Solid Wooden floors - Gaps & Rising?? pics attached.

mrbungle

Hi All,

I have solid wooden floors in my hallway and there are now gaps after about 1year, probably from contraction, the cold weather etc.

In the 1st picture there is a heavy marble table on the left and a radiator on the right, door in front.

What can I do to get rid of these gaps ?

Remove the skirting on the right and put in spacers ? And would I need glue ? The tongue does not look like a snap in TnG.

Any help appreciated.

tred

mrbungle wrote:

Hi All,

I have solid wooden floors in my hallway and there are now gaps after about 1year, probably from contraction, the cold weather etc.

In the 1st picture there is a heavy marble table on the left and a radiator on the right, door in front.

What can I do to get rid of these gaps ?

Remove the skirting on the right and put in spacers ? And would I need glue ? The tongue does not look like a snap in TnG.

Any help appreciated.

Mr bungle..... I wouldnt be an expert, but whats going to happen in the summer when they expand again. Could they buckle with pressure against ur spacers? I had the same problems with some Solid doors...and nearly started planing them until a chippy said..be carefull , when the winter comes and they contract, they could look terrible..

mrbungle

Just wondering should I glue the boards together.

Three is movement between them, looks like 1 tongue is out and scraping off the edge of the grooves, causing a trip hazard if you can picture it.

Maybe the spacers just when gluing the strips to keep them in place ?

tred

mrbungle wrote:

Just wondering should I glue the boards together.

Three is movement between them, looks like 1 tongue is out and scraping off the edge of the grooves, causing a trip hazard if you can picture it.

Maybe the spacers just when gluing the strips to keep them in place ?

Maybe u can get the skirting out and push the whole lot into place?., then use the cork type spacers around the skirting then, so if it does expand again, it might not buckle your floor....why would that happen anyway? was the boards dried out properly and left long enough before putting down...id say its a pain..and a trip hazard...there is always a way to sort these out...

did u put them down urself?

mrbungle

No, fitters recommended by the suppliers put them down.

I just want to nip it in the bud before something like a bit it a tongue breaks and gets stuck under one of the boards, or the like !!

The cork sounds like a good idea, I off to BandQ now and might get some inspiration.

kadman

mrbungle wrote:

No, fitters recommended by the suppliers put them down.

QUOTE]

There's your answer. Take these pictures to the supplier, and tell him you intend to give these wide exposure, papers, net ect, if they dont come and fix the second rate fiasco, that you are now left with.

Even allowing for the marble table restricting some contraction and expansion of the floor, it is obvious that the floor was poorly fitted. If we are looking at solid floor boards here, they could have been either floated or fixed.

From the pics I assume it was just floated, and not properly glued in the process.As your floor appears to have contracted, It can be safely assumed that the concrete floor was dry before the timber was fitted. If it was not, you would now be looking at a swollen floor.

If the fitters had a problem with a narrow hall, I would hate to see their attempts at a large floor.

Did you see any of the fitters work before you engaged them. As they were reccomended by the supplier, I reckon they have a case to answer.

Shocked:eek: :eek:

kadman

Xennon

Kadman, Just wondering, from your post am I correct in thinking that floorboards that are glued together shouldnt be nailed? (floating??) and if nailed shouldnt be glued??.

Cheers

Dave_W

mrbungle

The supplier told me that the have used the same guys for a while and that he had used them on his house. Not a Dublin outfit mind you, but Navan.

Maybe I should get onto them instead of doing a sh!te job myself.

SoBe

kadman i think you have hit the nail on the head.looks to me like a solid floor that was floated and not glued.
i would take it up with the supplier too

mrbungle

So is it possible that they would have only glued some floorboards in 'strategic places' ? And now I am seeing some movement in some of boards due to contraction compounded by a lack of adhesive ?

SoBe

its possible they were glued but just didnt have enough on it.you could take the skirting off put some wood glue where you can get into the gap and try and ease the floor over with a nail bar,put some wedges down the side to hold the floor till the glue sets,remembering to remove these wedges before you put the skirting back on otherwise when the floor expands it will just buckle up in the middle and you will end up in a worse situation.

but tbh if someone did work like that for me i would be getting onto them to sort it out

kadman

Xennon wrote:

Kadman, Just wondering, from your post am I correct in thinking that floorboards that are glued together shouldnt be nailed? (floating??) and if nailed shouldnt be glued??.

Cheers

Dave_W

Correct.
Glueing only allows the whole floor to expand and contract, as a wide piece of timber.
Nailing on the other hand, anchors one side of a board. And allows contraction and expansion to take place across the single board.

If you glued and nailed, it would be like nailing the two edges of a wide board. When contraction takes place, the two anchored edges do not allow for it, and the end result is splitting.

kadman:)

kadman

mrbungle wrote:

So is it possible that they would have only glued some floorboards in 'strategic places' ? And now I am seeing some movement in some of boards due to contraction compounded by a lack of adhesive ?

Yes it is possible that they only glued here and there. But it is definite that they are not competent fitters. I am with fli on this one , its their problem to sort out.

kadman

mrbungle

I don't see any nails, so I'm assuming its glued ?

SoBe

mrbungle wrote:

I don't see any nails, so I'm assuming its glued ?

i doubt very much if its nailed.i have never seen a nailed floor look like that.if you want to make sure look on top of the toungue (spelling?) you should see the head of the nail if its there

dogg_r_69

As far as I can see from the photo's it's a floating floor Doesen't look like it's glued on the joint that's split From what I can see I doubt you could rejoin the boards The tongue and grooves will have expanded usually when hardwood timber is out of it's packet for a day or so they don't join very easily

TempestSabre

AFAIK the gap for expansion is meant to be at the edges under the skirting. I'd say you have to refit the floor, closing the gaps in the middle and leaving a gap for expansion all the way around the edge.

mrbungle

The gap for expansion was originally there on both sides, I remember when the floor was put down this time last year.

rooferPete

Hi Mr bungle,

If you have no immediate luck with your supplier head over to Mc Quillans in Blanchardstown or Capel St.

You are looking for a ratchet strap set with ends designed to fit on the edges of the boards, then slowly you tighten the ratchets, (same as for holding a load on a truck).

If you find the boards moving easy into place you might consider using glue or
just wedge the floor together until you can demand the fitters come back, remove each piece and glue it together properly.

You will need to remove the skirting boards to get at the edges.

.

SoBe

i had thought about those straps but they can be dangerous if not hooked on right,saw a guy get a nasty smack from them when it sliped off the edge of the flooring and sprung back at him.i was like :eek:

mrbungle

I was thinking I'd possibly get away with a nail bar as the strips are 3 1/2" wide and the gap is only about 2 ft from the RHS wall/radiator, will give it a go later today.

tred

mrbungle wrote:

I was thinking I'd possibly get away with a nail bar as the strips are 3 1/2" wide and the gap is only about 2 ft from the RHS wall/radiator, will give it a go later today.

How did u get on?

taytogirl

Could somebody please tell me how to remove glue from a Wooden Floor. There was a Parkay Floor glued down on Wooden Floor Boards. I would appreciate any help.
thanks:eek:

gsxr1

Get yourself a little pry bar. Wonder bar is the trade name of the tool you need.

take off the skirting nearest the opening.

Get a small 500ml bottle of quality waterproof PVA wood glue.

apply the glue to the opening. Try and get it into the groove. . Dont fill the groove.

Find a stud in the wall and firmly pry the floor closed with your new bar. Nice and tight. Be careful of damage to the wall. You may need to fill popper hole after. No big deal.

wipe off excess glue with a damp cloth.

Wedge the floor overnight with anything around . Beer mats timber wedges, anything to keep your new glued joints tight till the glue set.

problem solved . Job done;)

Forgot to mention. Make sure the gaps are clean from debris . A bit of stone or grit will prevent the joint closing. Use a hover and a butter knife maybe

gsxr1

taytogirl wrote: »

Could somebody please tell me how to remove glue from a Wooden Floor. There was a Parkay Floor glued down on Wooden Floor Boards. I would appreciate any help.
thanks:eek:

Hi. I alway found a very sharp wide wood chisel will lift off dried in lumps of wood glue.

Being patient and careful not to scrape the timber