Question about gaps and gouges in a Bellawood prefinished floor?

[MyFloorsInBrooklyn]

I had my apartment gut renovated, and new flooring installed. A mistake at the time, was not replacing and leveling the sub floor. The flooring I used was a Bellawood prefinished floor. When install was done, there were several places where there were gaps between the floor boards. The largest gaps were 1/8". The contractor at the time told me it was normal, and not to be concerned. However, random debris seems to collect in those cracks, and it looks bad. What can I do to prevent this?

Additionally, there are some places where the wood was gouged by construction or moving furniture. Is there anything that can be done to repair these spots on a prefinished floor?

 

[Nick]

Expansion and contraction is normal.. You can raise the Humidity a little to expand the wood . How long has the floor been down ?

Home Depot has matching putty for the scratches .. Get the ones in the little jars ..

 

[MyFloorsInBrooklyn]

I don't think the floor is noticeably expanding or contracting. It looked this way the day it was installed, and it still looks this way some 3-5 years later (I forget how long ago it was installed). Most of the seams look nice and tight, but there are several areas where there are gaps from 1/16" to 1/8'.

I have this self cleaning cat box that uses little white plastic pellets instead of litter. Those little pellets are falling down in the places where there are gaps, and it looks horrible. I want to find someway to block the pellets from falling down into these gaps.

The putty will work even on prefinished floors? I think the coloring of the wood varies, so how do I choose a putty color? Should it be lighter or darker than average?

 

[Nick]

Are the gaps near the end of the boards .. That is milling .. Should have been ripped out at install..
putty will work even on prefinished floors.. They also have Ink pens.. I would get a putty to match, and if it needs to be a little darker lightly hit it with the pen.. Gently wipe it with a rag .. Do you have any photos you can post ..

Bella is not known for quality wood ..

 

[MyFloorsInBrooklyn]

That’s too bad, they were pretty expensive. Uploading a picture. If you have any ideas on what to do about the cracks, would love to hear.

 

[MyFloorsInBrooklyn]

You can see two of the white pellets in the picture, but some areas are packed full of them.

 

[Nick]

You can fill them in with the putty, or if you have any wood left over ,You can do board replacements ..
Bell has thousands of law suits against them .. Check on your warranty.. You may want to have a floor inspection done and sue them ..

 

[MyFloorsInBrooklyn]

Okay, I will try to find a putty that matches. Would putty be better than mixing saw dust from the wood with glue? I did save my bag of sawdust.

Not sure what I would sue them for, I'm pretty sure the installer just did a bad job. Didn't level the subfloor, and probably didn't make sure not to include boards that were slightly more narrow.

 

[Nick]

We use to mix sawdust and Elmer's White glue for little gaps in the Bowling Alleys .. Putty is easier ..
Sue them for a floor replacement .. Take a steel tape and measure the width of the boards in different spots ..