I have a parquet floor from the late 30´s. It is fixed to a concrete floor using what looks like tar. The pattern is alternating square tiles made of three piece each. It is all tongue and groove. The problem is there are huge gaps between each piece and also between tiles. The gaps range between 1/8" and 1/4". Can these gaps be filled? I´ve read on this site about a sawdust grout. Is that an option? Will shrinking and expansion be a problem? The heating system is radiator heat and very dry. I live in the Washington, DC area where humidity is pretty high in the summer. If the sawdust grout is an option, where can I get some? I have about 800 sq feet of floor. I want to refinish the floors afterwards with Minwax fast drying polyurethane. Thanks.
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I assume these floors are the true hardwood that had to sanded and stained. If that is the case, then yes-- they can be filled.
When finishing hardwood floors, there is a putty made out of sawdust from the type of wood you have on your floor and glue.
In your case, what you need to do or have done is to sand the floor and remove the sealer on the surface. You apply the putty by trowelling it over the entire surface of the floor and it fills any voids and cracks. You let it dry for a day and then you sand it off with the floor sander with a coarse grit paper. Go over it again with a finer grit paper. Restain the floor, wait for a day, then apply a sealer over it.
It is easiest to hire someone who knows what they are doing when sanding a floor with a drum sander-- if you screw up, you can have "chatter" on your floors-- bad sanded spots.
You can rent a floor sander at Home Depot and you can get all of the materials you need at a hardwood floor dealer. Email me if you have any questions-- We refinish floors all of the time.
[This message has been edited by klmal (edited February 26, 2003).]
