Two FREE and Cheap Ways to Fix Gaps In Your Floor 

Every season change I'm dealing with this. I ended up buying a cheap floor tile suction cup for suspended flooring for about 20 bucks. You just press it down, flip the suction cup levers to grip the section you want to adjust and then I tap the edge of the suction cups with a rubber mallet. Good to go.

You can also kick the gap closed with the heal of your shoe. I've been doing that for years, with the same floor board ;D

When you are too close to a wall to swing a hammer, screw a small offcut from another 2x4 on the top of the first 2x4 on the end that is furthest from the wall. You can then hammer on the small 2x4 piece to move the board.

Fantastic technique. Especially the tape+superglue for those close to wall/edges. I do the same but with my sneaker on and kick the floor into place 🤣

Flooring installer here! Nice fixes. Before you tighten up those ends hit them with a little wood glue, and dont get any on the long side(it needs to float). Many times those end locks degrade and will never truly lock again after they gap. You can also take off the trim and shim that row tight, but Ive had excellent luck with glue :)

Great videos! Just a little addition that you may know already, or not. When you make your 20” block, glue on a 10” on top of it, flush to one end of the 20” one, this way you have something to hit with your hammer even on tight spots. Hope it helps.

For tapping planks together, using a rubber mallet to tap the plank at an angle will work in many situations and only takes seconds to do. And won’t damage the flooring if used carefully.

Wow, THANK YOU. It works nicely, Although I modified your technique. Instead of using tape and/or glue I just used a bit of anti-skid rug backing. I placed it on the offending plank, then put a piece of 2x4 on top of the anti-skid material, and knelt on the 2x4 and whacked the 2x4 with a hammer. The gaps closed up nicely. THANKS again.

What about the gap that's left at the baseboard at 4:30?

Wait. So what happens when you get to the wall and now you've got that space between the baseboard and flooring?

Good tips. Word of caution when using the chisel or any sharp edge to pry up the stud or the left over tape. Depending on the type of floating floor you have, quality of the material and/or finish can vary making it very easy to mark up or damage.

That's a great idea. Another way to do it is to wear skater shoes and kick them over with your foot flattened. That's the way I've done it for years as a flooring guy. If you use the skater shoe trick it's best to get the shoes with the orange yellowish rubber. The white and black rubber leaves marks.

Great ideas! You might want to test whichever tape is being used in an inconspicuous area of the floor first though, just to be sure it doesn't pull off the finish. Also, I'll bet a few drops of superglue in the side-gaps, but away from the ends of the boards on either side (to avoid restricting the movement of the ends), would keep these end-gaps from opening up again.

I usually kick those boards forward with a clean pair of tennis shoes (white soled). But, then again, my flooring probably isn't a snug as it should be. The 2x4 method may come in handy if the quick fix fails.

3rd method, put your Crocs on and kick the floor plank the direction you want it to move, it actually works. Can't wait for the Festool Crocs

What do you do about the final gap that gets created between the last piece and the wall?

There is a Laminate floor installation tool that is essentially a piece of flat steel with an L shape or "leg" on each end. The leg grabs the end of the flooring . On the other end is an L or leg going the opposite direction which you hit with a hammer. This way you can go from the end of the run, and tap in three or four boards all at once. This happens a lot in my rentals. Sometimes you have to remove a quarter round piece of molding at the wall, but If you've got a bunch of gaps, it's ultimately much faster.

I use a rubber sole shoe to move the planks. Takes 2 seconds.

Thank you - great tip. Two LVPs in my home office had 1/8 - 1/4" gaps. I used method #1 - I used 1' 2x4 sanded it w/ 220 grit on one side, Gorilla Mounting Tape (15lb test), hand vac to make sure nothing in the gap, and rubber mallet - worked like a charm! Removing the 2x4 was no issue with 1/2" chisel and a little popsicle stick to lever and protect the LVP. Thanks again for the tip!

One of the best easy fix’s I’ve ever seen! Closed up 5 floor spaces. A favorite DYI process, thank you!

What can you do for gaps that run lengthwise, along the longer edge?

We had the exact same problem in my son's condo. Over the years we've tried our sneakers & rubber mallet. Each provided marginal improvement. Both left rubber marks on the flooring. Amazon had a marvelous 2-suction cup tool (they call it a "Two Jaw Chuck") used for lifting glass. Its rated at 90KG for Vertical Suction and 70KG for vertical suction.) The suction cups provide great strength, when attached to the flooring. Using a rubber mallet, we tapped on the strong aluminum frame of the tool. The gaps in some places were so large, we actually ran a small bead of silicon ahead of the board we were going to move. This doing this, non of the boards have moved. Instead of messing around with applying/removing double sided tape, this tool is quickly applied, and quickly removed with NO cleanup afterwards. My neighbor also borrowed it, to perform the same repairs in his son's condo.

I’m glad I found you. I have a electrical project coming up and a bath kroon floor that has some gaps that need closed! Thank you for your no nonsense, clear tips!

@4:30…aaaaaaannnnd now we got a gap at the baseboard….dangit! Awesome methods love the video.

A good kick with sneakers works just as well. By the way the gap will return in a few weeks unless you glue the ends together allowing the expansion and contractions to occur only under the baseboard.

Super helpful video! Clear instructions. We just fixed a couple of gaps we had in our floating floor. Looks like new! Thank you so much! We used the blue tape method. Tom and Sue

You could also use suction cups (normaly used to me glass) and they work great. Quick and simple.

Those are great ideas but how did you fix that final gap at the baseboard? What's to keep the flooring from getting pushed back so that first gap that you fixed, reappears?

I love the video! But I was waiting for the part where you teach us how to fix the last gap, by the baseboard. Thanks and Kudos to you!

You just taught me something useful, sir! I'm glad to be subscribed on your channel.

Just kick the boards with sneakers or rubber sole boots.

Put your work boot on, and kick the plank,in place.. I learned that ,from empire carpet installation person..

Thanks for filling in the gaps to my knowledge of filling in gaps.

Get a suction cup tile lifter,. use that to adhere to the tile and tap to shift. Very quick to go through a run or section.

You can easily close the gaps by simply lightly stomp the flooring once or twice till the gap is closed. But the spaces will continue to happen with the changes of weather, especially in moble homes. The next time it happens to my floor I'm just going to use alittle crazy glue just where I need to. Because it's only a few places. ( the same places)

and now the gap at the wall appears :D

I do the same thing, but I spreaded some bathroom sink silicone on my 2x4 and let it dry. It creates a nice friction surface. I've been using the same plank for years to fix the floor gaps.

Sometimes you can move them with rubber soled shoes by skidding on the plank in the direction required

Is there going to be another video where you fix the gap you create by the baseboards where the floor ends?

neat trick..did I see that edge under the base reveal a large gap?

So what do you do with the big gap you can now see at the bottom of the base board on the wall? A big one is now visible after that last small board was moved. Toe board?

Very cool tricks, but what about the final gap at the wall?

Great idea. I've used the suction cup handles from my father in law's shower also. I don't think it worked as well as this though.

I have been living with a gap in my laminate board for three years, this video is great apart from the fact i moved out a couple of weeks ago

I like the first method better I think. Its good to know this and I'll keep it in mind if my floor ever develops gaps. I have a flooring installation kit- including the bar you can grab an end with and tap when close to walls. I imagine that would work on the 2x4.

A rubber mallet works great . Glancing blows

Perhaps if you tape down a strip of beveled molding along the edge of the rooms' floor it would stop the spread, forever! Also, if you fold your tape ends over they will make great handles to pull from!

any suggestions for "vertical" gaps with heavy cabinetry on them? Seems maybe one side shifted one way and the other opposite, 'twisting' the boards causing a separations between to 'long sides'... not sure how the lips unlocked...

Good on 'floating floors' but not on adhesive types. No saving those...

Is it the same technique with wider gaps?,and when you get to the end,what do you do about the gap to the floor board/wall.?

Great video for the future, as of right now I only have tile. Any tips on how to fix cracks on tile? Thanks a lot!

From watching this video it took me just about 10 minutes to finally fix the gaps that were in my floor for years! I didnt even think about how to fix them previously. Just made it easier to myself by sticking duct tape on the floor and then regular double sided tape on top since my piece of wood was too rough and didnt hold on the double sided tape i stuck another duct tape on it and stuck the wood to the duct tape. worked flawlessly

You can also use a tounge and groove adhesive before sliding them. If you have some spaces around your baseboards just add backer rod or fill it with flexible caulk.

hmmm, I just use the bottom of my shoe to kick those back into place.. no two sided tape necessary.

Not bad for diy!! You could use about half the tape and save a few bucks. Also I’d put some glue in those gaped joints after vacuuming and tapping back together. Without glue there’s a high chance it will gap again. Hope this helps.

The first example, at the end, there was a fairly big gap between the plank and the trim. Is there a way to fill that gap in?

If you just put some shoes on with rubber tread and give it a swift kick in the direction you want it to go, the floor board will usually slide towards the gap. Easier than taping wood and all that

Wow! This is so cool! I have vinyl plank on my kitchen floor with several gaps. I thought I would have to disassemble the entire floor and reassemble it again. This is a great technique. Thanks for sharing.

Major mistake ! Move/slide the hammer parallel to the ground, not from "top to bottom", so if you are not precise with your move, you will not hit the floor and make a hole. Even better, put a protection of some sort (a news paper is enough) to make the hammer slide without the risk of scratch on the floor.

If you have a big gap that’s always moving add some strong adhesive in the gap and then slowly move it back into place this should help keep it in place. When I installed the floor it was all tight with a small gap to the wall so the floor could breath but over time the plank has shrunk a little and now it moves around a lot when you walk on the floor little adhesive helped me.

I can do same thing with my sneakers on kicking backwards.

Baking soda works better to dry super.glue faster and the bond is 10x as strong

I’ve got an even easier way. First:vacuum the gap out. Second: put on your gummiest bottomed shoes 👞, Croks work well. Third: decide which wall is closer to the gap and now gently kick your foot towards the gap and it will close for absolutely no charge. If you want to, you could probably squirt some type of viscus glue into the gap before you kick it into position. Just a light touch of glue. Good luck 🍀

Here's another use of painter's tape. We get incursions of Argentine ants into the house and they tend to make trails to the food or water that they have found. You can get an excellent ant bait/poison that comes as a gel in a syringe, but they don't usually clean up the gel before they all die, so you end up with booger-like lumps to clean up. So I put a 2" strip of painter's tape across their trail and then squirt a bead of the gel onto the tape. When they are all dead you just strip up the tape and toss it, then brush up the ant bodies and you'd never know they were ever there.

Why did you not apply a little clear caulking in the tongue and groove (gap)? or even use a dot in the gap to keep it closed ? It should keep you from ever having to fix it again.

Shut up!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ That's a GREAT HACK! THANK YOU!

I use a sneaker that I’m wearing on my foot to move my floating floor and it works perfectly! No fuss no muss!

Great video. Thanks !

We bought a vinyl “wooden” floor when they first appeared in our home improvement store. Normally we wait a few “get the kinks out” years but due to my husbands lung issues, we decided to try it. It is about 8 years old now and about 6 years ago we began to notice large spaces between the “boards”. We were told we must have done something wrong, they were not responsible. We were told we needed to get some extra pieces to use and replace the bad ones. That was not really a good option either because when we tried to remove the “bad” piece, it caused some of the good ones to loosen and also move too much. Anyhow, we finally found out that we had been lied to about the whole thing, that the vinyl strips had a shrinkage issue. (We actually were told at one point it may have been damaged from earthquakes but in Michigan we don’t have enough of those to really consider that an issue…) When we found out about it, we called to see if they were going to give us some sort of fix or compensation for it but were told we didn’t qualify because we waited too long to report it. We explained it was reported earlier but were never told about any issues with the product. Anyhow, we have a house that has this flooring in the living room, TV room and hallway all of it has large seams in odd places. I did find if I got scratch cover paste in the colors that the flooring has and used in the seams - first letting it dry a bit and then gently using some floor wax over it, that it is invisible for anywhere from 6 months to a year. While it is a pain in the highnee to do, it looks much better than not doing anything. Anyone else have this problem and a better way to fix it? We are a bit older, stiffer and blinder than when we did this the first time so replacing it is really a hard thing for us to do.

White rubber mallet you can just hit it forward and won't cause any damage

I'm halfway through laying LVP in my bedroom and are noticing gaps. Should I finish the room and attend to the gaps after or should I restart and fix gaps now?

Nice job moving the floor pieces, and good tips on how to do it. It seems like this just gets rid of a half dozen or so small gaps and creates a big one at the edge of the wall. What am I missing here?

In my experience, unfortunately, those gaps eventually reappear! The same process that caused them in the first place is still at work (a couple years of contraction and expansion puts 'em right back where they were). Any suggestions for that long-term problem?

Great video and technique. I would add a few drops of Tong & Groove glue or another soft glue suitable for wood in the gap (definitively not Gorilla glue or similar) it will help to keep the plank in place longer, without bonding them permanently and damaging them in the eventuality you need to remove them for a repair. Those gaps are more likely created by foot traffic, especially kids running and jumping around on bare feet, so they will open up again if they are not kept in place by a bit of glue. I did it on my planks that are 7.5 inches wide and they stay in place. Cheers.

I didnt have patience to buy that stuff so I just used some muscle and boom. fixed it lol thanks !

Hot glue is cheaper I think

I've been able to fix those gaps by just putting on a good pair of rubber sneakers and just kicking the plank over by repeatedly stepping and kicking across the board till it tightens up

I've done a similar thing and it turned into a game of wack a mole. It can turn into many more problems. Just start it in an easy spot before it turns into a bad dream.

Use your foot and kick it over

You didn’t address the gap you then had showing by your baseboard.

You just need to kick the board that needs to be moved with the foot with good gripping sneekers.

very cool!!! I drill a 1/8" hole in the center of the floor panel, then use a nail or other some pin insert. I put my hammer on a cloth and tap away. I fill the hole with like colored caulking, if it needs it. most of the time they will work their way open again and I can just reinsert a pin and repeat.

Put a little wood glue (not gorilla glue) in the joints before closing the gap it shouldn’t reopen when seasons change

We were skeptical but tried the Double-Sided Tape and well it worked perfectly. Thank you a bunch.

Put a bit of wood glue in the gap before hammering it closed or they will move again over time.

3:43 "Sh** I forgot the vacuum again" I can't wait to try this at home. Thanks mate!

Great tip, very helpful. Thanks. 👍👍👍

I fixed the gaps in mine by having a new floor installed.

Just use a shoes with big rubber sole. Kick the board and the friction will push the board in, works 80% of the time without wasting tape. Tape I'd good for stubborn joints.

Somehow these videos are always relevant to something going on around my house. Thanks!

I didn't watch the video because I have one of those lam. floors put on a sneaker have someone stand on 1side & kick the floor tight works every time 🤷🏻‍♂️✌🏼

I don’t even have laminated flooring but I just want to get some tape and try this out!! Great video I would’ve never thought to try something like this.

slide Kick the board with sticky shoes ..

Easier to just use some wood caulk in the original gap.

I haven't watched the video, put on a sneaker and kick it while somebody stands on the one you're kicking to 🤷🏼‍♂️

Try reusable velcro tape ,works great and use it on the whole project .

Informative video. However; that distance is pulling from somewhere. Small small gaps sure///big gaps...nope, unless you're going to install thicker Baseboard.

You Most Likely Just Needed To Pull The Short Peice Under The Banister Over To Close That Gap... Pushing That Whole Line Over Was Obviously Wrong, As You Opened Up a Gap At That End... The Installer Just Left To Much Of A Gap On The Ends... (Most Likely Under The Banister Trim)

you could see that the gap by the bannister had closed up so you should have gone from that way.less risky too.edit. now look at the gap by the skirting lol

Or you can do what ALLLLLLMOST EVERYONE ELSE DOES and put on your sneakers and simply kick the flooring back together... You left a gap at the wall doing the blue tape deal as you pushed the flooring the wrong way. So put your sneakers on and kick it all back toward the wall 1/8th of an inch. lol...