What Kind of Wax Adhesive Can I Use to Seal Some Spaces in My Hardwood Floors?

Understanding Gaps in Hardwood Floors

• Before you attempt to seal spaces in your hardwood floors, determine the types of gaps. If the gaps appear during warm weather seasons with high humidity, no repair is necessary, because the gaps will close as the seasons change. Standing water can cause spaces between the floorboards. If the spaces are less than 1/8 inch wide, you can leave them alone without further damage to the floor. Alternatively, you can fill these kinds of gaps with wood filling products.

Avoid Wax Adhesives

• When you install wood floors, you apply floor adhesives to the subfloor beneath a wood material to hold the wood in place, but allow for the expansion and contraction of the floor. Home foundations naturally shift over time, and your natural wood floor needs to be able to move and shift as this occurs. A wax adhesive will glue the wood together, which will prevent the wood from moving. Therefore, use wax fillers instead of adhesives to allow for this natural shifting to keep your wood floor serviceable.

Wax Beaumontage

• Wax beaumontage is a wax filler that contains wax, such as beeswax, and a resin binder. The wax is easy to use and comes in sticks that you soften by working it with your hands. Fill the spaces with the wax stick by holding it as a crayon and pushing the material into the cracks. After you fill the spaces, the wax hardens as it sets. You can find these sticks in various colors to match your hardwood floors.

Other Alternatives

• Another alternative to a wax adhesive is an acrylic wood filler. These water-based acrylic wood fillers come in a variety of colors to match most any hardwood floor. After you add the wood filler, sand and stain it for a virtually unnoticeable and flawless finish. Wood putty is another option to seal some spaces in your hardwood floors. Use this substance if you plan to apply an oil-based coat of polyurethane to cover the oil that the wood putty contains.