Gap between kitchen window and wall, basically a bug check-in reception. How to cover the gap?
and this tile and wood on the floor in main hallway of house, underneath the gap is the earth, another bug free entry location. Advice
Cheers
Hello @JackW
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about the gaps in your window and flooring.
That gap around the window is very common in older houses and the way to deal with it is simply sealing it properly so bugs, air and dust can’t get through anymore. What I recommend using is something flexible rather than a hard filler, because the window and wall move slightly over time. A paintable acrylic gap filler such as the https://www.bunnings.com.au/sika-300ml-white-sikaflex-11fc-purform_p0628965 works really well for this type of job and is designed for gaps around window frames, skirting and joins, and it dries quickly and can be painted over once cured.
The easiest way to do it is to clean the gap out first so the filler sticks properly, if the gap is fairly deep, I suggest installing https://www.bunnings.com.au/moroday-10mm-x-5m-white-gap-filler-rod_p4061881 to block the cavity. Make sure to push the filler rod at least 3mm into the gap to give the Sikaflex room to sink in. After that you run a bead of gap filler along the edge and smooth it off with a silicone tool. Once it fully cures you can paint over. This approach keeps things flexible, stops future cracking and blocks insects at the same time.
For floor gaps that go down to soil, the idea is exactly the same. You block the depth first with the gap filler rod so you’re not just dumping filler into the gap. My best advice is to measure the size of the gap so that you can get the right size of gap filler rod.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
@EricL Thanks for the reply Eric
