Trowel Filling: Repairing Wood Floor Cracks

You love your hardwood floor. You take care of it, you ensure proper maintenance, you make sure your upkeep is regular and as instructed. And then everything changes – you notice cracks in your hardwood flooring. And this is disappointing and frustrating because look how much you have done for your favourite wooden floor. Wood flooring cracks happen even to the best owners, and you don’t need to live with them as they can be easily and efficiently repaired.

You don’t need to cover wood floor cracks with furniture pieces or rugs as this is just camouflaging the problem, not solving it. At the end of the day, left in the hands of experienced and reliable wood floor repair specialists, all wood floor issues can be solved, especially when it comes to something as simple as a trowel filling and repair service. So if you want a neat floor, but the wood flooring cracks are ruining everything for you, here is what to expect from a professional wood floor repair and trowel filling service.

What Is Trowel Filling

Trowel filling is a professional and very efficient method for filling in wood flooring cracks and gaps. Unlike simple gap filling, trowel filling is not used just for cases when there are a couple of gaps here and there. Trowel filling is recommended for wooden floors that experience a larger number of gaps and cracks. It pretty much consists of putting wood filler on the surface of the floor and spreading it around. The wood filler consists of wood dust, usually the one created by a previous wood floor sanding service, as it means there is a perfect colour match and the final result will be smooth and even.

The wood dust is mixed with natural resins to create a putty. Resins are chosen because of their flexibility, which means the putty won’t crack even when completely dry. Once the putty is spread around to fill in all wood floor gaps and cracks, and the process continues until every square foot of the floor is covered. The trowel is then used for spreading the wood filler across the floor a few feet in either direction and in a backwards motion. Once the wood filler is evenly spread on the surface of the floor, every crack and gap will be filled, and the surface of the floor will be polished and uniform, while the whole structure will be more stable and sturdy.

Does Trowel Filling Have a Permanent Effect?

Trowel filling is a great method for dealing with wood floor gaps and cracks. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that the great effect of it will last forever, and cracks and gaps will not start appearing on the floor again over time. The main factor that will affect the appearance of gaps and cracks in the natural movement of the floorboards in the form of shrinking and expanding due to temperature fluctuations and changes in the indoor humidity levels. Therefore, in wintertime when humidity is lower and the floorboards are shrinking, cracks may appear between the floorboards, but they will eventually disappear in the summertime.

Be patient and do not immediately go for a wood floor repair and trowel filling service. Make sure to monitor your floor and follow how it changes with the change of the seasons. However, if you notice that cracks are not disappearing, new ones are appearing constantly, and the old ones are getting bigger and bigger, make sure to contact your local wood floor repair specialists and plan a project for solving the problem.