Old Bill wrote:
Rob Morley wrote:
In article , "doozer"
says...
While people are already thinking about filling gaps in floors (see
an earlier post about cork beading) I have a similar question.
We have, courtesy of the previous owners, sanded and varnished
floorboards in our living room and hall. The gaps between boards
range from basically nothing to about 4 or 5 mm. My SO doesn't mind
them but they bug me because I can feel each board under foot. I
would like to fill the gaps with something but, as it's a big job
that think could ruin an otherwise very good floor, I would like your
advice.
If it bothered me enough to do anything about it I'd be inclined to go
with clear silicone sealant, and see how it lasted.
Or lift the boards and re-lay them.
Trouble with silicone is it won't take paint/stain/colour of any kind.
May not be a problem for OP though.
I wouldn't have bare boards where there would be gaps now as I recently
went under the floor of an old house that had this.
You could see quite clearly through the gaps.
As the space under the floor was 6-12" deep in 100+ years of god knows
what muck and rodent droppings, the potential effect on the health of
the residents was worrying, not to mention the draughts.
I'm not to worried about being able to stain it as I like the colour of
the natural wood (which is what we have at the moment) but not being
able to varnish over it would be a pain as the floor does need touching
up now and then when it looks a little shabby. I suspect you could
varnish over the sealant but it, the varnish, would then flake or peel
away over time. Although sealant would probably the the easiest I am not
sure it's the best solution.
As for gaps and dirt our place is only ~50 years old and has tongue and
grove throughout so there aren't really gaps into the space below the
floor except for where boards have been lifted to rewire. I ran a
network in last year so I had to lift quite a few boards and it is
pretty clean and dry down there. Because the house is on a bit of a
slope there is practically half a room hight at the front of the house.
Makes me want to do something with the space!