Wood putty for flooring, requirements for it, types of material and its correct choice. The putty is a repair building mixture designed to seal cracks and eliminate minor surface defects in enclosing structures. When renovating a wooden floor, it serves as an intermediate durable layer before applying the topcoat. Hiding cracks and unevenness of the flooring, the hardened mass contributes to an increase in its service life. You will learn about the types, properties and choice of putty for a wooden floor from this material.
Requirements for floor putty
Putty for wooden surfaces can be used not only when installing a new floor from parquet or board, but also in case of its cosmetic repair. With its help, it is possible to easily wipe all the seams between the elements of a freshly made coating and make its surface even and smooth. When updating an old coating for the purpose of its subsequent painting, covering with linoleum or tiling, putty on wood can hide grooves from board wear, voids from fallen knots, holes from removed nails, cracks in the surface and small gaps in the floor.
Depending on the type of these works, wood putties may differ in their composition, but they all must meet general requirements, which include:
- Sufficient elasticity that allows the mixture to spread evenly over the surface and fill all its holes and crevices.
- High degree of adhesion of the putty to wood, which guarantees long-term operation of the coating without swelling or delamination.
- The uniformity of the composition, excluding the presence of foreign impurities or separate large particles of filler, which, when processing the floor, can leave scratches on it.
Construction putty for leveling the wooden floor of terraces, gazebos and other objects located in open areas, in addition to the above requirements, must have additional properties, including:
- Frost resistance, allowing you to work with the material and use the resulting coating without losing its quality at low temperatures.
- Water resistance, which protects the wood of the floor from penetration of moisture through atmospheric precipitation, which can lead to premature destruction of the flooring from decay.
- The speed of drying of the mixture, on which the duration of work on finishing the wooden floor largely depends.
A putty intended for the treatment of indoor floors must have other additional properties:
- Environmental friendliness, which guarantees the safety of using the material during its application and subsequent drying.
- Antiseptic properties that can protect wood floors from the growth of fungus, mold and the growth of bacteria that are harmful to wood.
- Fire resistance, which guarantees the safety of the putty layer at high temperatures or contact with an open flame.
Fulfillment of all requirements for wood putties is ensured with the help of modifiers - special chemical additives that are part of plastic materials and calculated by manufacturers separately for each type.
The main types of putties for wood
The construction market of finishing materials today offers many excellent mixtures designed for filling gaps in a wooden floor and leveling surfaces. All of them are adapted to work in different conditions and have their own characteristics. According to the chemical composition, wood putties are divided into acrylic, oil, polymer and solvent-based putties.
Acrylic putty
This mixture is a white thick mass that does not require the addition of solvents. The pasty texture of the material makes it easy to distribute and at the same time control the layer thickness, which can be up to 3 mm.
It is not recommended to use such a putty in frosts, since its plasticity decreases at low temperatures.
Acrylic filler is characterized by high-quality adhesion to the substrate. When restoring the floor, the material has the hardness of wood after hardening. By filling the seams between the floorboards, it levels the floor surface and dries quickly, thus ensuring continuity of work.
Acrylic hardwood floor putty comes in various shades. Its basic colors are white, pine and oak. Water-dispersion varnishes and paints can be applied to the dried layer of the mixture.
Polymer putty
Polymer putty is water-based. It is indispensable when laying solid wood flooring or parquet. Its elasticity allows the material to penetrate even the smallest cracks and gaps between parquet strips.
Polymer putty has practically no shrinkage, this eliminates the need to apply it several times on a wooden floor. The mixture dries quickly enough and does not fall into the cracks over time. It is environmentally friendly and has excellent adhesion to the base substrate.
Please be aware that this material is not suitable for cork floors and hardwood floors such as chestnut, oak and cedar. Its use can cause, after a certain time, the appearance of stains on the wooden floor, which will not decorate it at all.
Construction polymer putty for a wooden floor should not change the color of the wood covering, so it should be matched to the tone of the floor.
Solvent based putty
This putty belongs to the type of quick-drying mixtures. It is obtained from cellulose ethers and resins diluted with solvents, followed by the addition of plasticizers and fillers. The resulting mixtures have high strength, but can be toxic and have a pungent odor. The working mixture of such putties is created by adding wood dust and can be used to process any types of wood, including exotic ones. It is recommended to choose the material with wood dust identical to the type of wood from which the floor is made.
Solvent-based putty is most commonly used for parquet flooring. This mixture can be used for underfloor heating. It is easy to apply, dries quickly and does not shrink. If necessary, pigments are added to the mixture to give the mixture the desired color. They are introduced into the putty just before its use, and then thoroughly mixed. If there is no possibility or desire to independently select the shade of the mixture, you can always purchase a colored ready-made putty.
Oil putty
It consists of oil, chalk and water. The mixture is excellent for preparing the surface of any wood flooring. Oil putty has increased strength, water repellency and durability. The rich color range of such putties allows you to choose any of them to match the floor and preserve the natural texture of its wood.
Its only drawback is the long drying time.
Oil putty can be used for both exterior and interior work. With equal success, this material can be used to cover the floors of outdoor terraces and closed rooms with high humidity.
Ready-made oil putty for a wooden floor goes on sale packaged in cans with a capacity of 0.5 to 15 kg, this is very convenient if you plan to process a large floor area.
Features of the choice of floor putty
In specialized stores today there is a huge selection of wood putties of foreign and domestic manufacturers. They come in different packaging and differ in composition, color and price.
When choosing a putty for a wooden floor, in addition to the general requirements described above, it is necessary to take into account the following points:
- The working composition of the finished putty must remain plastic for a sufficient time, this will allow the work to be completed with high quality.
- When applied to the floor, the mixture must not drip off the trowel or be picked up in lumps.
- The layer of putty applied should be weaker than the base surface.
- When dry, the surface treated with the material should not crack.
- The hardening rate of the mixture should not be too high, as the softer material is easier to sand.
- Compatibility of the applied putty with the base material and the finishing paintwork is the main condition for ensuring the quality of the finish of the wooden floor.
Before large-scale use of putty for a wooden floor for painting, it must be checked on a small and inconspicuous area of the floor. Here you should perform the whole complex of procedures, which includes the initial and final application of the material, its grinding and painting. The result of these actions will be complete clarity, whether this putty is suitable for the floor surface or not. If the result is positive, you can purchase the bulk of the material.
The most popular of foreign mixes is wood putty from the TIKKURILA company. It perfectly smoothes uneven surfaces and faithfully reproduces the colors of beech, birch, pine and oak. Moreover, the material is suitable for rooms with any air humidity.
Acrylic putties LACRA, suitable for parquet processing, the EUROTEX mixture, which is distinguished by affordable prices with excellent quality, and VGT putty, which is easy to paint, are popular among the craftsmen.
Among domestic brands, the best and most affordable ones are: "Extra", which copes well with small defects in wood, its knots, cracks, and "Rainbow" - it has excellent adhesion and short drying time.
The range of prices for putty for a wooden floor ranges from 600 to 1400 rubles. The most expensive are acrylic blends, solvent-based formulations are much cheaper.
How to choose a putty for a wooden floor - watch the video:
A wooden floor is beauty, style and comfort. But to maintain its merits, it is necessary to correct the defects that inevitably appear during the operation of the coating in time. To do this, an excellent material will help you - wood putty. The main thing is to choose it correctly and, when using it, do not violate the finishing technology. Good luck!
