Should you FILL GAPS on a timber floor??

[@jorisbelgium]

You can avoid sanding (and making the floor thinner) by filling the gaps with a strong elastic filler like Sikaflex 291i. This is the stuff people use on boats. In this way the floor keeps its appearance. After sanding (like in this video), the floor looks lighter, but it will turn darker again. Filling with Sikaflex is quite labour intensive as you have to use masking tape on both sides of each gap. But you can do a few gaps at a time. No dust, no need to make the room completely empty. 3 hours after applying it, you can walk on it. I did it in my house for one room and the floor looks exactly like before, because Sikaflex 291i is black.

[@unfocusedjoker]

Gaps between boards should be sanded to get rid of any dust as filler will not stick to dust. I've always used pine slivers to fill any gaps between boards as I've found the natural shrinkage and expansion can crack filler over time

[@georgebush6002]

The product they used has high elasticity so it should not crack. I am not familiar with pine slivers. Is it held in place by friction? Is it time consuming to install?

[@bess2538]

An amazing transformation. What an improvement. Love it. Great work, guys! ❤

[@kevin409galv]

As a builder we do a lot of 2x6 Pine tongue & groove floors. Our wood is new and not aged. If we fill the gaps it will be displaced within a year.

[@GermanyHawksfan]

Yeah, but my house is over 115 years old and has original floors. Aquaseal is a god send for old floors.

[@jhelotes5627]

An aged sub floor, like this will have less tendencies to seasonally expand and contract. Before attempting to fill gaps between boards, it is important to observe a season or two for gap variations and steps should be taken to moderate interior humidity and exterior foundation moisture. Dimensional instability decreases on second and third floors, so filling gaps is less problematic. But on first floors, the filler may crack and become unsightly, especially if there is deflection of the planks.

[@Sexyoldgeraldorivera]

Nobody will do that. Ever. Me included.

[@psychedelikchameleon]

100x better. I'm about to embark on this tomorrow

[@rexabbott1982]

How do you stop the filler leaking out to the ground ?

[@thisismycurrenthandle]

Hello! We live in a home built in 1730. Our floors have tons of gaps like this, but are also not level (some planks are higher than others). What would you recommend?

[@maxbeltranvalle1695]

I will need to do that on my floor. Thanks for the info.

[@CH4madness]

Prefer the color/look of the original. I've got a floor with a similar tone to the original in this video, just pulled the carpet off it. Pretty good shape but there are a few gap areas, I'm looking more for a spot fix unlike this video, and preserve the original look. Anything out there good for this?

[@90pi548]

What is the pak stop for?

[@rexabbott1982]

Looks amazing

[@ThomasG84]

Is there any reason why you shouldn’t? Also, why not apply the filler before sanding back the first time? Save the extra sanding

[@daniellawson8702]

Good question and I hope someone can answer it soon as I would like to know the answer myself

[@TheScottMob]

You want it clean to ensure good side adhesion

[@vnyeu]

my question is the same. or he want the sand dust from this floor board

[@JarieusWolfBrooke]

Because it looks like a major component of the 'filler" is fine sawdust collected from the first round of sanding (for an exact colour match) so two rounds of sanding needed. Unless you already had fine sawdust on hand that was of similar colour to the floor.

[@JarieusWolfBrooke]

scratch that - this video doesnt include use of sawdust from first round of sanding. Other tutorials do show this though

[@tailtaptailtap]

Hey guys, the "How to Sand a Floor" guy on KZbin advised to firstly sand diagonal, and provides a very scientific reason, which makes perfect sense to me. May I ask why you guys don't do the same thing?

[@cassiejo0012]

GORGEOUS

[@RehdClouhd]

What finish would you recommend that would get back to the original-ish color? Also, could i do this fill method without sanding? If we want to keep the old patina look?

[@anthonyalford7093]

A water based finish was used on the floor. Water based finishes dry clear. The finished product here has made me decide I like oil based finishes on pine floors. An oil based finish will give the floor an amber color that darkens over time.

[@santiagoherrera4677]

Where you guys hire the machine?

[@Peggergrethe]

Hello, do you have any advice for matching the color for Pitch Pine floors? We live in Germany and recently refinished some of our floors. After sanding, we patched some knots and holes in the floor and it matched perfectly. But, once we put the clear coat on, the floors had a yellowish tint to it and the patches no longer matched. How do we avoid this problem with the seems or cracks?

[@yesdude5733]

You should check out Loba ElastoParkett. They have numerous colors to match different species of wood flooring. Silicone-free plasto-flexible acrylate joint filler. Simply fill and trowel to smooth everything out before your last pass with the big machine. Hope this helps.

[@matthodel946]

His Pak Stop material is best. You mix it with the Pafuki Powder. It comes in 7 or 8 colors. You find the color that closest and you mix it into the Pak Stop and it reacts I think. Most of the floors have reached their life when they have huge gaps, and probably should be replaced. But I like the character, I want to hold off spending for an entire new subfloor and flooring, so I'm going this route. I think it looks amazing, I appreciate your work Quick Sand flooring.

[@GermanyHawksfan]

I ended up using Aquaseal with pine Pafuki powder and it turned out great. However, its a bitch sanding that stuff off! My second project was a narrow hallway, no drum sander option, and had to use a belt sander to get that stuff off, that was a helluva job. The next was a larger area, but even with a drum sander at 80 grit and a then application, I couldn't go over 3 planks before the sand paper gummed up and started leaving streaks. I had to order tons of sand paper. For the next time, I think I'll put the aquaseal down after sanding with 60 grit, that way I can use 60 to take it off instead of 80 grit. Looks great, but man was it a chore to remove!

[@matthodel946]

@@GermanyHawksfan Good tips thank you for writing that, I did find my material data sheets and I see I made wrong assumptions, I'm learning. My pafuki powder is on back order. I need to chase down the right sandpaper, my home depot is limited with selection so I'm ordering it. Sometimes we used steel wire brushes to try to clean up the gummed up sandpaper, they also have degumming sticks, but they only work so so and I've never tried sanding a polyurathane like this. But it sure is a novel idea and these guys are smart!

[@psalm271-3]

I am worried that the filler will drip down to the pipes. Also why do you use the water based poly at the end?

[@matthodel946]

What pipes we talkin' about here? This us an elastomeric filler material, it's not like dumping water on the floorboards, and anyways there should be a subfloor below a wood plank floor. At least 1X6 on a 45 degree angle is the old school route.

[@Blessings-b2x]

Could I do this on plywood plank floors? Top layer of plywood is thin so I am concerned about that.

[@tandemabutere]

Is it possible to do this for floors that are already finished? Perhaps carefully wipe it off the floorboards before it is dry? I'm not too fussed with it matching exactly I'm just tired of trying to clean those huge gaps

[@QuicksandFlooring]

Yes definitely, this product also comes in a caulking tube called FlexFill, designed for individual gaps 👍🏻 you can find it on our website www.quicksandsupplies.com.au

[@julesgranati5860]

What grit are you hitting the filler with after it dries?

[@QuicksandFlooring]

We used 40grit to sand the filler off 👍🏻

[@GermanyHawksfan]

​@@QuicksandFlooringBut, doesn't Aquaseal instructions say to sand it at 60 or 80 grit before applying? Are you sanding the floor to 80 grit, applying Aquaseal, and then using 40 grit to take it off?

[@gitteringmanley2913]

How long does the filler have to dry before sanding again? And why sanding with grit 40, and not 80 or 120?

[@matthodel946]

It's a chemical reaction, at least 24 hours, better 36 hours to sure, or it will gum up belts. He sands with low-grit the first pass because the whole floor in rough state is troweled with the Pak Stop/Pafuki Powder mix. It would be pointless to sand it super fine before coating floor boards. You have to dig out all the old crap in the open crevices too, at least on my floor I had to. It left huge cracks that I cleaned really well in preparation for this mix. Once this mix dries, he sands it for a second pass to remove the overburden and get the floor smooth. Then you can use 120 or whatever.

[@GermanyHawksfan]

​@@matthodel946The instructions on Aquaseal recommend to sand 60 or 80 grit before application. I also used a multi-tool to remove the gunk between the planks. I will say, going to 80 grit and then putting Aquaseal down was a pain because 80 grit is not strong enough to take off the excess pafuki powder. 60 grit would work best.

[@ahdoodles]

does filling the gaps help with draught? do you have any suggestions about keeping floors like these but also keeping the room warm? thank you

[@QuicksandFlooring]

If the floor is on joists then yes it would definitely help with air flow coming through 👍🏻

[@GermanyHawksfan]

It has helped with our floors to keep air flow out

[@LindaMason-h4d]

I can’t find this in pine colour in the UK - do you know how I can get it? Also, can you link the tool (and attachment) you used to clean between the boards please?

[@QuicksandFlooring]

Get in touch with Dave from Grand Parkett for the product 👍🏻 also the tool we used for the gaps is a Milwaukee multi tool - here is the Amazon link www.amazon.com.au/shop/quicksandflooring/photo/amzn1.shoppablemedia.v1.7bfe3502-cb3d-4049-97f4-2feaaf65c73b?ref_=aipsfphoto_aipsfquicksandflooring

[@LindaMason-h4d]

Thank you. Another question! Some of our floorboards have been lifted over the years for plumbing/electrical work etc, so they have no tongue. Will the product work for these or will it run straight through the gap? Is there anything we should do to help with that?

[@acook392]

Hi I’ve watched a few of your videos, I’m in rural SA and have all the floors in my 1915 home to tackle. Do you always use polyurethane to finish? Could I use a tung oil or similar? Do you ever do alternative finishes?

[@QuicksandFlooring]

You can definitely use alternatives like oils, it just all depends on the look you want to achieve. We do prefer water based as they give you the most natural finish whilst being extremely durable. We try and steer clear from any solvent based as it is very toxic whilst applying and also turns orange over time. Hardwax oil like Ciranova is also a great option 👌🏻 good luck with your project!

[@markwarren5524]

What kind of wood is this? Would you recommend this treatment on an old pine floor?

[@QuicksandFlooring]

This is Baltic Pine 👌🏻

[@markwarren5524]

Thanks!

[@italolm141]

Hey! I live in Long Branch, NJ and was impressed with your work. In 2023, I founded my sand and install flooring company, IAC - American Floor, and am seeking advice on how to expand my business and find more job opportunities. I am open to any suggestions or guidance you can offer. Thanks in advance!

[@matthodel946]

Join a BNI chapter!

[@ignacio5283]

Trying like crazy to find this product here in Ontario Canada, with no luck. Any suggestions? please!

[@QuicksandFlooring]

Here is the Berger-Seidle Canada Instagram page 👍🏻 instagram.com/berger_seidle_canada?igsh=aGs2NG1oaXJtdzFu

[@dwfinds3030]

Interesting its like wood grout

[@salvor1]

looks great until the humidity goes up and the stuff squishes out.

[@GermanyHawksfan]

Nope, this won't happen. It's flexible and will not crack or move if humidity fluctuates. I have an old farm house and some times humidity gets in the 60-70% range and we've had no problems. It works great

[@Nninjarider]

😍😍😍😍 yes

[@andrebenfield9751]

🙂👍🏿 Nice 👍🏿🙂

[@QuicksandFlooring]

Cheers mate 🙌🏻

[@Mortone71]

How do I buy this? The links lead nowhere.

[@QuicksandFlooring]

www.quicksandsupplies.com.au

[@alekseymolodtsov3418]

Угробили пол! 😢