How to close the cracks in the floor between the boards?

The wooden floor is an adornment of any home. Such floors are environmentally friendly, durable, look beautiful in the interior, but they require constant care, eventually lose their attractiveness and quality - creaking, cracks and gaps appear, you have to repair the coating. This problem is encountered in almost every house where a wooden coating is used. This is a time-consuming task, but it is easy for a person who does not have certain skills and experience to execute it. How to close the cracks in the floor between the boards to extend their service life - we will describe in the article below.

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When is it necessary to close the cracks?

Before you figure out how to close up cracks in a wooden floor, you need to understand in what situations it is necessary:

• When creaking.
• During repair and replacement of flooring.
• When flooding an apartment or house.
• In case of violations of the technology of laying the floor.

These are the most common options. Whatever the reason during the repair, you still have to fix the gaps in the floor.

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Options for eliminating gaps

There are a huge number of ways to help solve this problem. Consider the main options than to close the cracks in the floor between the boards:

• Building foam with foam.
• Use of sawdust with glue.
• Filling on wood.
• Composition of pieces of paper and paste.
• Sealing with a cord.
• Wedges and reiki.
• Tow.
• Mix of cement with epoxy glue.
• Oil paint with sawdust.
• Sealing with sealant.
• Use of plywood sheets in difficult cases.

You can use one of these methods - it all depends on the complexity of the situation, the materials available, design features and the type of flooring. Consider in more detail the technology of the most common options.

Important! Clean the floor from debris, dust and dirt before starting work. Antiseptic wood to protect it from microorganisms and extend its life.

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Styrofoam foam

Construction foam serves as a universal solution for the repair of wooden surfaces - it does not shrink and does not stretch.

Phased work:

1. Remove the skirting boards and clean the surface of dust and dirt.
2. Put foam pieces in the slots, if necessary.
3. Fill the gap space with foam.
4. Let dry and cut off excess foam.
5. Putty the surface and let it dry completely.
6. Install the skirting board.

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Putty

Putty for wood is suitable for sealing small cracks. It is best used as a preparatory stage before plywood flooring.

Important! It has such disadvantages - fragility, scattering, cracking. But the mixture is prepared very easily.

The order of the work:

1. Prepare a narrow rubber spatula and mortar.
2. Put a putty on the surface of the joints, press it into the cracks.
3. Allow to dry completely.
4. Level using abrasive tools.

Important! Putty for wood for sealing cracks helps to get rid of them quickly, but after a short period of time, repairs will be needed again.

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Glue with sawdust

It is also possible to repair a wooden flooring with sawdust that is mixed with glue.There are two options for preparing the composition. Consider both.

Phased implementation of the first method:

1. Pour boiling water over small sawdust, mix until smooth.
2. Allow time to cool and swell, then mix.
3. Add wood glue or PVA to the sawdust, mix thoroughly.
4. Apply the finished mixture to the surface with a spatula, ram without effort into the cracks.
5. Flatten, remove excess.
6. Leave to dry for 2-3 days.
7. Cycle with a special tool or sand with a sandpaper.

Phased implementation of the second method:

1. Mix 15 parts of warm water with 2 parts of glue.
2. Add 5 parts of sawdust and cement to the solution.
3. Stir the mass and leave for 5-7 minutes.
4. Clean the gaps, cover them with glue.
5. Preheat the mixture, close the gaps very quickly, smooth the surface with a spatula.
6. 2 weeks after complete drying, smooth the surface using abrasive materials.

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Forgetting wedges or slats

One of the most effective and common ways and the answer to the question of how to close up cracks in a wooden floor is the use of wedges and slats.

Important! Advantages - flexibility and ease of driving in the gap, because they are pre-lubricated with glue.

Stages of the work:

• Prepare tapered at the bottom of the slats, matching the gap in size.
• Treat cracks and slats with PVA glue.
• Drive the slats into the slot - use an ordinary or rubber mallet for this.

Important! Clog through a wooden board if you do this with an ordinary hammer.

• Let dry and remove parts of wedges and slats that protrude with a planer.
• Paint the floor with paint or stain.

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Using tow

This material is safe, environmentally friendly, because it is made from flax.

Execution process:

1. Glue the material.
2. Tamp the tow in the crevices.
3. Allow to dry completely, paint the floor.

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Application of plywood sheets

This method is perfect for severe floor damage and wide gaps. Plywood makes it possible to minimize labor costs during the work.

Order of execution:

1. Use putty to cover up flaws to extend the life of the repair.
2. Lay out the plywood sheets on the floor, cut off the dimensions you need.
3. Secure with self-tapping screws.

Important! Using this option, you can quickly close all the shortcomings of the flooring.

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Sealant

Sealant for sealing cracks in a wooden floor has such advantages as elasticity, ease of application.

Important! Choose silicone-based or acrylic-based compounds for working with wood.

Its packaging has a very convenient shape and a nozzle-syringe, which is very easy to fill the gaps in the wooden floor.

Application Process:

1. Clean the area of ​​debris and dust.
2. Apply sealant with a gun or spatula.
3. Flatten, wait about 3 hours for it to dry.
4. Remove all irregularities, color.

Important! When buying a sealant, choose moisture resistant, as well as with additional chemical additives from rotting wood and fungus.

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Cord clearance

Using this option helps both close up the cracks in the floor, and get rid of the creak of floorboards.

The process of doing work:

1. Prepare the cord, putty, PVA glue and sawdust.
2. Coat the cord or rope with glue, make a mixture of putty, adhesive and sawdust.
3. Place the cord in the gap and lay it so that there is a gap of about 4 mm to the top of the floorboards.
4. Fill this distance with the prepared mixture with a small margin.
5. Let dry, paint in the desired color.

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Stock footage

We examined the main options than to close the cracks in the floor between the boards. It does not matter which of the methods and which materials you will use to fix the problem.It is important to carefully prepare the floor surface and comply with all the technology. Thus, you can postpone the thorough repair of the wooden floor.