In Finland they used to have a solution for gaps in the floor, they didn't nail the boards down. After the boards dry and shrink they would remove the base board on one side and then tighten the floorboards back up and place a new board in. There's a video from the 70s where you see them installing this type of floor in a traditional log home they built. Don't think i saw them use nails except for the roofing.
@@ColdAhhClips sorry, not sure how share a link using my phone. The TH-cam channel Northmen uploaded a scan back in Jan of 2018 called something along the lines of Traditional Finnish Log Home Build.
@@ColdAhhClips No problem bud, happy to share that video with others. Not only do they use interesting techniques to build an interesting cabin, it also perfectly represents videos of the type and period. Love those old videos on even older subjects. They're historical gems. I also find this one really relaxing, and I've listened to it while falling asleep at least half a dozen times.
My house is 200 years old and we have wide pine floors, when I refinished them I used wide cordage soaked in the same color stain and after 2 days of soaking I then stuffed it in the gap’s and secured it with crown staples. Then applied the stain and polyurethane and it looks amazing. My wife refuses to change the windows as she loves the old leaded glass so I have begun refinishing them and despite they have zero insulation there is something about the look that can’t be reproduced. Our home maybe old and right now I am sanding and replacing the trim and other things that need attention, I am happy to say that I have zero PVC on my home. Everything is wood or stone and by far better built than some of my customers newer homes. It’s been hard work but it will be worth it when I get done in a few more weeks!
Your comment warms my heart. Thank you for doing traditional /authentic restoration. I'm in a 1920 home that someone else already ruined with their idea of upgrading. I'm doing my best to get it back to something appropriate but it's impossible in many ways.
@@KMx108 it’s worth the blood sweat and tears. I just purchased all the lumber for the back decked area. That’s going to be done during the cooler season. Good luck with your project!!
@@ibeetellingya5683 actually the man who built the house was a ship builder. I live in Massachusetts on the coast. He used old masts for Lally columns in the basement.
Back in the day, These gaps would be filled with paper mache. I did a floor with gaps of over 1/2 inch around 10 years ago and still looks great - paper mache from newspaper and wallpaper adhesive.
@@sarawest7075 nah, you should tape up with scrim tape and use a plaster or filler; they're designed to stick, even upside down. Well, that said, I've seen wallpaper put up on ceilings, plain wallpaper and then painted?
I've pulled hemp rope and twine out of gaps while refinishing old floors. They'd hammer it in and put a layer of putty over that. It lasted several decades, at least.
Paper mache or ours were filled with a felt like material. Never came out, allowed for expansion, looked great and was there for over 60 years now. The house is still in the family and is over 150 years old. If you are going to use this stuff though I wonder if it would be beneficial to lay it down prior to sanding and save a step???
I've been doing floors professionally for 10 years. We'd use wood dough and saw dust. Basically, rubber cement for your floor. I've never heard your version. Can't imagine that color matches. Every other gap, I use a water-based filling clay.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing! I'm thinking if I do this I might clean out the gaps first before sanding at all, trowel on the filter, then sand everything at the end and seal. But that's because I'm nervous about removing too much floor depth... I've read that historically they used to reuse old worn out nautical ropes from ships. The ropes had oil in them to make them water resistant and durable. When they were too worn to be used at sea anymore, they would uncoil them and pack the fiber strands into the gaps between floors. This would help prevent drafts while also filling the unsightly spaces between the boards. These are still sold today by a few shops! A bonus is that you can also stain the rope fibers to match your boards.
Oakum with modern 2 pak polyurethane? or oil? because urethane will not like the oil in the oakum. I would use the cleanest sanding dust mixed with wood glue to make a paste to fill the gaps if the black fill was structurally sound still. if not oakum soaked in epoxy boat resin and finished in epoxy or 2 pack would be good imo. Also dont be afraid about sanding too much just get it to the point that you are happy with the levels (cross hatching sanding patterns help a lot) and go over it with the finer grades of sand paper to get a nice finish. good luck.
In the UK in Victorian times "picking oakum" (unwinding rope and separating fibres) was a task done in workhouses. Basic accommodation was provided to the "deserving poor" in exchange for hard, monotonous labour. Oakum was something even children could do!
My dad used the sander wood dust mixed into white glue no special floor product needed. I prefer removing one long side baseboard and tap the shrunken boards snug then add the missing width with another board and put baseboard back on. Some people saw a house shifts with seasons and the small gaps in floors prevent buckling.
That flex stuff is critical. I spent all that time and energy with all of these steps, but they just cracked and came out a few years later from the boards flexing.
No need to fill it. I have gaps of about 2mm andit nota problemat all. May be it is even good that dust sand of small stonescan fall inside and disappear.
I have wide pine boards in my 40 year old house. Yep crack! Lots of them. I sit on the floor with a knife, dig it out and vacuum. Tried filing in the kitchen. Nope. Made a mess. I only did a couple. Vacuum. Sweep. Mop. Clean cracks, but I love my floors. Bedrooms have 1x4 scratch back flooring. All pine, walls and ceilings too. 1x6 center match V groove. Yes, I worked in the office at the sawmill where this was produced. W.E.Hill Lumber Co. Best people ever! Beautiful clear hand picked wood for my house. ♥️♥️♥️
For everyone talking about finding felt anf twine in there, its called oakum and its still the best way to fill wide gaps. Dont putty over oakum, it will pop the putty up or crack it in humid months
I used this cordage I found that would soak in the stain and then stuffed it the gaps and secured it with crown staples. It has held up excellent especially since we have 4 big dogs and a lot of foot traffic. After I stained the floors and polyurethaned them it has really done well during the hot and humid days here in New England.
@@Pepe-dq2ib Maybe not with material costs now - maybe if you're doing it yourself, however it sure would look a heckuva lot better. I think this just looks weird. The gaps looked better.
These gaps look fairly normal to me (I'm living in a 200 years old house). Even concrete and screed expand and buckle slightly when heating up, which you can see if tiles are laid without giving them expansion joints. They might even crack. Got a tiled floor example of that. So, filling these gaps between the wooden planks will only work it the material is flexible enough. Otherwise, you will have a DIY problem.
Youre so right. The person should have used a filler compound specifically designed to flex and prevent buckling. In addition, they should have added a caption that explains that theyre uaing flexible compound so that it wouldnt buckle. You make extremely good points... However, all of that was indeed covered in the video you commented on without watching. Good work.
I've lived with gaps like that for 4 years and it was a nightmare. No idea how so much dust and dirt can get into them all the time and why it is sooo hard to get it out again 🙄 It's possible. Sure. But it takes away time you could spend actually living...
I was nervous about the filling, but was relieved to read it's flexible. I like the gaps better, but I know they're impossible to clean. This is a great solution!
I’ve never seen a gap filler that holds longer than two years out of my 30 years of experience. I’d like to see how this looks 5 years in. Best of luck.
I once ripped boards into hundreds of thin wedge, about 5 degrees. Hammered them into the cracks with glue on one side, chisseled them flush. They were really old split floorboards, not tongue and groove. Beeswax finish. Worked beautifully.
Pour jugs with the hole on top so air can enter the empty space. The pour will "glug glug" less and you'll have a faster more controlled pour of any liquid
@@G8tr1522 they are saying to pour the container out with the container being oriented so that the hole/spout is above the liquid. so in this video all they would have to do is flip the container over and the air will flow in above the liquid when being poured out which will allow both to pass by uninterrupted. another tip for emptying a container with a less viscous liquid, is to tip it upside down and move it around in a circle like a hula hoop does, to create a whirlpool effect which will accomplish the same thing and allow for faster drainage.
Il y a un manche qui permet de relever le tambour de la ponceuse à la fin du trajet pour ne pas se retrouver avec cet énorme ornière qui se verra après vitrification.
*_I don't get this? Why don't you just use a piping bag and fill the gaps, then scrape off the overflow or sand down?_* *_Why cover the entire floor?_*
Fills all the little gaps, pores, and slightly lower spots. The sanding back will then level it off nice and smooth. Youre going to want to sand back the gaps anyway.
I've just watched a short about oakum! It's made with hemp. Gets fluffed up then twisted. It's then placed in the crack, doubled up and tapped in. Someone would then be behind and pour tar which would give the black lines on a sailing ship. Fascinating 😊
@justJ-m1t It was used for centuries both in flooring and on sailing ships. I think it gets so much oil, or in the case of the sailing ships, tar applied that it getting wet isn't a big problem. If you were to use it now you'd then stain the floor and apply some kind of finish. When the floor is cleaned not much water or cleaning solution is used in these modern times. We might whistle Hard Kock Life while we're mopping, but the technique is very different from the old days.🙂
I have the same kind of pine with gaps flooring in my old farmhouse bedrooms. Farmhouse was build in 1915. Downstairs living room, kitchen and dining room all have regular hardwood maple flooring. So the soft wood flooring is a real deal - for all those that claim that pictured in this video is a subfloor.
I’ve been told that it was common for homeowners to have hardwood on the main floor to impress the guests and opt for softwood upstairs to save a little money on flooring cost. As a mover in an old historical town, definitely seems to check out!
@@joshcaldwell4885that is definitely the case in my house (built 1870s). Main floors have oak hardwood and upstairs are wide plank pine floors. Back in the day people used what was available and in this area white eastern pine was really common.
@@bywonline there are many flooring companies that still sell Eastern White Pine as the main floor covering. In fact a place near me in Vermont says "For more than 250 years, eastern white pine has been the flooring of choice in this region. Eastern white pine's humble charm is perfect for a casual home. The species' slow growth results in a tight, smooth, inconspicuous grain pattern with occasional large knots." I've seen others state it is fine for bedrooms, but they advise a harder wood for high traffic areas. I tore up my "subfloor" as you call it, and underneath it there is a subfloor layer and then the joists. You can call it subfloor if that makes you happy, but that was clearly not the intention when they laid, stained and sealed the floor.
Man, sanding a beautiful old floor TWICE? That'll burn right through it, even if the second pass is thinner! There are longer-lasting solutions than this.
I was thinking the same. Only reason I would have done it was if I wanted the dust (mixed with pva) with is what Ive done in the past and still good 10+ years later. Since he did not need the dust, I would of made more sense to sort the gaps first and then do the sanding just once IMHO.
I did my floor myself. If you have a table saw you can easily make wooden shims cheap. Glue them in then snap off and sand. Less filling after. Just another way to do it.
Historically, from the fireplace mantle style and board width I’d guess the house is from the 1860s. Back then that soft white pine floor would have been covered with large area rugs or stitched and stapled carpet strips. That surface was never intended by the original builders to be seen or “finished”. The popular sanded and polyurethaned treatment is a historically inaccurate modern fantasy of how old floors looked.
My 1920 house had pine board flooring. It wasn't tongue and groove, just plank boards. The center was unfinished, where the rug would have been and around the perimeter was some sort of dark, gummy varnish. I found this after taking up subfloor that had been added in the 50s or 60s that wall to wall carpet was put over.
When moisture increases and the boards swell slightly in the winter, the boards will crack it out, worse cases the boards flex up bowing the whole floor. It isna terrible idea. Oh and don't sand floors, unless you have to remove an old thick finish. It destroys the patina and often creates more problems such as making them to thin, or exposing old worm hole runs.
Ironically in appearance between the before and after is much the same, a 5mm dark line , so if it was only for the appearance, the exercise fails, the line/gap needs to be inconspicuous, doesn’t it?
I get what you're saying. There wasn't much difference between the old floor filler and the new. Even though it's not much different, he was paid to refinish the floor. If someone refinished your floor and didn't take out the old filler and replace with new then you wouldn't be happy.
I lived in a really old walk up like 1785 and it had massive planks of soft wood floors that pitched and rolled, they were crack fill with plaster and painted , I loved them
That’s what the people who finished our floorboards did. It looks amazing, but I would have had no objections to using a filler like in this vid. The gaps were pretty large, though. I assumed there was a reason they went for the strips of wood. They did an excellent job. 11 years later, apart from one spot where I left a steam cleaner on accidentally (leaving a white patch I haven’t been able to get rid of), and one short board that had split (I put that down to wear and tear) the boards look as great as they did when new. They have yellowed a bit, but we were told that would happen.
it's what boat builders have done for hundreds of years vs caulking hemp .. but.. if yourun a shallow cut saw along the joints along a straight edge you get peeerfect gap consistency to use consistent strip widths.. AND.. either use a very dark or very light tone wood for contrast effect
When I bought my newly built house, I had the flloorboards sanded and varnished. All good. Then I moved in. A couple of weeks later I was awoken by an almighty "CRACK !". The floorboards were shinking slightly and then they snapped either the varnish, or in a couple of cases, split near the edges. It really was loud ha ha. They'll need doing again soon, and I'll definitely fill the gaps with this product if I can get it here in Europe.
Just so you know that’s a soft wood sub floor, it’s not meant to be a floor, it’s not a hard wood, it is wrong to do this. It’s your house do what you want, just sharing. Hopefully others will see
If you are on second floor be aware the gap filler may fall through the cracks to downstairs. I know a vinyl layer put down normal vinyl glue and leaked down onto the owners car and caused quite a mess. Not only that they kept birds underneath the house in cages and they all died from the fumes of the glue they used dripped through.
Similar to my old house - sturdy nd well built. I removed the carpet and the revealed oak floors begin to shrink after a few years. When I would wash the floor in the first floor the water would drip into the basement on to my tools. Made me realise I need to seal those cracks and finish the floors.
Thanks so much for sharing this! . I've just bought a house in alpine region of Aus and need to get carpet ripped out due to having lots of pets. Was worried about cold air coming up through the floorboards. This is great! Will get this done. Thanks again.
Я работал с 1985г. Паркетчиком но позже когда поменял професию на несколько когда стали приходить с запада машины другого уровня я стал понимать что полотно половое можно выравнять до идеального состояния а полы можно покрыть лаком с перешлифовкой и полировкой с финишнем видом как будто это сделано на заводе!
Конечно лучше если паркет уложили на идеальное основание даже когда я переделывал дочери ламинад, она весь первый этаж затопила финг сорвало. Так вот настелил а он как приклееный к полу и плинтуса до сих пор нет?
Look up janka hardness. Pine is pretty soft compared to other species. If you compared softwoods, it's a medium strength softwood. I think with a 900 rating ( Eastern Cedar) is the hardest softwood. Or Google says.
YOU took away the character of the floor I live in West VA in a home Built in 1752 , if you must do this Having 40 years exp as a master mechanic carpenter this should have been done with clear wood glue and ALL the saw dust from the "sand job" and used that , NOW depending if these floor boards are secure walking upon then will have this gap filler moving , cracking & popping out by next month
I saw another video where they used the saw dust from sanding the floor as the"matching powder" mixed with the sealant. That's seems like a brilliant idea😊
the way you fixed that flexible filler made my toes curl though. also I liked the old floor's look a lot better than the newly finished (sanded) version
I cried a little watching this. Not because i dont agree with the way it is done, but because i only have ugly laminate in my flat. I put real wood floor boards into part of my workshop (because for shoemakers, the floor is the bin, and we drop lots of nails and pitch crumbs that stick to everything), but i couldnt afford to properly floor the whole workshop with oiled wood. Also i live in a four story building, getting all those heavy machines to the top floor was ugly enough. I am basically nailed down here. Where i was living before i had a big living room and a small workshop all with wooden floors and it was just beautiful. After restoring and oiling it the room smelled so lovely for weeks.
Interesting suggestion. I read lots of the comments. My self live for over 40 Years in my 1886 House with some Wooden Floors and wide cracks. Here and there I read about to fill or not to fill them next time sanding. I'm still not convinced to fill them in. But I keep on mulling it over ; ))
I am literally having this done on the exact same type of floor today, but instead of the powder used here the floor guy saved some of the very fine wood dust from when he rough sanded the floors.
It's ok if you don't want to, it looks good like you did it; but that looks like a subfloor. I had similar construction and I went over it with 1/2" plywood and then put new hardwood over it. Plus those floors were beat up to hell and uneven as hell.
@@nate6795 you are a professional when you give best advice to your customer, not when you only want your customer's money. being a pro is also being honest..., if a gap is here, its because wood works, but you know that already. So the question would be how long will the flex be able to work with the wood together on an old wooden floor ?
This looks incredible ✨✨👌 as I’m only a student I did a budget version I used contractors, PVA glue watered down its flex but my gaps were not as wide apart as some of these. It Worked really good 3 years on. Stopped the creaking noises
Yea the author and most the commenter's don't seem to realize it's subfloor from before composite boards. Has the ugly nails and gaps, they are missing the actual floor.
@@CR-iz1od My floors in my 1900 house look like this. It's not subfloor, it's the actual floor on top of the subfloor. Downstairs is wide Chestnut and upstairs is just pine like this. Cheapest way to do a floor back in the day.
They built it all with green wood from the area. It's had 124 years to dry out and shrink. I still wouldn't use this stuff unless I could test it first, though.
@@danielmilliken1684just because they used it as a floor doesn’t make it a floor. Soft woods are not floors, they dont hold up to the abuse, that would be asinine.
So after the floors/cracks have been filled with this material, is there a re-sanding of the floors? 1. Sand floors 2. Fill cracks 3. Re-sand floors 4. Seal floors Is this the process?
Been there done that, however, after sanding I used the wood dust mixed with basic wood glue and some water to make it smooth, filled all the gaps,and done, cheap simple and smooth!
В 2000-2002 работал с машинами Lagler - Hummel, Trio. Хорошая техника. 👍 P.S. лаки и клей использовали фирмы Bona. Наверно и сейчас есть в продаже. Давно уже, не в теме паркета.
To hold the flexible filler in place and to give it longevity, push some expanding foam tape/weathershield down first, it has adhesive one side, so it will hold in place.
As many have said this is a stop gap solution that will crack up and fall through. For a lasting solution scrape out all of the accumulated fluff and dirt between the boards then use precut Pine slivers. They are slightly triangular, glue them in chisel or sand then flush and you've got a permanent repair.
In New England, old ship decks were transformed into flooring. Each board had a slight cove, that is then infilled with hemp rope and wax, although modern finishes will swell the rope just as well. There was an episode of This Old House on this very subject.
I did my own floors, very satisfying, but if I had known about this, I’d be much happier with the outcome. Mostly because the gaps are inconsistent and there is a lot of gouging damage.
In Finland they used to have a solution for gaps in the floor, they didn't nail the boards down. After the boards dry and shrink they would remove the base board on one side and then tighten the floorboards back up and place a new board in.
There's a video from the 70s where you see them installing this type of floor in a traditional log home they built. Don't think i saw them use nails except for the roofing.
Would you mind sharing the video with is kind sir? I for one am very interested in doing things right for my home
@@ColdAhhClips sorry, not sure how share a link using my phone. The TH-cam channel Northmen uploaded a scan back in Jan of 2018 called something along the lines of Traditional Finnish Log Home Build.
@@grennhald Thank you very much!
@@ColdAhhClips No problem bud, happy to share that video with others. Not only do they use interesting techniques to build an interesting cabin, it also perfectly represents videos of the type and period. Love those old videos on even older subjects. They're historical gems. I also find this one really relaxing, and I've listened to it while falling asleep at least half a dozen times.
and now it's ikea floor
My house is 200 years old and we have wide pine floors, when I refinished them I used wide cordage soaked in the same color stain and after 2 days of soaking I then stuffed it in the gap’s and secured it with crown staples. Then applied the stain and polyurethane and it looks amazing.
My wife refuses to change the windows as she loves the old leaded glass so I have begun refinishing them and despite they have zero insulation there is something about the look that can’t be reproduced.
Our home maybe old and right now I am sanding and replacing the trim and other things that need attention, I am happy to say that I have zero PVC on my home. Everything is wood or stone and by far better built than some of my customers newer homes.
It’s been hard work but it will be worth it when I get done in a few more weeks!
Your comment warms my heart. Thank you for doing traditional /authentic restoration. I'm in a 1920 home that someone else already ruined with their idea of upgrading. I'm doing my best to get it back to something appropriate but it's impossible in many ways.
@@KMx108 it’s worth the blood sweat and tears. I just purchased all the lumber for the back decked area. That’s going to be done during the cooler season.
Good luck with your project!!
Like olde tyme shipbuilding. ⛵😊
@@ibeetellingya5683 actually the man who built the house was a ship builder. I live in Massachusetts on the coast. He used old masts for Lally columns in the basement.
@@sargeinamerica Love it. Must be sturdy as heck. 🤗
Back in the day, These gaps would be filled with paper mache. I did a floor with gaps of over 1/2 inch around 10 years ago and still looks great - paper mache from newspaper and wallpaper adhesive.
My ceiling boards have big gaps. Wonder how hard it would be to do the paper mache trick on the ceiling?
@@sarawest7075 nah, you should tape up with scrim tape and use a plaster or filler; they're designed to stick, even upside down. Well, that said, I've seen wallpaper put up on ceilings, plain wallpaper and then painted?
I've pulled hemp rope and twine out of gaps while refinishing old floors. They'd hammer it in and put a layer of putty over that. It lasted several decades, at least.
Paper mache or ours were filled with a felt like material. Never came out, allowed for expansion, looked great and was there for over 60 years now. The house is still in the family and is over 150 years old.
If you are going to use this stuff though I wonder if it would be beneficial to lay it down prior to sanding and save a step???
I've been doing floors professionally for 10 years. We'd use wood dough and saw dust. Basically, rubber cement for your floor. I've never heard your version. Can't imagine that color matches. Every other gap, I use a water-based filling clay.
Use the sawdust, mix with resin, pipe into the gaps and sand. Flexible, durable and the correct colour 👍
I always save my sawdust for filling gaps.
Get or toxic stuff in your house go for it ...
Do you know if this would work for outside decks? Mine has developed up to 3/4 inch gaps.
Я тоже так делала. Опилки очень мелкой фракци синшивала с полимерным клеем
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing! I'm thinking if I do this I might clean out the gaps first before sanding at all, trowel on the filter, then sand everything at the end and seal. But that's because I'm nervous about removing too much floor depth...
I've read that historically they used to reuse old worn out nautical ropes from ships. The ropes had oil in them to make them water resistant and durable. When they were too worn to be used at sea anymore, they would uncoil them and pack the fiber strands into the gaps between floors. This would help prevent drafts while also filling the unsightly spaces between the boards. These are still sold today by a few shops! A bonus is that you can also stain the rope fibers to match your boards.
Yeah, I have wooden floors with gaps like this too, and if I'll fill them in I plan on using rope!
It's called oakum!
Oakum with modern 2 pak polyurethane? or oil? because urethane will not like the oil in the oakum. I would use the cleanest sanding dust mixed with wood glue to make a paste to fill the gaps if the black fill was structurally sound still. if not oakum soaked in epoxy boat resin and finished in epoxy or 2 pack would be good imo. Also dont be afraid about sanding too much just get it to the point that you are happy with the levels (cross hatching sanding patterns help a lot) and go over it with the finer grades of sand paper to get a nice finish.
good luck.
@@soarer282I was surprised that the floor sanding wasn't don e45 degrees to the board run.
In the UK in Victorian times "picking oakum" (unwinding rope and separating fibres) was a task done in workhouses. Basic accommodation was provided to the "deserving poor" in exchange for hard, monotonous labour. Oakum was something even children could do!
My dad used the sander wood dust mixed into white glue no special floor product needed. I prefer removing one long side baseboard and tap the shrunken boards snug then add the missing width with another board and put baseboard back on. Some people saw a house shifts with seasons and the small gaps in floors prevent buckling.
The floor boards tend to be nailed/tacked down. How do you slide them all over without wrecking them?
That flex stuff is critical. I spent all that time and energy with all of these steps, but they just cracked and came out a few years later from the boards flexing.
Thats the reason they were built with a gap jn between
Perché va posto del materiale che non diventi marmoreo ma resti elastico. Come la coperta di una barca
No need to fill it. I have gaps of about 2mm andit nota problemat all.
May be it is even good that dust sand of small stonescan fall inside and disappear.
@@liebuster9308 but what if your child fall into the gap?
@@ЕвгенийСоболев-г6д the child is 2mm in length?
I have wide pine boards in my 40 year old house. Yep crack! Lots of them. I sit on the floor with a knife, dig it out and vacuum. Tried filing in the kitchen. Nope. Made a mess. I only did a couple. Vacuum. Sweep. Mop. Clean cracks, but I love my floors. Bedrooms have 1x4 scratch back flooring. All pine, walls and ceilings too. 1x6 center match V groove. Yes, I worked in the office at the sawmill where this was produced. W.E.Hill Lumber Co. Best people ever! Beautiful clear hand picked wood for my house. ♥️♥️♥️
For everyone talking about finding felt anf twine in there, its called oakum and its still the best way to fill wide gaps. Dont putty over oakum, it will pop the putty up or crack it in humid months
its a flexible filler
Oil. That’s all it needs
I used this cordage I found that would soak in the stain and then stuffed it the gaps and secured it with crown staples. It has held up excellent especially since we have 4 big dogs and a lot of foot traffic. After I stained the floors and polyurethaned them it has really done well during the hot and humid days here in New England.
Wouldn't it be cheaper and quicker to demo the floor and just replace with new hardwood and cleats?
@@Pepe-dq2ib Maybe not with material costs now - maybe if you're doing it yourself, however it sure would look a heckuva lot better. I think this just looks weird. The gaps looked better.
These gaps look fairly normal to me (I'm living in a 200 years old house). Even concrete and screed expand and buckle slightly when heating up, which you can see if tiles are laid without giving them expansion joints. They might even crack. Got a tiled floor example of that. So, filling these gaps between the wooden planks will only work it the material is flexible enough. Otherwise, you will have a DIY problem.
Bro didn't watch the video 💀💀💀
Broooo ^ has never worked in construction 🙄
Las brechas no son ningún problema! El problema es el ruido espantoso que hacen cuando se pisa !
@@alegonzalez5755 ya
Youre so right. The person should have used a filler compound specifically designed to flex and prevent buckling.
In addition, they should have added a caption that explains that theyre uaing flexible compound so that it wouldnt buckle.
You make extremely good points...
However, all of that was indeed covered in the video you commented on without watching. Good work.
I think I prefer it with the gaps after sanding and new staining
It can look cool, but at the same time, makes it harder to clean.
Those gaps might attract bugs
I've lived with gaps like that for 4 years and it was a nightmare. No idea how so much dust and dirt can get into them all the time and why it is sooo hard to get it out again 🙄
It's possible. Sure. But it takes away time you could spend actually living...
Then good luck keeping it clean
Ever heard of a vacuum cleaner
I was nervous about the filling, but was relieved to read it's flexible. I like the gaps better, but I know they're impossible to clean. This is a great solution!
I’ve never seen a gap filler that holds longer than two years out of my 30 years of experience. I’d like to see how this looks 5 years in. Best of luck.
Вот это точно. 2 года много через сезон потрескаеться и просядет да еще на досках
Me, too. Exactly what I was going to say except I think 2 years is being generous.
@@Adogslife54 Опыт полового МАСТЕРА НЕ ПРОТЬЕШ
@@Adogslife54even for the flex when it’s covered?
We hammer in long, thin softwood tapered strips and trim the excess off with a multitool. They expand and contract at the same rate as the planks.
I once ripped boards into hundreds of thin wedge, about 5 degrees. Hammered them into the cracks with glue on one side, chisseled them flush. They were really old split floorboards, not tongue and groove. Beeswax finish. Worked beautifully.
Шикарный перевод на русский язык. Даже все технические и ремесленные слова правильно переведены.
Вы конечно же хороший мастер своего дела
I was thinking the same thing. Fill the gaps with wood.🤔 Would love to see the results.
@@JHKCFthat wouldn’t allow for movement, bad idea.
Lots of work but great work. You be proud. Old school stuff. Well done
@@mylesjohnston8759 Then how does a regular hardwood floor that’s nailed tight to the next board allow movement?
Pour jugs with the hole on top so air can enter the empty space. The pour will "glug glug" less and you'll have a faster more controlled pour of any liquid
Doesn't it just pour down to the sub floor which is like a massive container
@@gerigame2995 lol my house is my people container
wtf is this comment
@@G8tr1522good advice about pouring liquid from a container with an offset hole.
@@G8tr1522 they are saying to pour the container out with the container being oriented so that the hole/spout is above the liquid. so in this video all they would have to do is flip the container over and the air will flow in above the liquid when being poured out which will allow both to pass by uninterrupted. another tip for emptying a container with a less viscous liquid, is to tip it upside down and move it around in a circle like a hula hoop does, to create a whirlpool effect which will accomplish the same thing and allow for faster drainage.
That sander is savage I saw at the beginning there it left a huge dip in the board gotta becarful with that
Il y a un manche qui permet de relever le tambour de la ponceuse à la fin du trajet pour ne pas se retrouver avec cet énorme ornière qui se verra après vitrification.
*_I don't get this? Why don't you just use a piping bag and fill the gaps, then scrape off the overflow or sand down?_*
*_Why cover the entire floor?_*
To flatten out any uneven spots in the boards aswell.
Your idea makes sense. 👏🏽
To charge extra and drive up the quoted price
@@DimerNL but he sanded the floor and removed all excess except for in the gaps, so that doesn't add up.
Fills all the little gaps, pores, and slightly lower spots. The sanding back will then level it off nice and smooth. Youre going to want to sand back the gaps anyway.
A very old factory in our family had lovely wide floor boards with rope caulking as on ships. Held up really well.
И отлично выглядят ,интересное решение👍
I think it's called oakum.
That's the old, old way from 18th and 19th centuries. I believe the packing is called oakum.
I've just watched a short about oakum! It's made with hemp. Gets fluffed up then twisted. It's then placed in the crack, doubled up and tapped in. Someone would then be behind and pour tar which would give the black lines on a sailing ship. Fascinating 😊
@justJ-m1t It was used for centuries both in flooring and on sailing ships. I think it gets so much oil, or in the case of the sailing ships, tar applied that it getting wet isn't a big problem. If you were to use it now you'd then stain the floor and apply some kind of finish. When the floor is cleaned not much water or cleaning solution is used in these modern times. We might whistle Hard Kock Life while we're mopping, but the technique is very different from the old days.🙂
Ok but to the newbie’s and diy’ers, depth of penetration is the most important thing. Don’t skim it and think it’s going to last.
I have the same kind of pine with gaps flooring in my old farmhouse bedrooms. Farmhouse was build in 1915. Downstairs living room, kitchen and dining room all have regular hardwood maple flooring.
So the soft wood flooring is a real deal - for all those that claim that pictured in this video is a subfloor.
I’ve been told that it was common for homeowners to have hardwood on the main floor to impress the guests and opt for softwood upstairs to save a little money on flooring cost. As a mover in an old historical town, definitely seems to check out!
@@joshcaldwell4885 - that’s a very reasonable explanation.
@@joshcaldwell4885that is definitely the case in my house (built 1870s). Main floors have oak hardwood and upstairs are wide plank pine floors. Back in the day people used what was available and in this area white eastern pine was really common.
@@bywonline there are many flooring companies that still sell Eastern White Pine as the main floor covering. In fact a place near me in Vermont says "For more than 250 years, eastern white pine has been the flooring of choice in this region. Eastern white pine's humble charm is perfect for a casual home. The species' slow growth results in a tight, smooth, inconspicuous grain pattern with occasional large knots." I've seen others state it is fine for bedrooms, but they advise a harder wood for high traffic areas. I tore up my "subfloor" as you call it, and underneath it there is a subfloor layer and then the joists. You can call it subfloor if that makes you happy, but that was clearly not the intention when they laid, stained and sealed the floor.
Heart point finished flooring is tongue and groove. That's sub flooring.
Man, sanding a beautiful old floor TWICE? That'll burn right through it, even if the second pass is thinner! There are longer-lasting solutions than this.
I was thinking the same. Only reason I would have done it was if I wanted the dust (mixed with pva) with is what Ive done in the past and still good 10+ years later.
Since he did not need the dust, I would of made more sense to sort the gaps first and then do the sanding just once IMHO.
i didnt realize there were so many internet flooring experts my boss has been looking for yall
😂😂😂😂😂😂
LMAO
Probably it's because 150million people have jobs and work all the time but you treat youtube like 5 people watch it instead of 5 billion
@@djnone8137it’s a joke
You dont even own a house....lol ppl who got a house know a thing or two about flooring
I did my floor myself. If you have a table saw you can easily make wooden shims cheap. Glue them in then snap off and sand. Less filling after. Just another way to do it.
Historically, from the fireplace mantle style and board width I’d guess the house is from the 1860s. Back then that soft white pine floor would have been covered with large area rugs or stitched and stapled carpet strips. That surface was never intended by the original builders to be seen or “finished”.
The popular sanded and polyurethaned treatment is a historically inaccurate modern fantasy of how old floors looked.
My 1920 house had pine board flooring. It wasn't tongue and groove, just plank boards. The center was unfinished, where the rug would have been and around the perimeter was some sort of dark, gummy varnish. I found this after taking up subfloor that had been added in the 50s or 60s that wall to wall carpet was put over.
When moisture increases and the boards swell slightly in the winter, the boards will crack it out, worse cases the boards flex up bowing the whole floor. It isna terrible idea.
Oh and don't sand floors, unless you have to remove an old thick finish. It destroys the patina and often creates more problems such as making them to thin, or exposing old worm hole runs.
Wondering why the product wasn't applied first, then sanded?? You're sanding twice and some of the old floors can't take that.
Ironically in appearance between the before and after is much the same, a 5mm dark line , so if it was only for the appearance, the exercise fails, the line/gap needs to be inconspicuous, doesn’t it?
I’m pretty sure the purpose is to fill the gap so you don’t get dirt and dust in between the floor boards.
It's so that the gaps can't be filled with crumbs and dirt
Honestly super hot air comes in through those gaps 10 months a year here. If it stopped that it would be a huge win.
I get what you're saying. There wasn't much difference between the old floor filler and the new. Even though it's not much different, he was paid to refinish the floor. If someone refinished your floor and didn't take out the old filler and replace with new then you wouldn't be happy.
I would say the same. It just filled the gap much like grout between tiles. It looks ugly to me there is a black line between each wood plank:-)
An absolutely beautiful floor. I have never seen that product before.
seems like the shrinkage would require 3 coats. Even minor cracks need 2 coats with traditional filler.
Looks good! That was a lot of work. Personally I would have chose a black filler and make it really contrast
I agree! It looks weird and dirty
Agreed.
Black, white or any other colour that would contrast sufficiently against the wood
I lived in a really old walk up like 1785 and it had massive planks of soft wood floors that pitched and rolled, they were crack fill with plaster and painted , I loved them
PAINTED??? OK ITS YOUR HOUSE,,, AND I GOT YA BEAT PAL MINE WAS BUILT IN 1752 WEST VA, BEST OF LUCK TO YOU & YOUR OLD HOME😊
In Germany, old plank pine floors...beautiful 100s of years old...
My goodness that floor turned out beautiful!!
Use filling strips instead made from old floorboards and easily purchased online.
That’s what the people who finished our floorboards did. It looks amazing, but I would have had no objections to using a filler like in this vid. The gaps were pretty large, though. I assumed there was a reason they went for the strips of wood. They did an excellent job.
11 years later, apart from one spot where I left a steam cleaner on accidentally (leaving a white patch I haven’t been able to get rid of), and one short board that had split (I put that down to wear and tear) the boards look as great as they did when new. They have yellowed a bit, but we were told that would happen.
it's what boat builders have done for hundreds of years vs caulking hemp .. but.. if yourun a shallow cut saw along the joints along a straight edge you get peeerfect gap consistency to use consistent strip widths.. AND.. either use a very dark or very light tone wood for contrast effect
When I bought my newly built house, I had the flloorboards sanded and varnished. All good. Then I moved in. A couple of weeks later I was awoken by an almighty "CRACK !". The floorboards were shinking slightly and then they snapped either the varnish, or in a couple of cases, split near the edges. It really was loud ha ha. They'll need doing again soon, and I'll definitely fill the gaps with this product if I can get it here in Europe.
Looks awesome, I just bought a house and have the same problem. Thanks for the tips
Glad we could help! Good luck with your project 👌🏻
Just so you know that’s a soft wood sub floor, it’s not meant to be a floor, it’s not a hard wood, it is wrong to do this. It’s your house do what you want, just sharing. Hopefully others will see
dont do it it will crack once the floor start contracting and expanding
Beautiful workmanship!
If you are on second floor be aware the gap filler may fall through the cracks to downstairs. I know a vinyl layer put down normal vinyl glue and leaked down onto the owners car and caused quite a mess. Not only that they kept birds underneath the house in cages and they all died from the fumes of the glue they used dripped through.
If it’s falling through, I’d move. That’s not a well built house.
Do you live in a shed?
@@AttilaTheHun333333 These are pretty old houses
Similar to my old house - sturdy nd well built. I removed the carpet and the revealed oak floors begin to shrink after a few years. When I would wash the floor in the first floor the water would drip into the basement on to my tools. Made me realise I need to seal those cracks and finish the floors.
Не лепи горбатого !
п.с. ( это русский сленг. не пытайся перевести 😂 )
My initial thought was "do not, the floor is gonna uninstall itself," but that's pretty spiffy that the filler can move to accommodate the boards
My guy really out here grouting wood flooring
lol
and he's for fr about it.
Thanks so much for sharing this! . I've just bought a house in alpine region of Aus and need to get carpet ripped out due to having lots of pets. Was worried about cold air coming up through the floorboards. This is great! Will get this done. Thanks again.
Finally someone who doesn’t stain the floor back with the same ugly dark colour 👍🏻 what coating did you use?
Cheers mate. We used Berger-Seidle water based poly 👍🏻
Thank you. Turned out beautifully! We are going to redo our hardwoods next year, this was a great guide.
Glad it was helpful!
Я работал с 1985г. Паркетчиком но позже когда поменял професию на несколько когда стали приходить с запада машины другого уровня я стал понимать что полотно половое можно выравнять до идеального состояния а полы можно покрыть лаком с перешлифовкой и полировкой с финишнем видом как будто это сделано на заводе!
Конечно лучше если паркет уложили на идеальное основание даже когда я переделывал дочери ламинад, она весь первый этаж затопила финг сорвало. Так вот настелил а он как приклееный к полу и плинтуса до сих пор нет?
Fantastic 😍 a pro at work 👌🏻
I leave gaps in my 1890 house. I prefer the look.
Mine's the same age, its bloomin cold though.
Maybe harder to clean?
@arh1234 not particularly. I did my own after hiring so-called pros. I did a much better job. I cleaned out all the joints.
I hate it. My flat is old with old gappy floorboards and I want the whole darned thing sorted out soon.
I didn't expect it to turn out as well as it did. Fantastic
Awesome, you made a beautiful pine floor look like LVP. Can’t believe someone paid for that.
Beautiful results!
It’s like your grouting your hardwood floors
That's Pine subfloor. Pine is a softwood.
@@Peterbrendanalbertpine is an intermediate wood.
Look up janka hardness. Pine is pretty soft compared to other species.
If you compared softwoods, it's a medium strength softwood.
I think with a 900 rating ( Eastern Cedar) is the hardest softwood. Or Google says.
@@placebomandingo2095 Pedantic.
Beautiful work, well done👍🏽
YOU took away the character of the floor
I live in West VA in a home Built in 1752 , if you must do this Having 40 years exp as a master mechanic carpenter this should have been done with clear wood glue and ALL the saw dust from the "sand job" and used that , NOW depending if these floor boards are secure walking upon then will have this gap filler moving , cracking & popping out by next month
My thoughts too. In Australia floors in national trust homes were all done with sawdust.
I saw another video where they used the saw dust from sanding the floor as the"matching powder" mixed with the sealant. That's seems like a brilliant idea😊
whoa, I had no idea you can do it with such big gaps and it supposedly lasts(?). Looks awesome!
3 months
Did he post a 3, 5, 10, and 15 year photo?
the way you fixed that flexible filler made my toes curl though. also I liked the old floor's look a lot better than the newly finished (sanded) version
I cried a little watching this. Not because i dont agree with the way it is done, but because i only have ugly laminate in my flat. I put real wood floor boards into part of my workshop (because for shoemakers, the floor is the bin, and we drop lots of nails and pitch crumbs that stick to everything), but i couldnt afford to properly floor the whole workshop with oiled wood.
Also i live in a four story building, getting all those heavy machines to the top floor was ugly enough. I am basically nailed down here. Where i was living before i had a big living room and a small workshop all with wooden floors and it was just beautiful. After restoring and oiling it the room smelled so lovely for weeks.
That’s really cool. Looks awesome
I actually really like the contrast... as long as the gaps are consistent. It'd look bad with that kind of color variation and unequal gaps.
Interesting suggestion. I read lots of the comments. My self live for over 40 Years in my 1886 House with some Wooden Floors and wide cracks. Here and there I read about to fill or not to fill them next time sanding. I'm still not convinced to fill them in. But I keep on mulling it over ; ))
How long does the filler stay flexible?
Depends on where u live. Humidity is a mutual effer
A lot have 25 year warranty so Id say thats a decent time frame.
It doesnt
Bullshit
Love Jimmy's poetry recitation, paints Lang Lang's music so well
I prefer the charm and character of the old finish, gaps included
What about the freezing cold air that blows up though them in winter and the massive heat bill!
once the gaps start to fill with random dirt and debris most people can't take it
Have you considered how much literal crap is caught in the gaps? It's horrendous
I am literally having this done on the exact same type of floor today, but instead of the powder used here the floor guy saved some of the very fine wood dust from when he rough sanded the floors.
That's good if he can mix it up and have it remain flexible, I have my doubts.
A small wood strip might have looked better...
Wow that actually looks amazing!! 🤩
It's ok if you don't want to, it looks good like you did it; but that looks like a subfloor. I had similar construction and I went over it with 1/2" plywood and then put new hardwood over it. Plus those floors were beat up to hell and uneven as hell.
The finished product looks like laminate flooring! ❤ Great idea! Looks awesome!
In 6 months max it will explode from the floor bro
In 6 months you’ll still be commenting on TH-cam while these guys are making money everyday doing what their customers want them to do.
@@nate6795i do the same job bro i say what its gona been in the future not hate them😃
@@ΓιώργοςΔημητρίου-υ1π so you’ve done this before and used to same exact material with the same old house in the same area of the country ?
@@nate6795 Did you ever work with wood? Probably not.
Wooden floors bend and flex like crazy.
@@nate6795 you are a professional when you give best advice to your customer, not when you only want your customer's money. being a pro is also being honest..., if a gap is here, its because wood works, but you know that already.
So the question would be how long will the flex be able to work with the wood together on an old wooden floor ?
Really nice work !!!
The gaps were already filled😂 just poly over it all!😂
This is the pre-work to refinish the floors zzz... They are still going to stain and finish the floors lol
@@niccho8470 I know exactly what there showing. I was talking about all the crud and crap they dug out of the gaps in the first place 🤣
This looks incredible ✨✨👌 as I’m only a student I did a budget version I used contractors, PVA glue watered down its flex but my gaps were not as wide apart as some of these. It Worked really good 3 years on. Stopped the creaking noises
I think I'd just install some engineered hardwood flooring on top of that subfloor.
Yea the author and most the commenter's don't seem to realize it's subfloor from before composite boards. Has the ugly nails and gaps, they are missing the actual floor.
@@CR-iz1od My floors in my 1900 house look like this. It's not subfloor, it's the actual floor on top of the subfloor. Downstairs is wide Chestnut and upstairs is just pine like this. Cheapest way to do a floor back in the day.
They built it all with green wood from the area. It's had 124 years to dry out and shrink. I still wouldn't use this stuff unless I could test it first, though.
First correct answer 😂 also would have accepted vinyl plank
@@danielmilliken1684just because they used it as a floor doesn’t make it a floor. Soft woods are not floors, they dont hold up to the abuse, that would be asinine.
I hope, Harper get well & fully recovery 🤞🏻🙏🏻💪🏻
You are, such a inspiring couple..!!!
God bless 💟
Even if it's subfloor looks great to me. Waste not want not. Why do you need 2 floor coverings if you like the look.
So after the floors/cracks have been filled with this material, is there a re-sanding of the floors?
1. Sand floors
2. Fill cracks
3. Re-sand floors
4. Seal floors
Is this the process?
Exactly right 👌🏻
Short answer: absolute necessary if you ever want to have a clean floor and no water damage
Been there done that, however, after sanding I used the wood dust mixed with basic wood glue and some water to make it smooth, filled all the gaps,and done, cheap simple and smooth!
That nice floor got mutilated
Good job and cracks filled looks excellent
Im facing the same challenge with my pine board flooring. Dont want to replace it with anything else but this seems like it would beba great option
The filler blend nicely ❤
Мы в квартире так делали с советским полом. Верхний слой сняли машиной, а новый слой просто в несколько слоёв покрыли лаком для полов
Thanks for the inspiration. My filler came out in the floor and I was wondering if there was a product. Very timely video.
Thank you for sharing this video. Would it work on laminated floor boards? I was told laminated floor boards can't be sanded.
Awesome work! Keep it up
Wooow, that looks REALLY nice!
Natural materials looks so awesome in homes 👍
В 2000-2002 работал с машинами Lagler - Hummel, Trio. Хорошая техника. 👍
P.S. лаки и клей использовали фирмы Bona. Наверно и сейчас есть в продаже. Давно уже, не в теме паркета.
Nice one! Thank you for the hint!
So satisfying!😊
I used caulking on my floors like this one it worked well! The natural look of these is nice!🤗
Dope! Looks like tile now. Well done
To hold the flexible filler in place and to give it longevity, push some expanding foam tape/weathershield down first, it has adhesive one side, so it will hold in place.
Looks beautiful imo 👌
Gorgeous work
WHY IS THIS SO SATISFYING?!? 🤩
As many have said this is a stop gap solution that will crack up and fall through. For a lasting solution scrape out all of the accumulated fluff and dirt between the boards then use precut Pine slivers. They are slightly triangular, glue them in chisel or sand then flush and you've got a permanent repair.
Omg i have floors exactly like this. Would be awesome to do this
In New England, old ship decks were transformed into flooring. Each board had a slight cove, that is then infilled with hemp rope and wax, although modern finishes will swell the rope just as well. There was an episode of This Old House on this very subject.
I did my own floors, very satisfying, but if I had known about this, I’d be much happier with the outcome. Mostly because the gaps are inconsistent and there is a lot of gouging damage.
Wonderful job !!!!!