I recently bought a three yr old home that has picked pine floors. They are of the tonque-and groove, wide plank variety. However, they must have been laid before they were given time to shrink, and have now pulled away from each other in numerous places, leaving 1/8" to 1/4" gaps between the planks, exposing the subflooring.
Is there some sort of filler/compound that might be fairly easy to use to fill these gaps that would both protect the floors from both mopping and spills, as well as blend in color with the pickled finish so as not to be such an eyesore?
The floors are also in the bathrooms (where the largest gaps are), so it would need to be a compound that would be impervious to water as we have small children.
Thanks for any help you can offer-

 

Fillers are not recommended for filling gaps between boards in hardwood flooring. Expansion and contraction tend to be due to changes in humidity levels in the home. Fillers tend to fail, resulting in crumbling and fillers popping out.

Yes, allowing wood to acclimate (adjust) to temperature and humidity levels of the home before installation tends to resolve expansion/contraction problems. Gaps tend to be more obvioius during the cold months when household heat tends to lower humidity levels. Check your household humidity with a hygrometer. It should be between 30-50%. If humidity is below 30%, increase humidity with a humidifier.

 

1st of all if they are t&gwhat you are seing is the tongue and not the subfloor. If you live in an area that is in the midst of winter the floor is shrinking because of the heating season and should return to normal in the spring when the moisture returns. How wide are the planks and if they are greater than six inches wide are they plugged?

Phil