Gaps in 100 year old floorboards

[Tennentslager]

Plan was to fit laminate flooring so lifted carpets and found this.

100 year old Glasgow tenament fairy solid but 6 to 10mm gaps.

Read quite a lot but as it in good nick would want to nail the odd squeaky board then wax it.

I'm thinking a squirt od black silicone for the gaps afterwards?

What says the forum?

2nd floor so no real ventilation issues.

More the gaps collect grime.

 

 

[JohnMo]

10 hours ago, Tennentslager said:

squirt od black silicone for the gaps

No don't. It will look rubbish.

 

You get proper filler for the job, which is just the same as car body filler, that is tinted to the colour you want.

 

You could also router the gaps straight and in fill with wood, but that's a lot of work.

 

A rug over the worst bits?

[Temp]

11 hours ago, Tennentslager said:

2nd floor so no real ventilation issues

 

Leave the gaps.

 

I think any filler will look bad and probably crack out due to flexing.

 

 

[Mike]

Either leave them as they are -  or take them up and relay them tight together, and find a length (or two) of matching old timber to make up the gap against the final wall.

[Mungo]

We have similar on both floors with various size gaps.

Looked into a product called Draught Ex, which does a pretty decent job.

[Tennentslager]

I've looked at the reviews for Draught Ex and for £31 it looks like it's worth a go.

Basically a foam tube that you stretch and ram into the gap, black in colour so if pushed well in creates a shadow.

Seems the trick is gauging the amount of stretch to make it thin with the amount of ramming in to the correct depth.

It then expands so you get a nice flexible deal.

Reviews say it can be hard on the old knees but if you take time a good result.

My knees are too sore so if the youth want a lesson then crack on, it's up to them.

Do we do too much for our little darlings now that they are 23 and returned to home city after graduation...that said at 23 I had completed apprenticeship, bought a flat on an endowment mortgage and sprog number one was a year away.

Old days old days

[Rishard]

I’ve done several of these floor repair jobs on listed buildings. Often they want very little of the original fabric to change so the work arounds are to patch and repair where necessary. I buy replacement re-sawn old pine boards for any replacements. Issue with replacements is you can’t keep both the tongue and groove on the old board and include a new tongue and groove on the new board. You can half lap one side but it is rather labour intensive and requires nice clean cuts and a router. Many floors we have done where the replacement boards have been fitted all seem to shrink after they acclimatise at the 20+degrees inside the house over a year. If there is any flex in the old flooring, any ‘filler’ material is likely to pop out if it is brittle, like wood filler.
 

If you plan to re-sand the whole floor then using timber ‘slithers’ works very well. 1m long strips of wood cut into a slither sizing from 0mm-6mm/12mm. If the floor is well fixed down the slithers can be glued and hammered into the gaps to make up the gap. These can then be planed flat and sanded with the whole floor. This in my opinion is the best solution. Or, lift the old boards and re fit if it’s an option.

 

[Tennentslager]

Update

bought the 6mm roll and have it a try

Think it's got promise

The floor has to be cleaned and prepared and touched up for scratches and waxed.

Then this stuff.

Will post the finished results.

 

[Mungo]

Looks decent enough pal.

Will look to do ours next week.

[Tennentslager]

Finish this off, very happy with the neoprene tube product.

Floor waxed and job done.

The picture if of a very uniform gap but it coped with less and more.

It's about how much you stretch it for thinner gaps.

 

[Canski]

That looks mint. 

[Rishard]

Is it flush to the top surface of the boards? Is it likely to be a place for dirt to gather?