A stiff-bristle brush, a circular sander, wooden wedges, putty for sealing, sawdust, white carpenter's glue, spatula, brush and varnish. When the job is a major one or the floor is new, you should rent a professional sanding machine.

 

Evaluate if the parquet or floorboards can be fixed
� If the floorboards or parquet are already installed, you must decide if it is worthwhile to try to repair them. Whatever filling you use will be visible forever, and so will a partial varnishing job.
� Wood is a living material that varies over time. It is normal for the joints between boards to grow wider as the years go by.
� But this is not a problem if the space is not too big. The space may even look decorative, as long as it is not greater than 5 mm and in the case of floorboards does not exceed the width of the tongue of the tongue-and.groove mechanism for laying boards.
� If the wood has already had glue applied, breaks or cracks in the weakest spots, creating fissures, this can be fixed with the same methods as in spaces between planks.

 

If the floor is being installed for the first time
� Three or four layers of varnish can help cover or hide the smallest seams.
� The rest of the seams should be filled in with sawdust from the same wood (get it when the wood is cut) or acquired at a sawmill.
� Putty for sealing joints is sold in stores and easy to apply. It is good for both parquet and floorboards.

Glue mixed with sawdust
� This formula works for holes in either floorboards or parquet.
� Pour some fine sawdust from the same wood used to cover the floor.
� Add some white carpenter's glue. Stir well until the mix is consistent and pasty.
� Start filling in the holes using a spatula, pressing firmly so the glue is level with the rest of the plank.
� Wipe clean with a damp cloth. If it dries too much the excess will be hard to remove.
� If, after drying, the mix has shrunk, repeat the operation.
� Finally, you must sand and varnish. If the floorboards or parquet are newly installed you will not notice the difference. If they are old it will be somewhat noticeable but mainly because of the difference in the tones of the varnish. With time it will be less marked.

 

With putty for the seals
� In stores you can find the right color and tone of putty or paste to fill joints.
� Check how the putty you have chosen looks next to the wood of your floor. If there is a big difference try another color.
� You can buy the paste in a tube or can. It is easier to work with if you pour it into a receptacle of some kind.
� Fill the holes using a spatula. Read the instructions from the manufacturer because some products have different drying times than others. This way you will know how much time you have before the putty sets and makes it hard to remove excess.
� When it is good and dry, sand down and varnish, following the steps laid out earlier.

 

With wedges or planks
� This technique is very useful on older floorboards when a particular board has deteriorated or a hole is especially big.
� Buy or obtain wedges or strips of the same wood as your floor, or at least a similar one. If possible these should be conical shaped so they fit in the space better.
� Having selected a board of the same size, apply white carpenter's glue on both sides.
� Put the board in place and tap it gently with a hammer, making sure it fits properly in the opening.
o Let it dry for approximately 24 hours, keeping in mind that the room temperature always influences the drying process.
� To make the strip level with the boards, brush it. Finally, sand and varnish.

 

A trick
� When floorboards are installed, sometimes they have not been treated sufficiently or they are not dry enough to avoid significant separations between them. Other times the boards are warped.
� With one or more jacks of the kind used to change tires and a cover placed on the boards, you can straighten them.
� If they have been glued you should not remove the pressure until they have dried. If they have been nailed in, you can do so right away.
� You will achieve the same effect if you place a cover some 10 cm away from boards with a tongue-and-groove mechanism. With two large wedges facing each other, deliver blows until you straighten or line up the boards.