has anyone done anything successful to block up the draughty gaps in wooden floorboards?

[Cappuccino]

our cellar is below our front room and though it has a proper underdrawn ceiling, there is no insulation so you can feel cold air coming up through the gaps in the floorboards upstairs

we made a decision to do wooden floors because with dd's disability, and walking with a frame or crutches, it means it's really hard to keep clean - she can't wipe her wheels at the door, for example

dh has mentioned putting a line of PVA down; has anyone tried anything (and did it look shit )

we're going to be doing it ourselves, and I just can't face anything that has anything to do with sanding

anyone?

yes, very good and a second row if it pushes down far enough will certain warm up the room, do you >damp cloth mop< or >spray and mop

damp cloth mop

so no probs there I think

Shouldn't be

Sawdust mixed with wood glue pushed into the gaps works but is a bit of a faff.

ah no norbert

no faffing

I am in love with the idea of this stuff

you can do it and drink at the same time

Don't blame you TBH

How about this?
www.gapseal.co.uk/

probably similar to what you already found, sorry.

We have a similar situation and socks and slippers are absolutely essential in winter. Plus a blanket to snuggle up in on the sofa. In fact i saw that Lakeland do a heated sofa throw (probably like the old electric blankets) and I'm very tempted...

Haven't read thread but in our old victorian house we used corks! we had lots spare

You can shove em in whole if there are knot holes and big gaps, glue them together if long big gaps, and slice them with a Stanley knife if thin gaps. We also hit on the genius idea of using cork tiles also. You can buy cork expansion strip for floating floors which might do the trick also.

Obv need it a bit wider than the gap and push it in firmly (oo er).

PS you can seal over with wooden floor sealer or PVA if you want to (we didn't)

We've had various things used over the years.

1st time- some sort of foamy stuff which was then sanded- it was fine
2nd time - sawdust mixed with varnish (or was it glue?) again fine

3rd time- strips of wood glued between the gaps then cut to floor level. The best, but perhaps not a DIY job?

I've used the Gapseal strips, it definitely made a difference. Only problem was that it didn't always 'tuck in' perfectly out of sight so you could see it sticking up in places, you need to fiddle around with cutting bits to the right length to get it to sit perfectly.

Having said that I'd definitely recommend it as a quick fix.

Also worth experimenting with strategically placed smaller rugs where you can (eg under windows, or between sofa and coffee table) as even just little bits of extra insulation can make a difference too.

Oh and thick curtains to stop the draughts drawing through.

...am liking the cork idea though, v ingenious.

Will these stop the dust and dirt reappearing then? We've got floorboards in our dining bit of the kitchen and I need to brush or hoover about 3 times a day because bits keep appearing from nowhere!!

A friend had her boards sanded recently and the company used brown mastic (that silicone sealant stuff). It's amazing as it just looks like the gaps in floorboards but not a gap IYSWIM. It has the advantage of not shrinking and dropping through like many other methods. Maybe try somewhere inconspicuous first.

Hi cappuccino, have been there!! Your feet are always freezing and you can feel the cold rising to meet the warmth in the room. We did two things: found this idea in a period living mag, we mixed newspaper with pva glue diluted down and filled the cracks with it, you have to mash it down to a paste, very messy and takes ages, but it does work. The second thing is to use builders caulk, comes in a tube with a nozzle. Its about £1 a tube, cheap as chips and very good at sorting out the problem. You work out hhow wide your gaps are, cut off the end of the nozzle to match, pop the cartridge in a gun and squeeze between joints, using a wet finger to clear away any surplus, this is fab stuff, my best friend when it comes to decorating, it is waterproof as well so you can scrub the floorboards and it wont lift out, good luck.