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Manchester Floor Sanders

Floorboard Repairs & Gap Filling in Manchester

Filling draughty gaps, silencing squeaks, replacing damaged boards and securing loose ones so the floor is sound before it's sanded and finished.

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What floorboard repairs involves

Repairs and gap-filling are the prep that makes a sanded floor look and feel right. Sanding does not close gaps or stop squeaks, so gaps are filled (with resin-and-dust or reclaimed timber slivers), squeaks cured by screwing boards down, and broken or rotten boards swapped, all before the final sand blends them in. On a suspended timber floor the gaps between boards and around the skirting are the main draught path, so sealing them noticeably warms a room.

Signs you need floorboard repairs

These are the situations where Manchester homeowners most often get in touch:

  • Finger-width gaps between boards letting cold draughts up
  • Boards that squeak, creak or rock underfoot
  • Nails popping up and board ends springing loose
  • Broken, split, rotten or woodworm-damaged boards
  • A gap where a fireplace, hearth or wall was removed
  • Draughts and a big gap along the skirting boards
  • Mice, spiders or woodlice coming up through the gaps

If any sound familiar, a free no-obligation survey will tell you exactly where you stand.

How the job works, start to finish

  1. Pull carpet gripper, tacks and staples, and punch or replace proud nails so the sander clears them
  2. Screw down loose, rocking and squeaking boards into the joists (countersunk below the surface), packing under any that bridge a gap
  3. Cut out and replace rotten, split or badly damaged boards, ideally with matching reclaimed timber
  4. Do the coarse sand first, then fill gaps so filler beds into clean wood and gets levelled by the finer passes
  5. Fill narrow, stable gaps with resin-and-dust; use tapered reclaimed slivers for wider or moving gaps
  6. Seal the perimeter/skirting gap with flexible caulk or a scribed timber fillet, then final-sand and finish

Machines & finishes we use

We work with trade-grade kit and finishes, not hire-shop machines:

  • Reclaimed pine slivers/fillets for wide gaps
  • Bona Mix & Fill / Lecol resin filler with sanding dust
  • Bona Gapmaster flexible filler (applied after finishing)
  • DraughtEx / Gapseal foam strips for seasonal gaps
  • Countersunk screws (brass over lath-and-plaster ceilings)
  • Matching reclaimed floorboards

Floorboard repairs on Greater Manchester floors

Manchester's suspended Victorian and Edwardian timber floors move seasonally: central heating dries the boards in winter so gaps open, and they swell shut in summer. Filling at the winter maximum with rigid filler is the classic mistake, because the boards crush it or cup when they expand. We match filler flexibility to the floor's movement and match reclaimed pine on width, as old boards are wider than modern stock.

What floorboard repairs costs

Gap-filling is an add-on to a sand: resin-and-dust from around £4.50-£7 per m² and reclaimed timber slivers around £8-£25 per m² depending on gap width (Greater Manchester, 2026). Board replacement is a separate line item, priced by the number of boards and whether matching reclaimed timber is needed. Usually + VAT.

Every floor is different, so we quote each job from a survey. Request a free quote for an accurate figure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Resin-and-dust or timber slivers, which is better?
It depends on gap width and how much the floor moves. A resin-and-sawdust mix is quick, cheap and near-seamless on narrow, stable gaps under roughly 2-4mm, but it's rigid and cracks out of wide or moving joints. Reclaimed timber slivers glued in and sanded flush last longest on wider gaps of 4-8mm+ and move with the boards. A hybrid, resin for narrow and slivers for wide, is often the professional answer.
Why does the filler keep cracking and falling out?
Because floorboards are hygroscopic and shrink and swell across their width every season, and rigid filler can't stretch, so it cracks and drops into the void. The durable fixes are timber slivers keyed to the boards, or a flexible filler that tolerates the movement. It's also why we don't over-fill every hairline gap, and why filling in mid-winter when gaps are widest tends to fail.
Will sanding stop my floorboards squeaking?
No. Sanding only levels the surface; squeaks are a fixings and joist problem where boards rub on loose nails or the joist. They must be cured first by screwing the loose boards down into the joists, countersunk below the surface so the drum sander clears the heads. Fixing squeaks is prep done before the sand, not something the sand itself achieves. Talc or graphite in the gaps only silences a squeak for a few weeks.
Will filling the gaps make the room warmer?
Yes, noticeably. On a suspended timber floor the gaps between the boards and around the skirting are the main draught path, so filling and sealing them kills the cold updraught and cuts heat loss. Sanding alone won't stop draughts, and bare exposed boards feel colder until the gaps are sealed. If you're lifting boards anyway, it's also the ideal moment to add breathable underfloor insulation.
Do damaged boards need replacing before sanding?
Yes. Soft, dark, crumbly, badly split or rotten boards must be swapped out first, because sanding a failing board only thins and weakens it. We swap just the bad boards, ideally with matching reclaimed timber of similar age, then sand the whole floor so the new boards blend in colour and level. You rarely need to replace the lot, even on a gappy, draughty Victorian floor.

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