# gaps while installing tongue and groove flooring



## egeorge1 (Dec 18, 2009)

A while back you guys gave me some advice to get me started with my tongue and groove flooring install.
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/glue-clamps-tongue-groove-floor-34825/

It's Johnson Forver Tuff Walnut flooring. The install is going fairly well except that I am having a few problems with misaligned planks creating slight gaps in certain places between rows. Is there something I can do to eliminate it or is this to be expected? The largest gap is about 1/32" wide. I can stick a fingernail in it. Any pointers from the experts would be appreciated. 

You can see my progress below. I am almost done with the dining room and about to start the living room. The walnut is gorgeous and pictures just don't do it justice.


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## egeorge1 (Dec 18, 2009)

Also another question...is there any good way to fill the existing gaps, I'm a little concerned about liquid getting in them especially since this is the dining room. I was thinking of filing them with dark wood glue but wasn't sure how it would look or if it might be a bad idea. I was going to try it on some scraps to see how it would look.


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## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

sounds like you have a hump in floor you did lay the new floor perpendicular to joists right?


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## egeorge1 (Dec 18, 2009)

GROOVY said:


> sounds like you have a hump in floor you did lay the new floor perpendicular to joists right?


No I didn't and obviously it is to late to go the other direction now. However, I don't see many irregularites in the subfloor and where there were height differences between subfloor seams, I sanded them down even. It seems like the issue is between only some planks, not entire rows, but once I have one, it seems difficult to get the edges of the next row lined up perfect. Any advice on my previous questions. I have been working on prepping the living room floor while waiting for tips here.


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## Eastern View (Mar 9, 2012)

Does this product have a beveled or straight edge? How are you nailing it down? If the nail or staple is not fully set it can interfere with the next board seating properly. If these gaps are not too far from an unfinished edge, you could screw down some blocking, leaving enough space for a piece of scrap flooring and a pry bar. If you can get enough leverage working sometimes you can close these gaps and put in a few face nails which can be filled with color matched filler. 

Otherwise, use a stain pen to color match the openings, as fillers may pop out with the natural movement of the wood seasonally.

Hope this rambling might help-
Andrew


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## egeorge1 (Dec 18, 2009)

Thanks Andrew. Because it is on the 2nd floor over bedrooms I am floating the floor on 1/4" cork to dampen the sound. I am gluing the tongue and grooves together. The edges are very slightly beveled. You can't see any light color wood in the gaps. They aren't really noticeable unless you sit on the floor. my main concern is water being spilled in them and expanding and damaging the floor. Also dirt getting in them might be an issue.


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## Gerry KIERNAN (Apr 20, 2007)

Is it possible that some of the boards are not truly straight? This could cause some gaps.

Gerry


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

a 1/32" gap is pretty much ok in my book, especially in winter (low humidity) because in summer (high humidity) you will have expansion, mostly across the grain, especially wide planks like you have. have you checked the mfr on the t&g gluing? i wouldn't fill, glue, or caulk anything. get it as tight as you can, and just nail 'er down. i should ask, is this t&g engineered, or solid?


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## Mandres (Sep 6, 2011)

Nice looking flooring, can i ask what the cost was per square foot?


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## egeorge1 (Dec 18, 2009)

Gerry KIERNAN said:


> Is it possible that some of the boards are not truly straight? This could cause some gaps.
> 
> Gerry


Maybe so. I will start putting a straight edge to them I guess.


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## egeorge1 (Dec 18, 2009)

TimPa said:


> a 1/32" gap is pretty much ok in my book, especially in winter (low humidity) because in summer (high humidity) you will have expansion, mostly across the grain, especially wide planks like you have. have you checked the mfr on the t&g gluing? i wouldn't fill, glue, or caulk anything. get it as tight as you can, and just nail 'er down. i should ask, is this t&g engineered, or solid?


Not nailing as I said before. They are engineered 5" planks. I will leave the gaps alone for now. I just gotta figure how to minimize them.


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## egeorge1 (Dec 18, 2009)

Mandres said:


> Nice looking flooring, can i ask what the cost was per square foot?


I don't remember exactly. Between $5 and $6. The best price was through floor mall online. We waited until they had free shipping. It has the toughest finish available on the market with a 50yr finish warranty for residential and 10yr for commercial. We got it because we have dogs that would scratch up the average wood floor. We put some sample pieces on our scratched up wood staircase for 6 months. Not a scratch.


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