gaps between the wooden floorboards

[james]

I live in a victorian house and am wanting to strip back the wooden floor. The only problem is that there are small gaps between all the floorboards. What can I do I have seen in some magazines there they put some white sealant between the boards.

What can I do?

Any advice would be great.

Many thanks.

[Jason]

I've used this stuff very successfuly:

works especially well in our bathroom, being very hard, waterproof, and expands and contracts with the wood. The trick is to clean out the gaps so there is no dust in them at all, then the filler can be roughly plastered down the gaps. The whole lot can then be sanded flush.

This filler also takes to a dab of acrilic paint so you can change it's colour to match the wood scheme.

-- JJ

[Andrew Gabriel]

Have you looked at the FAQ?

suggestion I've seen is to mix up a filler made from the sanding dust and a clear setting glue.

[Steve Firth]

White sealant will look vile IMO.

You also need to choose your sealant carefully. Silicone or acrylic are not good choices and for floorboards it's better to use polyurethane (Sikaflex or similar). This is not a cheap option, but PU sets relatively hard and remains flexible, doesn't shrink, has excellent grip and can be sanded flat.

Typically PU with a darker colour than the wood is used which looks better. You may also need to caulk the gaps (using cotton scrim or paper) before sealing to reduce the loss of sealant.

[tony sayer]

In article , james

writes

We've used clear silicone sealant on one floor and its been fine for years, just need to trim it off flush when its set.

Looks like the gaps are still there but with no wind rushin through!..........

[Woby Tide]

for years, just

Another option is

Relatively expensive compared to sealant but worked for us in previous place, it sits in the gaps below floor level resting on timbersso floor still ooks natural but prevents the wind. it does however act as a store for dust and dirt but hoovering sorts it out easily