We've recently been asked if it's worth while to fill the gaps in a parquet wood block floor. The following article will attempt to show any doubters in pictorial form, the huge aesthetic difference having the gaps filled in your wooden floors can make, particularly to gappy area's of parquet flooring.

The first example [below] is from a project where we repaired approx 6m2 of loose blocks in a school classroom. In making the repair we had to trim many of the blocks to make them fit back into their respective positions again as they had expanded considerably due to an escape of water incident. In making the repairs this inevitably resulted in many gaps from 2mm up to 7mm to the repaired area.

We filled the repaired area with a fine dust and resin mix, for this particular job we used the rather splendid Junckers Basefill, which is a quick drying solvent based filler which is pretty straightforward to use, and binds the fine dust very well indeed, and when mixed properly to the right consistency is just ideal for this type of gap filling work.

The sequence of pictures below show off the dramatic effect that correctly done gap filling can have on an area of parquet blocks, in this example when the gaps have been filled and the lacquers have been applied the repaired area blends in seamlessly with the rest of the room and looks superb.

	The first picture to the left of this text shows the gappy area of the parquet floor in the central portion of the picture after all the block repairs have been done and the parquet floor has been roughly sanded.
The image to the right of this text shows the floor has been gap filled, you can see the darker area of the parquet flooring is where the filler has been applied.
	The picture to the left shows the area having been gap filled, left to properly dry, and then sanded off and fully prepared in readiness for the lacquer system to be applied.
The image to the right of the text is showing virtually the finished article, the third coat of lacquer has been applied and doesn't the floor look tremendous - you would be hard pressed to see where the repair and gap filling has taken place.
Another question we are regularly asked by our clients is 'Will the filler Come out' the answer is not a straightforward one, but the strong likelyhood is that YES over time some filler may work loose, but as we all know, Wood is a natural organic material and WILL expand and contract, natural movement of the wood and very often the wooden sub-floor can very easily work any filling loose.
Thanks for reading, hope this article helps you with your project - Regards Gary For More Help and Expert Advice have a look at our Gap Filling Tips Page

The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of Woodfloor-Renovations through our experiences with the numerous Floor Sanding & Sealing projects that we have undertaken.

** No guarantee whatsoever is offered with this advice **

REMEMBER - ALWAYS follow the manufacturers instructions and read them carefully.

If you are not sure about any aspect of this article consult a Professional