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I have a small room with a 90-year-old hardwood floor. I love the way that the old wood looks, but the large gaps between the boards are inconvenient. Since it's a small area, I can go with a labor-intensive method of restoration, so I'm thinking of going for a kintsugi look with the gaps filled in but not hidden. Would epoxy (dyed black) work as a filler material? (As described here.) Or is the wear and expansion/contraction of the floor too much for it?

Edit: What I have in mind is something like this.

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  • Way to many options here, I have worhe
    – Ed Beal
    Aug 6, 2019 at 1:08

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In a previous life around 1976 we moved an 80 year old chapel with hardwood floors to a new site. Between the age, inexpensive initial hardwood, and the move there were many wide cracks in the floor.

The contractor (who built Fort Edmonton) had us mix fine sawdust (from sanding the floor -- so the sawdust was already part varnish) with varnish and stuff the cracks. Gave it a week to dry. I don't think the water based varnishes were around yet. A second coat on the really wide cracks where shrinkage showed, another week. Then the finish sanding on the floor and several coats of varnish everywhere. The results are quite attractive, and still look good today.

Given what I've heard about working with epoxy grout, I'd be reluctant to use it without first watching someone do a project with it. Your situation isn't grout, but the overall purpose is the same, and you have variable width cracks.

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From what I can tell at your links, the epoxy in use is designed to remain quite flexible, so there should be no problem with thermal or humidity - related expansion of the planks.

FWIW a part-time contractor I know has recommended using fine-grain sand to fill such cracks. It's easy to install, and easy to replace if you don't like the color.

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  • Does he pour in the sand and then apply polyurethane? Or does he have some other way to prevent the sand from being swept out or dirt from mixing into the sand?
    – A_K
    Aug 5, 2019 at 19:04
  • @A_K the direct application was for relatively untravelled areas. I would agree that it might work better if a lot of poly, or thinned epoxy, were poured over the sand before applying the final top coat.
    – Carl Witthoft
    Aug 5, 2019 at 19:54

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