Q: One visitor asked, "Our problem is that the flooring seems to have lots of cracks between the boards and somebody in the past put a lot of nails in the boards in the hallway. Can we putty this or is there a better way to repair it?"

A: Small gaps about the width of a dime would be considered normal gaps. This condition is lessened with good climate control in the home. Also, excessive moisture applied to the wood will cause some swelling in the boards. After they dry and stabilize, there will be gaps. If you are having your floors re-sanded anyway, then the sander should fill all these cracks with a spreadable wood filler. I use the water based types. They don't have the nasty chemical effects on the worker, and they stick pretty well. If there are any really large gaps, and you have some movement (up and down) between boards, I have found applying carpenters glue from a squeeze bottle into the gap will hold both boards, side by side, stable, so the filler will not crack out after. The nail holes can be filled with the same wood filler, but must be set first.