Pine floors with wide gaps....how do I make them look better?

Question

We bought this house 9 years ago and at the time, we thought the pine floors looked just great but as time went by, the gaps between the boards kept getting wider and wider. So now, we don't think it looks so good anymore. We were told sanding and re finishing would not take care of the gaps, in some places, the spaces between boards is nearly 1/4 inch. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Apart from taking up and re-laying the floor there is little you can do. My guess is that you are on a pier and beam foundation and your house has shifted a bit. You should count yourself lucky that it has shifted such that it formed gaps rather than buckled.

You might consider re-flooring the house with a composite flooring material such as "Pergo". These sorts of floors are easy to install and the "float" so they are very tolerant to shifting over time. Also, they look great. I have Pergo in my home and visually you can't tell it from a "real" hardwood floor. The only difference in look and feel is that it is slightly slicker. This is because it has an impermeable surface which makes it much easier to clean and much more resistant to spills. Also it doesn't get "pock" marks from high heels, kids bouncing on it with pogo sticks, etc...

Answer 2

I saw an episode of This Old House that addressed this problem. Here is the link: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tvprograms/asktoh/qaarticle/0,16588,441630,00.html
Good Luck.

Answer 3

sound like things are very dry try intrducing a little moisture in your home