Gap filler

[Peter Twydell]

We live in an old barn, converted in 2000. Moved in a year ago.

The plaster between the beams has shrunk, leaving gaps that the wind just loves to blow through. The narrow straight gaps are no problem, and SWMBO is a dab hand with the sealant gun and does a neat job.

Where we are having trouble is the larger gaps, mostly irregular, around and almost behind the older misshapen/damaged beams. They're too wide for sealant, and I don't want to use rigid stuff like Polyfilla because there still has to be a degree of flexibility because of the building moving in the wind.

Is there a suitable foam for this job, one that doesn't expand like mad and fill the whole room in a nanosecond? Or something else?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Use standard filler for most of it, then a large helping of decorators caulk.

Its not the plaster shrinking BTW, its the wood.

[Peter Twydell]

Thanks, hadn't thought of that. Never used decorator's caulk before. Do the various brands differ much, or can I just get the Screwfix cheapo stuff?

All the wood? From 400-year-old-beams to 7-year-old window frames?

[Dave Fawthrop]

|We live in an old barn, converted in 2000. Moved in a year ago. | |The plaster between the beams has shrunk, leaving gaps that the wind |just loves to blow through. The narrow straight gaps are no problem, and |SWMBO is a dab hand with the sealant gun and does a neat job. | |Where we are having trouble is the larger gaps, mostly irregular, around |and almost behind the older misshapen/damaged beams. They're too wide |for sealant, and I don't want to use rigid stuff like Polyfilla because |there still has to be a degree of flexibility because of the building |moving in the wind. | |Is there a suitable foam for this job, one that doesn't expand like mad |and fill the whole room in a nanosecond? Or something else?

Shove paper into the hole, to about 1/4 inch below eventual surface, then set it as a challenge to SWMBO.

[Stuart Noble]

Especially the 400 year old beams. They've probably never experienced central heating before. This kind of shrinkage is usually a one off event as the wood adjusts to the new ambient conditions, but in larger sections that can take a long time. I'd fill a couple of sample areas and see when the wood finally stops shrinking before you do the whole lot.