The Magic Chimiver Ecofill Tech Gap Filler
Why should anyone ever fill up the gaps between the floorboards? After all, the purpose of the gaps is to create ventilation and natural air circulation, right? Kind of and also kind of not. While you do not have to fill up the gaps between your floorboards, by doing so you can really improve your quality of life and the heat levels.
Some floors have gaps while others don`t. Some floors are fitted with the gaps while other types of wood floors develop gaps over a short period of time for a number of reasons. Some floors look great with large gaps while others look terrible. It is just the nature of the wood floors. You do not need to stick with the gaps if you do not like it or if it affects your lifestyle. There are a number of ways of filling the gaps between the floorboards and the new Magic Chimiver Ecofill Tech Gap Filler is right at the top of that list.
Why Do You Have Gaps Between The Floorboards?
As mentioned above, some gaps develop naturally, some are done on purpose while others are irregular, appear and disappear with the weather. Each type of gap can be sorted out if required but if it is done in the wrong way, it can create more problems than sort out problems.
New Wood
Some people get floorboards installed and instead of picking an already sealed type of board, they prefer to buy the unfinished wood and put their own finish on it. While this kind of operation is very rewarding, it comes with a number of issues. In some cases the wood is not 100% dry and it will only fully dry after initial installation. While freshly installed it might look incredible, as it fully dries, the floor could retract and create large or small gaps.
Rising Humidity
While some floorboards are 100% dry and ready for installation, the base of the floor might not be. In some cases, the newly poured concrete slab on which the floor will be glued, might still be drying and some of that rising humidity could end up slightly dampening the wood and creating movement and development of gaps.
Poor Ventilation
Some places have really poor ventilation and the air contains higher levels of humidity than allowed. All that humidity from the air can be easily absorbed by the floors and the gaps will appear out of nowhere.
Over Cleaning
In some cases none of the above conditions are met but the floor still ends up with large gaps and water marks. These issues are caused by the water used to clean the floors. Most people usually use way too much water and unsuitable wood floor cleaning products. The water from the mop head is likely to leak between the floorboards and over a prolonged period of time it will damage the wood. The issue can be easily resolved by using a flat mopping system and a proper wood floor cleaner but that is a matter for a different article.
Ventilation
Some floorboards were fitted with gaps on purpose. The reason behind it is the air flow and the room ventilation. In the early 1900s central heating systems had not yet been invented and most houses were heated with coal or wood. Those open fires were very hazardous and were generating dangerous fumes. But having a great air flow within the house was somehow sorting out the issue. Not entirely but definitely there was an improvement. But then the central heating system was invented and there was no more need for the classic fireplaces beside the aesthetical look. Now the houses were losing heat through those gaps. What used to be a solution for an issue is now a different type of issue in modern times.
Design
Some people try to blend in new and old and they just love the look of the gaps. They even fit new wood floors with gaps for the cool look. Until it becomes an issue and they are looking for a quick solution.
Issues Created By The Gaps
There is no single reason for the gaps. There are multiple reasons. Fortunately the solution is pretty much the same for all types of gaps but the results can be widely affected by the size of the gaps and the movement of the floor. The issues caused by the large gaps can depend of course on the size of the gaps and the type of wood. If you are the happy owner of a pine floor that has large gaps, you are likely to notice that the sides of wood are breaking and you are getting a lot of splinters in your toes, the wood is crumbling slowly and it is very hard to wash the floor. All other types of hardwood floors and semi solid wood floors have the following issues:
Dust Deposits | Serious Draught | Unfinished Look | Hard To Clean | Lower Floor Light Visible Between The Floorboards | Too Much Movements | Splinters | Water Retaining
The Solution
Filling up the gaps between the floorboards will resolve all of the above issues and it will reduce your heating bills by reducing air movement and the draught. The new Magic Chimiver Ecofill Tech Gap is the most popular and the most widely used wood gap filler around for a number of great reasons. Anyone can use these products and even the DIY users are likely to achieve spectacular results. So does it work?
Gap Size
The smaller the gaps the better the results. The gap filler can fill up gaps up to 0.5 cm but the smaller gaps are even easier to deal with. The risk of the gap filler cracking or breaking increases with the size of the gaps.
Floor Movement
Some old floorboards that are nailed down to the original wood beams are likely to move, vibrate and have too much elasticity. More floor movement, shorter life expectancy for the wood gap filler.
Floor Base
Some floors are installed over a plywood base or some type of hard base. This is the ideal setting because the gap filler will just fill up the gaps and the risk of leaking down through the gaps is reduced to 0.
How Do You Use A Top Quality Gap Filler?
The principle of this product is pretty straight forward. The product itself has to be mixed with fine quality wood dust until it becomes a thick cream and then the composition is used to fill up the gaps or the cracks. That`s it. It can be applied in a number of coats until the gaps are filled up flush with the top of the floor. Then the surface has to be sanded and sealed with whatever type of sealer the user has planned to use. The new Chimiver Ecofill Tech Gap Filler has no colour and no odour. After it fully dries, it will look just like the wood floor itself and it can be stained, oiled, lacquered or polished.
- Make sure that you source some very fine quality wood dust that is pure wood and not a mixture of old sealers and dirt. If a dirty mixture of wood dust is used, it will not dry as the colour of the wood. Mix up fine quality wood dust that was generated from sanding the floor itself with 100 to 120 grit sanding paper. The rougher wood dust will not look smooth enough.
- If the gaps are pretty deep, mix up a thick composition to fill up the gaps and do not worry about the top levels. Sand the floor lightly and then mix up another mixture of gap filler but this time make it much wetter to fill up all the small cracks or gaps and create a perfect smooth finish.
- The gap filler should fully dry within 1-2 hours depending on the thickness of it and the room ventilation. Do not apply the new Chimiver Ecofill Tech Gap Filler over pre-existing finishes and do not forget to sand up the floor again after the gap filler has dried. Pretty much the same system as filling up a wall crack with filler.
If the entire process is respected and if the floor is well prepared, by now the surface should be pretty smooth and all the gaps should be fully sealed. After all the sealers are applied and done, you will notice that there is less dust around, the floor is easier to maintain and the home is losing less heat. There are a few recommendations that we would like to point to you before you start the project:
- Sand the floor with all the rough sanding paper and only after you have reached real wood, do one more sanding or a buffing with a screening disc. That fine dust should be mixed up with the new Chimiver Ecofill Tech Gap Filler and used to fill up the holes.
- Do not mix up more product than needed. This professional gap filler is available in a 5L bottle that should be more than enough to fill up about a 20-30 sq meter area of floor with small gaps. If the gaps are larger, then more product will be needed of course. If you only have a few gaps to fill here and there, only mix a small cup of it.
- Do not fill up gaps that are larger than 0.5 cm and have no base. It will not attach to the floors. Do not apply the new Chimiver Ecofill Tech Gap Filler on floors that are moving or heavy items are dropped on it, like dance floors or sport rooms.
- Do not add any other product to the composition and never mix up solvent gap fillers with water based gap fillers. Allow it to dry for at least 2 hours before re-sanding the surface.
- Clean all the tools in clean water after you are done with it. Do not touch any surfaces that are not made from wood. From the start of the mixing process until the product will harden up, you have about 2 hours!
- Do not use the amazing Chimiver Ecofill Tech Gap Filler to treat outdoor floors and do not forget to seal the surface after the floor was gap filled and re-sanded.
- Any product left and unmixed, will be ok inside the bottle for a good few years if the lid is put on securely and it is not exposed to extreme heat or cold.
While the market advertises a number of wood gap fillers from a number of manufacturers, there are no products as effective, as affordable or as durable as the new Chimiver Ecofill Tech Gap Filler. This product was designed for the professional wood floor refinishing market but it can be successfully used by the DIY users. The product also looks incredibly natural and it dries up to look just like the wood floor where it was installed. Even better, it releases no fumes and is safe for the customer and the user.