Putty on finished jarrah floorboards

Hi Guys,

I have some old jarrah floorboards in my house and they have been sealed. But when they were installed, the tongue in groove was not pushed all the way together, resulting in each floorboard having an ~3mm gap.

I have tried some wax putty to fill the gaps which works well, as I can just heat up the putty and push it into the gaps, then gently scrape the top, leaving no scratches in the floorboards.

But this method will cost me about $50 per m2 because the waxsticks are ~ $5 each. I have called, they don't supply anything but the sticks.

These are what I'm using
Waxstix Touch Up Crayons


So does anyone know of s similar product that I can use? The main think I want to avoid is scratching the finished boards.

I suggest you talk to a Ship's Chandler. What you are doing is very similar to caulking the seams on a boat, and teh chandler may have a product yu can tint to match your floor.

The fact that an even gap is in each join makes me think the boards were laid upside down. The bottom of the boards have a small rebate to allow movement but avoiding it pushing up. If you can look underneath and see if there is a gap or not would be the indicator.

A brother-in-law of mine renovated a house and in the hallway he wanted to polish the boards that were previously been covered with carpet. He had gaps between the boards and used No More Gaps to disguise them. He used white but you can get "Caulk In Colours" at the Hardware that should have something close to your Jarrah. My only advise would be to restrict foot traffic in the area until the Caulking was skinned over. Its waterbased like No More Gaps so using a wet rag to keep the boards clean would aid in the final finish.

I would just leave it as is. That the grooves are uniform throughout will look to anyone else like a design feature. The fact is, no matter what you do, the additions will look like racing stripes since they will not match the colour of the adjoining Jarrah.

If you really feel an overwhelming need to fill the grooves, then I would do so with Jarrah. Measure the width and depth and rip sections to size, then glue in. You will need to add a finish that is comparable with that existing.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I suspect the floorboards might have been damp when installed resulting in a uniform gap once dried out.
I personally wouldn't try to fill the gaps as anything put in is likely to come out over time and getting a perfect colour match would be difficult.

Boat builders use Sikaflex to "join" boards on exposed teak decks. It seems that the product can accommodate thin to large gaps 3-8mm at a guess. No personal eperience or use of the product, an observation only.:)

Yvan

What ever you put in there will get squeezed out when the relative humidity increases and if the room has any kind of efficient heating, the constant drying swelling will leave another gap after it has been compressed a few times.
You say the boards are "old", how old? Me thinks they have been down for a long time. If you are adamant about filling the gap, a proper caulking product is the preferred option. The no more gap coloured caulking will eventually crack. Sikaflex is a far superior product but at about $17-50 a tube can get expensive and does not have the range of colours that coloured caulking has. Don't use a caulking that goes rock hard like putty, it will introduce a heap of new problems.

I second what Derek said, plus what ever filler you use (except maybe Sikaflex) will eventually crack, I have yet to see gaps in floor boards successfully filled

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jknightsmith

Hi Guys,

I have some old jarrah floorboards in my house and they have been sealed. But when they were installed, the tongue in groove was not pushed all the way together, resulting in each floorboard having an ~3mm gap.

I have tried some wax putty to fill the gaps which works well, as I can just heat up the putty and push it into the gaps, then gently scrape the top, leaving no scratches in the floorboards.

But this method will cost me about $50 per m2 because the waxsticks are ~ $5 each. I have called, they don't supply anything but the sticks.

These are what I'm using
Waxstix Touch Up Crayons


So does anyone know of s similar product that I can use? The main think I want to avoid is scratching the finished boards.

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JK, how did you end up laying your floor. Did you use a sub-floor or did you batten over the concrete?

Were the Jarrah boards fresh cut or recycled?

Given that your floor has been down around 8 years*, have the gaps changed width over time?

as already mentioned about the only option that doesn't involve refinishing the floor is caulking -- talk to a ship's chandler.


*post from 2008

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jknightsmith

I'm wondering if there's any experts out there that can help me with Jarrah floorboards on concrete.
I am looking to get some 130x19mm jarrah installed and keep getting conflicting reports about the method. One contractor says do this, the other says do that.

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There's the problem, I suspect there is no vapor barrier between the concrete and the boards or through ventilation to allow it to breath

Thanks for all the replies,

A bit more detail below

20 years ago I helped fill my parents second hand floorboards that came out of an old hospital, they may have been over 50 years old. We used the wax sticks. We tried all sorts of different types of putty, the wax worked out the easiest. It took forever, but I just sat on my skateboard and worked my way across the floors. These boards had so many holes, but they were very old so the jarrah had darkened substantially and wax stick patching looked really good. There were no gaps in these boards. We installed them on joists and used a tool that clipped on the joists and you would ratchet each board across to close the gaps.

My boards however, have all been sealed. They were also installed on joists and I am in a very old house. The boards are very dark and I would guess they are 50 plus years old. But when they were installed, the person did not push them together so the tongue and groove likely touch but did not slot into each other. They have been installed the correct way up. I can't seal them afterwards.

Regarding the lines, I have done a small area in wax sticks and it looks better than the gaps. Just my personal preference, but it will look better filled in, provided I can match the colour.

Re the movement, it may be an issue, but I think overall the floor will look better with the gaps filled. Is this going to be a problem thats big enough vs the current gaps, probably not for me.


Since I posted I have found a few people looking for advice on the same thing.

Options they use are
No more gaps, mask off each side and clean the top (I think this will be too messy).
Sika (I think this will be even more messy)
Timbermate (will crack likely with the wide gaps, but being water based will be easier to clean up)
I could not find anyone using wax sticks, likely to much cost.

I think I'll try a test area next with timbermate. Wearing gloves, and pushing it into the gaps and then wiping it off.

Picture attachments are not working, I'll try and attach them later.

I recommend sikaflex-291 marine polyurethane sealant. I have used that quite a bit. It is paint-able and sand-able once cured. It has strong adhesive ability and flexible at the same time. I have used it on floor boards.

• For small areas, you can put down masking tape on either side of the gap and then squeeze the sealant in the gap and use a silicone spatula to level it off if necessary. Once dried, I would get a hand plane iron to slowly slice off the sealant that is sticking out.
• For large areas. I would just apply the sealant to fill all the gaps and not bother with masking tape. Once dried, give the floor a sand and then re-varnish the area.

Dont use timbermate which will crack in no time and don't use no more gap either because you can't varnish or paint over it later on.
sikaflex also comes in 2 colours: black or white. I personally prefer black for floor boards and white for outside decking.