly in the winter months when homes are heated and the air is dry.

Why does my floor have gaps or some similar version of that like can you fill the cracks in my floor it s not fun to have your floors refinished and the boards are tight in the summer and then just a few months later when things start to get colder they start opening and being full of gaps. 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. Hardwood gaps are generally caused by one of a few installation errors. The gaps that you have now are probably permanent.

Failing to install the first board perfectly straight in a hardwood flooring installation. Often it s a floor owner concerned with new hardwood floors separating or gapping.