sealing a floor

I'd get some similar wood which is a bit thicker than the distance from the top of the floor down to the tongue. Cut pieces off it to suit the width of the gaps between the boards. Clean out the gunk between the boards and glue the strips in place. Plane or sand the strips level with the floorboards. I've heard that it's not recommended to fill the gaps with anything. I'm not quite sure why - probably it falls out.

Anything on top of the boards?

I thought newspaper folded over and over "longwise" and wedged into the gaps was the traditional fix, not so attractive if you haven't got carpets though ...

How about caulking - something like what they do with boats:

I was going to suggest this but I don't think it would work with t&g

sample roll now.

ISTR that when renovating a wood floor (I assume you want the floor bare otherwise carpet and underlay would solve your problem) the advice was to use a floor sander and then use the 'sander dust' mixed with glue as a filler for the gaps between the boards.

The only potential problem is that I presume T&G is used to allow a bit of movement as the floor expands and contracts through the seasons, and if you fill in all the expansion space then the floor could warp under damp conditions.

I also suspect that this may be a side issue with the fitting of central heating, which tends to dry out houses and the woodwork much more than the original builders expected.

I also assume (lot of assumptions) that the flooor is not easy to lift and relay with the boards a bit closer.

Is there any way to get under the floor? A lot of older houses with suspended floors have quite a bit of 'crawl space' under the floor. If you (or a svelte and flexible assistant) can get under the floor then you have the option of fitting insulation between the joists which would eliminate the draughts and also make the floor a lot warmer. This could also be easier than labouriously filling in the cracks between the boards.

Cheers

Dave R

You might not want to stop the "wind" getting under the floor, as it could be providing essential ventilation, for the prevention of damp. Is it coming in through air bricks?

I assume you want the bare boards to be seen, or carpet and underlay would solve your problem. I filled some gaps between boards in my last house with thin strips split off from a bit of gash board, glued in place, then sanded flush with the floor, when I sanded the floor. Quite easy to do.

Possibly your gaps exist not because the boards were "damp" when laid, but because the person laying them didn't leave them to acclimatise in the building, and/or force them together (with a clamp or wedges) before nailing them. All softwood floorboards will shrink once laid, which is why even your average Victorian/Edwardian house has 1/8 gap between them, even with the presumed use of proper seasoned timber, in them days.

One of the houses we went to view a couple of years ago(before moving to a different one) had a bedroom with a "stripped pine floor", of which the seller was quite proud. They were obviously recent, unseasoned boards that had been laid without clamping up, and then stained. The wood had shrunk so far with the natural loss of moisture, that gaps were visible between the edge of the tongue of one board, the the next board.

I have a different issue with my current house, where I'd love to life the suspended timber ground floor to fit insulation underneath, but see no way of doing this without either sawing out most of the tongues, or breaking boards. I've decided not to worry about it, but simply to add (non-fitted) carpet and rugs during the winter.

Regards Richard

IME the shrinkage in a centrally heated house is essentially a one way process. The gaps in my Victorian boards remain the same throughout the year but, as these are upstairs, they're not a problem. I'd go along with the insulation from below idea but, if you've got to lift the boards to get access, you might as well just shunt them together and re-fix them. Gap filling is very labour intensive and always looks a mess IMHO

'sealed' as in some form of clear coat which still lets you see the wood, or 'sealed' as in "don't care what it is so long as it's draught-proof"?

Acrylic 'decorators sealer' gunge stuff. A quid a tube and available everywhere. Water soluable so can be wiped neat and flush before it dries. Very flexible, so stays put forever. 'Tisn't wood coloured though :)

Except that the gaps never seem to be uniform all the way along the board. I once tried cutting loads of different width strips on the sawbench but it still ended up a dog's dinner

You're probably right - mine was a small area.

If anyone has a way to remove a whole floor of tongued-and-grooved floorboards without bsggering half of them up completely, I'd like to hear it. In my experience, you always end up splitting tongues, and often the boards themselves. You could saw all the tongues out first, with a floorboard saw or a jigsaw, but that removes strength from your re-laid floor (with regard to point loads from furniture, etc.), and potentially compounds the draught problem.

What we don't have is confirmation from Bill as to whether he wants to be able to look at his selaed floor, or will cover it over.

Regards Richard

Regards Richard

be able to look at his selaed floor, or will cover it over.

I'm sorry gentlemen. I've been very bad, not coming back to you with more info. The situation is that the floor area in question will be under the kitchen units. Acting on advice received here I have filled the bigger gaps with sealant, and I have also filled the gap around the edge of the floor with foam. Standing back and looking at it now, the remaining problems are not as bad as I thought. There are just a few boards where the tongues and grooves have been damaged. Since these boards might need to come up again I think I'll seal them with gaffa tape.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Bill

Once you have the first board out, then remainder should follow without the need of breaking the tongues off.

I'm quite glad to hear that. I need to lift a floor to fit various plumbing, and decided it would be easier to rip it up willy-nilly with my big crowbar and then fit new T&G chipboard, rather than try to bring the boards up neatly and re-lay them. It's a 90s house; the existing boards are nothing special.

Various people have been saying I'm mad, and why can't I just put the same boards back down - glad to hear my instinct was correct.

Pete

You could always run them through a sawbench and re-lay them butted together. They may be "nothing special", but they will be dry, and probably stable. I'm beginning to quite like your floorboards

How do you remove the brads without levering up the board and splitting the tongue in the process? Or do you punch them through into the joist?

Regards Richard

I usually find if you can get to the groove side and start to pry that up a bit, you can usually then tap it down a bit and it will leave the nails proud enough to pull them. If they are tending to pull through the boards, then try and start prying the next board at the same time - usually you can get enough slope on two to get the first free.

(None of the above works if they have been "secret" nailed mind you!)

Hmm. Thanks. You must have more patience than I have ;-)

Regards Richard

Either that or a longer crowbar!