Q: We are currently having engineered wood floors from Anderson installed in our house. We are having them glued down to a concrete subfloor that has been floated to ensure smoothness… Everything seems to be in great shape but we started noticing minor gaps between boards – both side to side and end to end. These are not large gaps – you can’t even fit a dime or a penny into them, but they still are there. The installation crew has suggested that they are going to use wood filler to fill in these gaps.
There are not many of these (20 gaps so far in 1500 sq ft of installed wood) but should we be concerned? If we were to ever spill a drink of water, etc would it get into these gaps and potentially buckle the wood?
Many thanks for your help and guidance!
Scott F.
Houston, TX (humidity capital of the US)
A: Before you have them fill the gaps there are a few things I would look into. First of all, the gaps you are describing are well within the standards for hardwood floors. What I would do is test the relative humidity to see how much moisture is in the air of your home. Usually you want the humidity right around 50% (normal comfortable level for humans like you and me). When you begin to deviate away from 50% relative humidity you will encounter movement in the floor. I am guessing your home is climate controlled with A/C or some form of cooling during the summer, what could be occurring is the air could be too dry, which is the most common cause of gapping as the boards will shrink some.
Also, acclimation is a big thing here, if your floor was acclimated for a week or more than this is likely a moisture issue. If your floor was not acclimated, what is most likely occurring is your floor is adjusting to its new environment and thus, contracting (contraction is the cause of gapping) Here’s what you can do, if the air is too dry, get a humidifier to run to get the humidity back to 50%. If its too humid, get a dehumidifier to bring it back down (though this is likely not the case.) Give the wood some time to re-acclimate when you make this change before using a filler.
Temperature is another factor to keep in mind. Strive to keep your home around 65 degrees Farenheit throughout the year as this will prevent the floor from expanding and contracting due to temperature shifts in your home. Engineered floors are more resistant to expansion and contraction from temperature because of the cross-ply lamination techniques used to make them, but as we well know wood and water do NOT mix, so again my bet is on a humidity issue here.
Using filler is fairly common in the flooring industry, especially when spills are a concern. So if your home’s climate is right where it should be, then filler will work well and you should have little worry about further movement in your floor, but keep in mind, climate is key to ensuring your floor does not move any further.
