Why Gap Hardwood Flooring

This is because the hardwood flooring expansion occurs on each board.

Why gap hardwood flooring.

This leaves your floor looking even worse and requiring you to dig out the old putty and replace it. Another exacerbating condition is water damage. The reason hardwood floors have gaps. Engineered hardwood flooring is designed to minimize gaps due to expansion and contraction of the wood.

Hardwood floor gaps cracks. 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. The larger the room the larger the gap must be. Failing to keep boards straight when working.

Not only are they an eyesore they can also collect dirt and dust. Often it s a floor owner concerned with new hardwood floors separating or gapping. Wood fillers are also not meant for use with large gaps. Why you should avoid putty fillers.

Adding filler is not a good idea. For larger gaps that don t close up call in a professional contractor who can repair floors properly. The best times to repair hardwood floors are april and october. They weren t there in the summer solid 3 4 hardwoods will expand and contract with seasonal changes in moisture.

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. Gaps in hardwood floors can be a huge visual annoyance. The problem is magnified when the boards were not tightly laid in the first place. What you re seeing happen is perfectly normal for all things made of wood in your home including your wood floors.

Water logged wood will first swell then shrink as it dries out. It will get pushed out as the wood expands with moisture. The total expansion possible is a direct resultant of how many boards there are. 10098557 don t delay fixing hardwood floor gaps.

Why do we have gaps. Hardwood gaps are generally caused by one of a few installation errors. Thankfully for most hardwood floors the answer is no. But to answer a common question.

Over time however the putty hardens chips and flakes. Improperly acclimating the hardwoods prior to installation. Yes it can still have gaps. During winter months complaints usually start trickling in.

Putty fillers were once a mainstay of hardwood floor repair. For normal gaps no repairs are needed. Failing to install the first board perfectly straight in a hardwood flooring installation. 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.