i installed a pine plank floor in my living room last year 6inches wide,16 footers.now that winter is here iam noticing gaps forming between 1/8th to afew as wide as 3/16ths of an inch between the boards.this is very deppressing to me because of all the hard labor that went into this project.is there anything that i can use to fill these gaps such as a caulk or even log home chinking material to make them less noticiable. please say there is something out there!! help!!!!!!!!
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For flooring, pine is the worst choice of species and wide plank sizes are the worst choice of widths for this very reason. If you fill the gaps with caulk or a harder material and next summer when the humidity expands the wood that has now shrunk form drying out, you will find it buckling up.
A long time ago the pine that was used was from virgin forests and much more stable than what is now available but they still suffered the same problem. I suggest that you do what they did. There is a product called Butcher wax for floors. It gives a nice warm amber glowing colour that compliments pine nicely. It will fill the cracks and buff out and harden up enough to stay put. It will also help slow the movement of moisture in the wood and decrease the movement it causes.
As it does swell again gradually in the summer, the wax will be squeezed out but normal foot traffic will wear it off so you will not notice it goingt off.
Then, it will be necessary to renew it again next winter.
