Gaps

• 1). Take up any border or trim around the base of the wall. If the border or trim is secured to the wall with nails or adhesive, cut through any paint that lines the top of the trim at the wall and use a hammer or pry bar to pry the trim away from the wall.
  
  
• 2). Stick floor spacers into the space at one edge of the wood flooring to line the entire wall on that side. Move to the side of the room opposite the spacers, which should put you at the other end of the rows of hardwood planks.
  
  
• 3). Place a pull bar on the floor at the edge of the last plank so that the metal piece on the bottom of the pull bar hooks onto the end of the last plank in the row. Tap on the metal tab that juts up at the end of the pull bar to move the pull bar back toward the center of the floor and push the planks in that row back together. Continue tapping until the bar ceases to move.
  
  
• 4). Slide the pull bar down to the second row of wood planks, hook the pull bar on the plank in the last row and tap the pull bar to move the planks back together. Repeat for each row in the floor.
  
  
• 5). Take the floor spacers back out of the space between the wall and the other end of the planks. Put the trim back in place, using the hardware or adhesive that was originally used to secure it.
  
  

Cupping

• 1). Remove sources of moisture in the room in which the hardwood floor cupping appears. Keep the floor dry and use ventilation fans in bathrooms and kitchens. After removing the moisture, wait for a warm and a cold season before fixing the floor, because it may dry out and flatten by itself.
  
  
• 2). Stand on the hardwood floor and look at the flooring in soft light that doesn’t create a glare on the surface after the floor has set for a warm and cold season. Fix a cupped floor only if the cupping is noticeable from a standing position and creates gaps between the long edges of the floorboards.
  
  
• 3). Sand the cupped edges of the floor down with sandpaper and a sanding block or an orbital sander until the entire floor sits level with the lowest point of each plank. Clean up the sanding dust with a mop or vacuum.
  
  
• 4). Spread wood filler into any gaps caused in the edges of the flooring planks due to the cupping with a putty knife. Scrape off any wood filler that gets on the floor surface and allow the filler to dry for 24 hours.