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I have old (1954) hardwood floors in my house. If water or anything gets spilled on it, it will leak through I to the basement. How do I seal that?

ldownie
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    I don't think you really can, without ripping out the floor and starting over. If the boards are still tightly butted together, you could try refinishing the floors and that may help seal some of the cracks. But it's never going to be waterproof, like a bathtub. – SteveSh Dec 11 '22 at 00:49
  • This would indicate you do not have a subfloor under the hardwood floor. – Ruskes Dec 11 '22 at 01:20
  • Fill all the gaps with appropriate filler then seal it with appropriate sealer – Ruskes Dec 11 '22 at 01:55
  • Down to cleaning spills promptly. Leaving a swimming pool is not a good idea. – Solar Mike Dec 11 '22 at 07:21

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There is nothing you can do to turn an existing hardwood floor into something waterproof, short of covering it with something like vinyl.

Wood expands and contracts seasonally across its width, so filler between the cracks would either have to be very flexible (and thus terrible as a floor surface) or would crack with expansion or contraction.

Mop up spills promptly and very little if any water will get into the basement. If it puts your mind at ease, many people have lived with this exact situation for many years.

Aloysius Defenestrate
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  • Thank you, the filler isn't really an option as there's no visible spaces between the boards. We're more concerned because we'd like to finish the ceiling in the basement but we're worried about possible spills going through and getting the drywall wet. Would refinishing and putting a few good coats of varythane on do anything? – ldownie Dec 11 '22 at 02:41
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    If the floor needs refinishing, then go for it. It won’t really help with the waterproofing. One last note, a tiny bit of water landing on the topside of ceiling drywall will dry out over time without damaging the drywall. – Aloysius Defenestrate Dec 11 '22 at 03:59
  • There is probably something like a bar-top or gymnasium-floor epoxy coating that would be thick enough to close the gaps. I am guessing it would be a pain to apply properly, would look odd, and would be a bitch-kitty to do any further work on. This is just a thought if you absolutely had to do this, not a recommendation. Another thought would be to use water-resistant panels for the ceiling -- blue board, or even fiberglass board, rather than plasterboard. Or just be prepared to remove and replace a section of ceiling if it does get significantly damaged. – keshlam Dec 11 '22 at 14:17