Parquet floor restoration

[CurrerBell]

Hi, when we moved in we found an original parquet floor under the carpets of our house - it goes throughout the downstairs. It's like this.

We have just had sanded and resealed - it has come up much lighter than before and looks lovely. BUT, we have been left with lots of small gaps between the blocks. The floor was originally laid in tiles of 4x4 squares - you can see a small gap around each cluster of 16 squares, as in the photo above. These are more obvious now after the sanding, and all I can see are these gaps down the length of the floor - rather than the smooth finish I had expected.

The guy originally said he would fill all gaps, nail-holes etc. in the floor using sawdust and resin. However, he is now telling me they can't be filled as they are too small. He also says the gaps are worse at the moment due to the hot weather, and they should be left as expansion gaps... He says if he fills them the filler will pop out again when the floor contracts.

Even more worryingly, we have also noticed that black tar (bitumen) is seeping out of some of the gaps and discolouring the edges of the blocks. The guy can't advise us on what to do... he just says it's due to the heat.

After waiting three years to have this floor renovated I just want to cry! Can anyone advise me - is this just something we'll have to live with, or should I be getting these guys to fill all the gaps?

Hmmm, I have herringbone so different design, in a 1930's house. We had it restored a few years ago, and in fairness they filled right left and centre with sawdust plus resin, and some has popped out over time.

However, to give context I hoover every couple of days and mop maybe weekly and a reasonable amount of filler has stayed put. The gaps I have range from nail holes (3-4mm across - from old carpet gripper) to 1/2mm gaps between blocks, and some bigger gaps say up to 10mm (at the edges or whatever.

I have not noticed any major difference in the gaps/ floor with the weather. Back room has huge patio doors and is south facing and gets roasting so I would expect at least that room to be affected - but the bitumen has never melted. The hall is really dark and relatively cold, so again I would expect to see different gaps between the rooms if there was that much difference in time of year/weather. I understood wood gaps/expansion has a lot to do with moisture, so 'old' wood which has already laid in a centrally heated house for 70+ years is probably not going to expand/contract as much as newly laid fresh /moist wood.

We used Osma Polyx oil. I researched the finish I wanted first and then found a firm who used it rather than the other way around.

What finish has he used? Is it possible there is solvent in the finish and that is reacting to the bitumen? I removed bitumen from concrete in the downstairs loo in order to tile it by scrubbing brush/wire brush and white spirit (researched online).

Finally, presumably all the sawdust has now been binned so you have no sawdust left to mix with the resin to fill? If I was feeling cynical, I would think perhaps that is why it 'can't be done'? (sorry)

Can you get a second opinion from another firm?

good luck