flooring
I understand that when you install floating floorboards, you need to be careful around the edge, with skirting boards, etc, to allow for the floorboards to expand, shrink and shift, or else they might buckle.
My floorboards have been in place for 10-14 years. Can I expect that they have now settled, and I do not need to take such precautions, or do they continue to shift throughout their lifetime?
Benefits are:
Downsides:
You might try a glaze coat and then over-seal with more varnish.
Some background:
A pigmented stain is made from 'bits' of color (the pigment). When applied to bare wood, most of the color is on the surface. (But HerrBag, I hear you saying, my Minwax stain is oil based and penetrates. Alas, Minwax is a MIX of dye and pigmented stain.
Most paint is pigment mixed into a base material that lets you disperse it evenly. The opaqueness comes from the concentration of pigment and the base material itself.
are the same pigment in a transparent base that lets you 'float' a color layer over previously finished wood. Indeed, to make a custom glaze, you add a small percentage of regular paint to the glazing base.
To adapt the technique for large areas will require the slower setting version glaze and a swivel head applicator (as used by flooring pros, its an oversized tubular paint pad (like a paint roller that doesn't rotate)).
A good article on glazes and glazing from Woodworkers Journal is here.
Best Answer
How much does the humidity in your house vary over the course of a year? If it's a constant humidity and temperature all year round, no movement should take place. If, as is more normal, it's dry in the winter and wet in the summer, the floor will move "forever." Depends on your HVAC approach, and how much it is or is not like a museum's. No open windows, constant heat or A/C and humidification/dehumidification, no movement. If you like to open the windows from time to time, movement...