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mark_romeo23

gap fill in prefinished hardwood flooring

Mark Romeo
17 days ago

We are having some new flooring installed and to match the old material, we are using a tongue and grove and then edge gluing it into place. The material is prefinished



Our problem is we have some spots were there are gaps between the seams, and we are not looking at how to fill these gaps. We believe the overall cause was the 1st row was not completely straight. 95% of the seams are fine, so we do not want to need to rip out all of the flooring and replace it. All of the gaps are actually pretty small, but we do not want to develop lines of crude building up in them


Does anyone have a recommendation on how best to fill in the seams?

Comments (9)

  • PRO
    Minardi
    17 days ago

    That's a poor milling issue. You can't fill your way out of that.

  • dani_m08
    17 days ago

    I’ve read comments on Houzz before re: filling gaps between prefinished hardwood floors (and engineered prefinished floors). I think there are some different ways in order to do this. I am fairly confident that a pro will come along and give you some advice.

  • Mark Romeo
    Original Author
    17 days ago

    Yes, it looks good overall, the thickness will not let a dime fit into the space. We just have some places where there is some sawdust that drops into the groves and leaves lines visible. We are just trying to see if we can do something to help on this


  • Timothy Winzell
    15 days ago

    Woodwise and DuraSeal make prefinished fillers for this very purpose. They come in a variety of colors and are the consistency of clay, then harden after application.

  • Mark Romeo
    Original Author
    14 days ago

    Tim, thanks for the information. Greatly apprciated.

  • Mark Romeo
    Original Author
    14 days ago

    Tim, as an additional question. When looking at the mentioned products, it occurred to me, that based on the overall look, I am somewhat indifferent in actually filling the cracks, my biggest concern is that we do not have a spill and then have the flooring expand due to a water issue. Do you have any experience with just using a clear sealer injected into these small cracks?

  • Tish
    11 days ago

    Spills will work their way in between even the tightest fit planks. It is not a waterproof floor, ever. Your assumptions are incorrect, and your concerns are misplaced. ,

  • Timothy Winzell
    10 days ago

    I kind of agree with Tish. Regular maintenance should be done with minimal water so that won't cause any issues. If you have a more substantial spill, water will get into the joints anyway. If you have something really serious, a wet vac could be employed to remove as much moisture as possible, as soon as possible.

    Considering the color of your floor, if the open joints are no worse than what you've picture I wouldn't fill them.

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