We have gaps in our wooden birch floors. Some quite large. We are told that the cause of this was due to nail spacing and inadequate glue. I'm baffled as to why nailing and glue would prevent hardwood floors from shrinking and staying shrunk. We live in CO and had the floors acclimatize for 30 days before installing. Are there reports/tests that show that floor shrinkage is caused by incorrect nail spacing and insufficient glue – I can't find any… seems to be caused by the manufacturer not drying the wood sufficiently before production.
Wood – the cause of wooden flooring gaps
hardwood-floor
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Best Answer
The flooring was probably mis-milled.
Wood flooring has to be cut, dried, accumulated, fit, nailed, etc. perfectly or you’ll have big gaps.
Often the manufacturers point the finger at installers, when actually it’s their problem.
The way to check is to hold two boards up and push them together. If one slips through then it’s too loose a fit between the tongue and groove. There’s no amount of acclimation or nailing that can fix that.
We’ve had many gymnasiums floors removed and replaced because it doesn’t meet grade. (You can see the manufacturers cry when it’s chainsawed out of there.)
Follow the Western Woods Use Flooring guise (National guide).
Hint: test a zillion boards to make sure all the tongues fit tight in the grooves and doesn’t slip...even if you shake the board while in the groove.