One of the first questions asked when going into a refinish as a contractor is – “will my hardwood floor cracks be filled so they go away?!”. If a customer has cracks that is by far one of their biggest concerns. Getting rid of cracks is an easy task with trowel filling. While you still might have cracks appear and disappear from season to season we are able to hide some of the cracks that move very little season to season. While trowel filling isn’t the only option it is by far the easiest method to get rid of cracks.
What is trowel filling?
Trowel filling a hardwood floor is when you put about 1/4 of a gallon of wood filler on the floor initially (keep adding more as the you do more sq. ft.). You then take a trowel and move the filler 2 feet in either direction going backwards to spread the fill over the floor. By spreading the fill over the entire floor you ensure every crack is filled.
Why not just spot fill?
Spot filling would take a full day compared to troweling a floor. If your floor has almost no cracks spot filling is sufficient, however it is probably still easier to just trowel fill to make sure your whole floor is without cracks.
Pictures of before a trowel fill:
How Hardwood trowel filling looks during the process:
After trowling is done and sanded:
As you can see the cracks were very prevalent to the floor and almost stood out more than the floor itself. After the refinish the floor took command and was able to show off its true beauty.
Will I never had cracks again if you trowel fill?
While trowel filling gets rid of the cracks at the current time of being there and working on a floor, seasons change and so does your floor. Most floors do not move after the first few years of acclimating to the climate. However, some cracks still appear in winter and disappear in summer. The reason A-Max Hardwood trowel fills is to ensure that every cracks has been filled and you are given the best chance to never see your cracks again.
*Most major cracks are a byproduct of too much or too little moisture. Example would be windows open in the winter, no humidifier, toilet leaks or some form of water in the sub-floor.
