Installed Hardwood And Before I Stained It Gaps Appeared

Try to avoid gaps in the first place.

Installed hardwood and before i stained it gaps appeared. Engineered hardwood flooring is designed to minimize gaps due to expansion and contraction of the wood. But to answer a common question. Gaps in hardwood floors can be a huge visual annoyance. Adding filler is not a good idea.

Whether your floors are newly installed or you ve had hardwood floors for years you can use humidifiers to reduce the likelihood of gaps. Failing to install the first board perfectly straight in a hardwood flooring installation. It will get pushed out as the wood expands with moisture. Yes it can still have gaps.

The most common wood species we hear complaints about with gapping and cracks is maple. Failing to keep boards straight when working. We had a beautiful maple floor installed in july of this year. Questions from our readers.

Winter in chicago. Improperly acclimating the hardwoods prior to installation. It may take years for gaps to show up in your hardwood floors. For larger gaps that don t close up call in a professional contractor who can repair floors properly.

Below are summaries of questions we ve fielded over the years. For normal gaps no repairs are needed. Gapping in engineered hardwood can be due to many factors including but not limited to the material s manufacturing changes in humidity and the type and quality of the installation. Hardwood takes on and loses moisture as the temperatures and the humidity rises and falls.

Hardwood gaps are generally caused by one of a few installation errors. Have the installer perform a humidity level test because either very high or very low humidity can cause bowing splitting and warping. Before installing hardwood floors it is important to acclimate the product to your home. Expansion and contractions causes hardwood floor gaps.