I moved into my house May 1st 2010 (Cypress,TX) and it was a new inventory home with hardwood floors in the downstairs. We had some issues with the wood floors in a few areas and the color of the new wood used to patch these areas didn't match the die lot we had so they had to tear out the entire floor and redo it with another wood. This was completed last Wednesday and I noticed a lot of gaps in the newly installed wood floor that were mostly visable at night. These gaps were due to the installation crew not hammering the planks fully to cause a tight seal between them. Our floor is dark and you can see through the gaps to the togue which is a much lighter wood. I contacted the flooring company (Flooring Services) and told them about my problem and also sent some photos. Their solution was to fill the gaps with a stained wood puddy. I told them my concearn about this not lasting and they said it would be fine. I need some additional opinions as to wether this is the correct way to fix this problem or do they need to tear out the floor and redo. This is all coming out of their pocket not mine. Will the puddy last through the years with normal cleaning and vacuming? Will spilled water penetrate the puddy? They are scheduled to do this tomorrow so please help!

I spent the last hour looking up Bona Kemi Gap Master to see it that would work for the installer to use to fill the gaps rather than use puddy only to find out that it isn't sold in the US. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated on the proper way to fill gaps in my newly installed floor.

Filling is an accepted industry practice.

IMO the best filler on the market.

www.colorriteinc.com

Here are pictures of the gaps:
http://s659.photobucket.com/albums/uu31 ... d%20Floor/

What's that white stuff on the surface of the planks? And I dont think I'm looking at photo overexposure.

I can see why your upset. Those gaps are ugly. With that style plank, they should be able to hide them. And using the right type of filler, it shouldn't cause problems later.

Thanks for the reply Howard. The white spots are dust and/or glue that they left on the wood and didn't remove with mineral spirits (I took the pictures a few hours after the install last Wednesday). I have these areas of gaps all throughout my house. In your professional opinion, should the floor be redone or will the putty/filler be adequate? Since I have gone through so much with the homebuilder regarding the floor I want to make sure it is done correctly so I don't have to deal with it again a few months or years from now.

If a complete redo isn't a viable option would you guys recommend that I ask the installer to use filler puddy or colorite or a similar product to it?

I'm waiting for some other guys to chime in...I hope their not chickening out.

You have really entered a grey area here. Filler is acceptable, but to what extent ? I use filler sparingly, if any, on my installations. Bottom line, and all I can give you is my opinion.... There is no excuse for gaps throughout your home, and the severity of the gapping in your pictures. But you have a battle on your hands since like I said previously "filler is acceptable". To me it's acceptable as a "detail tool" on a pre-finished floor.
That being said...You have a battle on your hands if your looking for replacement, being it's such a "grey area". Being that this is a distressed floor, with pillowed edges...I believe you can get away with the right filler. Not some color putty or Dap, that will stay soft or shrink, causing problems later, but specifically Colorite. The product is is flexible yet dries hard, with a nice finish. The color can be dialed in to an exact match. You may have a little touch up down the road, but it should be minimal. I would not compromise on the type or quality of filler, I have seen all kinds of stuff used, then your asking for problems down the road.

Those planks look as if they are out of rack leaving the stair-step pattern in the gaps.
They also look too wide, almost 1/32", maybe more.

This is not an acceptable installation and not repairable within reason.

The out of rack appearance may be due to sub-floor flatness problems.

I truly believe you would be wise in hiring your own advocate (inspector).

I would say it's near impossible to tell a 1/32" difference in plank widths by looking at these pictures

I would also venture to say...IMHO, the subfloor would have to be out of spec a herendous amount to cause this type of gapping. Just my opinion.

I believe that using "Colorite" for the end gaps will make them virtually indetectable, except for people that knew (you) they were there. It will also help with the edge gaps. But, the mis-alignment of the plank rows will always be visible.
Tough call, I think you will ultimately have to accept filler as the solution, even though it is not the best one. I dont think anyone is going to step up and replace your floor for a second time.

The gaps seem to be due to a amateur install. To be 100% sure of that , I would need to know the substrate and method of installation they used. You mentioned the white spots are glue so I assume this is a glue down prefinish.

Regarding filling, we all do some filling but I never need to fill any or my floors to this extent.I did a very difficult glue down floor recently and didn't have 1/4 of those gaps . And in my case, it was a reclaimed floor that had to be installed with a strap system. And I only left two small glue spots over 800 sq feet.

If that was a Bruce/Armstrong/Robbins install, filler is completely acceptable to them and many other prefinished manufacturers who mill mediocre wood flooring. Says so right on their installation instructions in bold type.

Manufacturers get to spec their own tolerances.

Gaps could also be due to memory of the adhesive.

There are way to many gaps to be filling Especially if your entire floor is like that. I usually won't have more then 3 or 4 fallible gaps within a whole floor. I wouldn't be happy with or accept that installation. Now for the glue spots that could be an entirely different problem. Depending on the type of glue if not cleaned up in an appropriate amount of time it could etch the finish permanently. What brand of flooring is it and did the contractors install it themselves or sub it out?

I completely agree with Jeff.

That floor looks horrible and is not acceptable.

Time for a Neutral, third party opinion.. hire a flooring inspector.

www.floorreports.com

The photos show gaps and when photos show gaps, they could not possibly be narrow enough to consider the gaps due to environmental changes.
AND:: gaps caused by environmental/seasonal changes are acceptable, to 1/32:. Installed with gaps wide enough to see from a standing position is most certainly NOT ACCEPTABLE.

Regards,