Bamboo floating seasonal gaps.

[Andy Z.]

Hi,
I have a bamboo floating floor over a thin pad over gypcrete throughout the whole house. During the winter months even with Aprilaire it has a few areas that open to at least a 1/8”. Before this happens for the winter can I thin out some glue with alcohol and flow it in there to prevent the gaps from opening?
Thx,
Andy

 

[C.J.]

I would say you could but I would also ponder why those areas are opening up. Is the floor locked in somewhere such as at a door jamb or something like that that is preventing it from moving as a whole. If the floor is locked in and you glue those areas, the floor will simply gap there again or somewhere else that is the next weakest spot for the floor to give because wood, or in this case bamboo, is gonna do what it’s gonna do.

Next is do you need to thin the glue. Can you squeeze some Titebond in the gap and clean up any excess ooze. Maybe pry the gap open a bit to help get the glue in but then you would need to be sure you had a way to close the gap back up. How about a little putty in the gaps if they are that minor. It would simply squish up when the gaps close. Now you got me thinkin, how about tinting some Titebond and filling the gap with that? But I suspect the forces of the floor moving would overcome the glue and something would need to be touched up again. Maybe Mark has some ideas.

 

[Tile Tom]

Bamboo is a beast in its own right. That stuff is very unstable. In my opinion, not the best choice for a floor covering.
That said, I agree with what Chris is saying. You can fix that spot but it'll probably move to the next weakest spot. Anything could be preventing it from moving as a whole including heavy furniture. I think I'm on board with using a matching wood filler or a silicone based calk to fill the gap. That way when it returns it won't bind up from something hard like dry glue.

 

[highup]

Is the house heated year round?