Wood is a natural product and because of this gaps may start to appear between the planks after years of use. This ‘natural look’ can add to the beauty of the floor, but for someone who wants a flawless finish these gaps between planks can look unsightly. Shrinkage in floors is more common with solid wood floors, than engineered flooring.

There are a number of methods used to fill gaps between planks or parquet; a few are described below.

Dust and resin

If the floor is being sanded, perhaps the best way to fill the gaps between planks or parquet is to use a dust and resin mixture. In this method the fine ‘clean’ dust which is generated during the sanding process is mixed with a resin compound to form a paste. This paste can be worked into the gaps and then allowed to dry before the floor area is resanded. The benefit of this method is the exact match concerning the flooring colour.

Fillet strips

If the floor has very large gaps, fillet strips can be covered with PVA and knocked into place to fill the gaps. Any material which is left proud can be chiselled away and the floor can then be sanded and finished, this method is very suited to square edge old pine or oak floorboards.

Colour match acrylic

The simplest way of filling gaps is using a colour match acrylic filler or mastic. This is an easy and quick product to apply and any excess can be wiped away easily. The use of this product also means the floor doesn’t have to be sanded too finish the job off. The biggest problem with this method is that it can be extremely difficult to choose an acrylic colour which matches the colour of the wood perfectly.