My oak floor is separating and cracking in some places, HELP?
Question:We recently moved into a 26 year old home, it has oak floors in the entrance way and down the hall. It looks like there is some type of sealant or glue inbetween the planks. these are cracking and seperating leaving gaps in some areas that are up to 1/8 of an inch. It looks as though the flooring was installed over plywood and I dont know what is under that. I believe previous owner installed himself... Is there anything I can do to save the existing floor or do I need to replace it..NOTE: other than the separating the wood is not bowed in any way..
Answers:
I would wait for a year. Watch what happens through the seasons, different humidity levels can greatly affect shrinking and swelling in wood floors. If you fill the gaps and the wood swells in summer like it normally would, the filler will squeeze out and you will still have a mess. If it appears stable after a full year go ahead and fill. If you choose to replace do it in winter when conditions are driest indoors because of heating.
refill cracks and separations with wood putty, then sand and varnish.
It may be the way it was put in. wood floors need room to expand and shrink. If it was not installed properly it would be better to replace it, and cheap repairs you do would just be a waste of money if it was installed wrong.
It may be that the floor was improperly installed from the beginning. If someone tried to 'shortcut' by using glue instead of nails, the natural expansion and contraction of the wood with the seasons would cause the glue to fail.
The advice of waiting a year and observing what happens is pretty good, but if it was not installed right from the beginning, you will probably need to replace it.
you know what is under the plywood...floor joists. Nothing wrong with that. But it seems he did not nail it very well. you may have to rip it up to put it down again. If he only has it all in the plywood.not a good hold.
Secondly, if you can see down to the next level, he did not use flooring material (tongue and groove stuff).
You have some good answers in hand. What appears to be glue or sealant is probably the finish coats seeped between, or could have been 'filled' previously.
Aside from all the repair advice, you need to monitor and maintain the humidity in your home. 'Real' wood flooring changes with the humidity level, if too dry the wood will shrink, while if too humid, the wood will swell. Your home interior can be verified by a heating contractor and should be maintained somewhere around mid 30%. The floor will absorb and regain its original size over time. Then you can make the necessary repairs. If you look at your door and window casings.are they opening at the miters? If so another indication of too dry.
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