Hardwood Flooring, Types of Hardwood Flooring, Hardwood Floor Information & FREE QUOTES  on  Products &  LOCAL LABOR CONTRACTORS

Pre-finished Standard and Better Oak...


HardwoodFloorsOnLine.com
 

FREE WOOD FLOOR QUOTES

FREE
 LOCAL LABOR QUOTES 

 ROOM SETTING PHOTO's
>Room setting photo's
 >Maintenance & Care Products Floors > Styles & Types  >Why Hardwood E Mail Us
           V                V             V


GAPS: ABNORMAL and NORMAL - Hardwood Floor Technical Help

 

GAPS, ABNORMAL

What it is: Gaps in the floor that remain with seasonal change. If some boards appear glued together by the surface finish.

Cause:

• Edge crush from prior exposure to extreme moisture (especially for solid, flat-grained flooring).

• Hot spots in the subfloor, such as poorly insulated heating ducts, hot water plumbing lines, radiant heating systems, register openings and refrigerator motors.

  Debris between boards during installation.
Improper nailing/nail position.
Flooring installed with an excessively high moisture content or over a subfloor with excessive moisture.
Flooring not installed tightly together to begin with.
Foundation settlement.
Improper subfloor materials that will not hold nails.

For glue-down floors, early foot traffic, incorrect adhesive, the wrong amount of adhesive transferred or used, the wrong amount of flash time for the adhesive, or not using a roller when recommended.

Cure:
Eliminate the cause, then restore normal humidity levels. After the floor has stabilized, use filler in gaps that are small enough to be filled (typically up to 3/32 inch) and recoat the floor. For larger gaps, use a sliver or "Dutchman" to fill in the gap. Pulling up the entire floor and reinstalling may be necessary.

 


Gaps, Normal
What it is:

Gaps between strips/planks that appear between individual boards and open and close with changes in
humidity.

Cause:
• Most normal gaps are caused by seasonal fluctuations in relative humidity-the floor expands with high humidity and contracts during periods of low humidity. 'This type of expansion and contraction is considered to be normal and expected for solid wood floors. In solid 2~-inch floors, gaps may be the thickness of a dime (~ inch) or wider. Wider boards have even wider gaps.
• Square-edged floors show gaps more than beveled floors, and light-colored floors show gaps more than
dark floors.
Cure: Normal gaps can be minimized by using the HVAC system to control fluctuations in humidity in the building. The use of humidifiers or dehumidifiers can narrow the overall fluctuation range.

Problems & Cures
Fast Facts >  Learn More > Related >

 

FREE
Product Quote from several sources

Solid vs Laminated 

 FREE
LABOR Estimate from LOCAL Hardwood Flooring Contractors

 

CUSTOM Search our Related Sites

Custom Search
Go2 - INSTALLATION PROCEDURES Installing Wood Floors: Step by step procedures, layout, design, specialty installation, handling, storage of material & proper nail sequence Go2 Custome Wood Floors Custom Wood Floors:
Accents, Borders, Crest, Inlays of metal and exotic species, Medallions & Specialty-Bamboo,  Cork, Mixed Media

Custom Hand Painted Faux

 Painted Wood Floors: Custom 1-of-a-kind, faux finishes painted onto wood floors, faux marble, brass inlays, exotic wood floor species, and painted oriental carpets
Go2 Refinishing Procedures Finishing Wood Floors: Step by step how to refinish old & new wood floors, types of finishes, application techniques, do's & don'ts

Go2 Exotic Imported Wood Floors

 Exotic Wood Floors: Imported exotic wood floors with more than 90 species, hardness rating, and color samples
 

Wide Plank Wood Flooring

 Plank Wood Floors: An old American tradition, wide plank wood floors of many species from 3" - 10" planks