#Wood putty for hardwood floors how to#

(the same guy who was invited to sand the deck of the Boston Tea Party ship, “The Eleanor”), we asked him: What is the most common problem that causes gapping in wood flooring? He explained: When we met up with Cape Ann’s prestigious hardwood floor refinishing and installation specialist Chris Pester from CFC Hardwood Floors, Inc. If wood filler is applied prematurely between the strips on dry flooring, the material will be pushed up through the gaps when the floor picks up moisture and expands. If you find it necessary to repair gaps that aren’t normal seasonal gaps, the best time to initiate repair for the majority of locations would be outside of the extreme cold and winter months in April or October.ĭuring the summer months, normal seasonal gaps will usually close up and not require repair. The NWFA suggests normal living conditions in the home should have relative humidity levels between 30% and 50%.Įven though it’s normal for homes to become dry during the winter months, causing wood flooring to shrink, flooring that has been installed and maintained properly should remain stable and exhibit normal gaps. Flooring can be expected to perform well for years to come without any major repair issues. When extra time is taken to measure moisture content at the time of installation and the expected “in use” changes are also considered, potential problems can be avoided. To increase your success rate with flooring installation and repair, it’s always necessary to research the characteristics of your wood species to determine stability before repair, and more importantly, before installing wood flooring. Using wood filler on large jobs is usually not recommended. When extreme repairs are required on severely damaged areas, these situations often require board replacement. No matter how careful we are, nicks, dents, and mistakes happen more than we would like to admit in our industry, and it’s common practice to fill in nail holes and minor gaps with close-matching wood filler.

#Wood putty for hardwood floors how to#

How to Choose a Moisture Measurement System for Your Sawmill Buying Guide.

Flooring, Millwork, Furniture & Cabinet Manufacturers.

Why You Should Use Relative Humidity (RH) Testing.