Wood is a natural material with good thermal insulation properties. Over time, gaps may appear in it.
As a result, the strength of the flooring will decrease, drafts will occur, debris and dirt will begin to accumulate in the holes formed, an unpleasant odor of dampness and rot will begin to flow from the underground floor. But you can close the cracks, and yourself.
It is necessary to close the cracks in the wooden floor on time: defects reduce strength, moving around the floor becomes dangerous.
Reasons for the appearance
The reasons:
- Seasonal moisture differences. Usually associated with the inclusion of heating. The wood begins to dry due to low humidity: the air in the room becomes drier. When the heating is turned off, humidity returns to normal, but the structures and floors do not restore their previous shape. To protect the tree from drying out, you need to constantly maintain a microclimate in the room with humidifiers.
- Violation of flooring technology. The cement-sand base may be undersized. The tree will begin to warp over time. Similar defects are also observed with improper installation of a vapor barrier film between wood and cement.
- Wrong material. High-quality floors are obtained from boards of coniferous, oak, tropical trees. Linden, maple and some other species are not suitable.
- Use of poorly dried boards. When buying material, you should check its moisture content. The optimal value is about 6-10%. It is not recommended to purchase material from an open warehouse.
- In old rooms, rodents that spoil the floors can be found. In this case, you need to close the hole, fill all the moves with concrete mixed with glass or aluminum chips. It is not recommended to pour rat poison into burrows: rodents can smash it into rooms. The poison emits an unpleasant odor, which is then difficult to weather.
- Excessive floor load.
What will be required to fix the holes?
Required:
- wedges made of wood, rail, cord (kapron or nylon);
- paste, sawdust, epoxy resin, tow;
- special silicone, putty, PVA glue;
- hammer, bristles with hard bristles, putty knives, woodworking tools, mastic.
It is recommended to fill the space under the floor with sealant.
Description of the work process
Furniture is removed from the damaged area. Indoor floors are washed. If the site is small, it is marked with chalk. A stiff brush or a sharp spatula remove adhered dirt. You can remove the paintwork, if it interferes or contributes to the expansion of holes.
Repair technology depends on the location and nature of the damage.
The use of wooden battens
This is the most effective way, but takes a lot of time. Most often it is used if the gap is quite wide and deep.
Start work with milling holes and slots with a saw: they need to be expanded. Then dowels are driven in. Strip the ends of the boards with sandpaper.If the gap is between the board and the wall, then the walls are also cleaned. Reiki is made of boards of the same breed as the main floor, 0.5 cm smaller than the size of the holes. Reiki stripping.
Boards are treated with glue, glued. Make a mixture of glue and sawdust. Putty cracks and other minor defects. Damage between the wall and the floor is in some cases filled with sealant.
After filling the cracks, the surface is treated with varnish and paint under the main shade.
Puttying
If the hole or slot is small, it can be puttied. Use several options:
- Mix paste (or PVA) with wood sawdust. Before this, sawdust is poured with boiling water, left for 2-3 hours to swell. Then glue is added to the mixture, mixed thoroughly. The finished solution should stretch.
- To cover the gap between the boards, you can mix sawdust and gypsum dust in a ratio of 1: 1. The mixture is poured with boiling water. The consistency of the finished solution should be thick and viscous. You can add citric acid (100 g per 1 liter).
- Less reliable mixture of paper (cardboard) and paste. Pre-shredded pieces of cardboard and paper are poured with water so that they swell. Mix with paste.
The mixture is applied to the damaged area with a spatula. After drying, varnish and paint to match the color of the floor.