The most common wood species we hear complaints about with gapping and cracks is maple.
Installed hardwood and before i stained it gaps appeared.
Whether your floors are newly installed or you ve had hardwood floors for years you can use humidifiers to reduce the likelihood of gaps.
Gaps in hardwood floors can be a huge visual annoyance.
But to answer a common question.
Engineered hardwood flooring is designed to minimize gaps due to expansion and contraction of the wood.
We had a beautiful maple floor installed in july of this year.
It may take years for gaps to show up in your hardwood floors.
Adding filler is not a good idea.
Not only are they an eyesore they can also collect dirt and dust.
The best times to repair hardwood floors are april and october.
It will get pushed out as the wood expands with moisture.
Before installing hardwood floors it is important to acclimate the product to your home.
Have the installer perform a humidity level test because either very high or very low humidity can cause bowing splitting and warping.
Below are summaries of questions we ve fielded over the years.
Try to avoid gaps in the first place.
Avoiding hardwood floor gaps.
For larger gaps that don t close up call in a professional contractor who can repair floors properly.
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.
Failing to install the first board perfectly straight in a hardwood flooring installation.
Winter in chicago.
Yes it can still have gaps.
Improperly acclimating the hardwoods prior to installation.
Hardwood gaps are generally caused by one of a few installation errors.
Questions from our readers.
Expansion and contractions causes hardwood floor gaps.