New Hardwood Floors Have Gaps

Not only are they an eyesore they can also collect dirt and dust.

New hardwood floors have gaps. How to fix gaps in hardwood floors. I am assuming the floors will have to be refinished after the filler is applied and has dried. Another exacerbating condition is water damage. Avoiding hardwood floor gaps.

Water logged wood will first swell then shrink as it dries out. One of the most annoying and potentially harmful issues are cracks. The problem is magnified when the boards were not tightly laid in the first place. Improperly acclimating the hardwoods prior to installation.

In many areas there are gaps from 1 32 to 1 16th of an inch between the boards. Wood cuts like plain sawn quarter and rift sawn will shrink swell in relation to the growth rings pic 4. We offer one of the southeast s finest collections of cherry maple pine mahogany hickory birch and oak unfinished solid hardwood prefinished hardwood and engineered hardwood flooring. Try to avoid gaps in the first place.

We also offer such exotic species as acacia and teak. It may take years for gaps to show up in your hardwood floors. Have the installer perform a humidity level test because either very high or very low humidity can cause bowing splitting and warping. Engineered hardwood flooring is designed to minimize gaps due to expansion and contraction of the wood.

Hardwood floor gaps cracks. Gaps in hardwood floors can be a huge visual annoyance. Unfortunately these floors suffer from problems which aren t found in other floor types. Expansion and contractions causes hardwood floor gaps.

But to answer a common question. Failing to keep boards straight when working. Wood flooring 2 1 4 wide shrinks appreciatively less than wider 6 flooring due to its mass of more wood. Hardwood takes on and loses moisture as the temperatures and the humidity rises and falls.

Hardwood gaps are generally caused by one of a few installation errors. 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. Generally speaking wider flooring can have wider gaps. Before installing hardwood floors it is important to acclimate the product to your home.

Yes it can still have gaps. Failing to install the first board perfectly straight in a hardwood flooring installation. 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. Macon hardwood is a trusted supplier with more than 15 years experience in the hardwood flooring industry.

Hardwood floors are becoming popular once again due to their beauty and new preservation techniques. I have 2 inch wide red oak flooring throughout my house which was built in 1984. Is there a filler i can use. Lighter flooring will show gaps more dramatically than darker.

They weren t there in the summer solid 3 4 hardwoods will expand and contract with seasonal changes in moisture. Often it s a floor owner concerned with new hardwood floors separating or gapping.