[OT] Parquet/Wood block floor restoration and repair

["kw1816" <kw1816@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Does anyone have any practical tips on restoring a parquet/wood
block floor ?

I knew that we had a wood floor under the hallway carpet and
yesterday I finally got round to peeling back the carpet to have a
look. Generally it's no too bad with only the odd block loose but
there are some 2-3mm gaps between some of the blocks where they've
shrunk.
I'd like to keep the floor and restore it, unfortunately  I don't
have much in the way of spare funds to pay someone to do it  (Not
since the wife visited the Furniture Village sale that is !) so it's
down to me.

So here's the plan:

Secure any loose blocks
Fill some of the gaps between the blocks.
Replace the cork expansion gaps with new cork.
Hire a floor and edge sander and refinish it.

I've lifted a couple of the lose blocks around the edge and they
appear to have been laid onto some kind of tar/pitch concoction.
There's a two block border with the rest laid in herringbone.

What's the best thing to use to
a: Fix the loose blocks down.
b: Fill in the 2-3mm gaps between the blocks.

It's the gaps that most bother me - As I said, most are 2-3mm and
are between quite a few in the herringbone pattern. My first thought
was to fill them with PVA mixed with sawdust from the floor but I
thought I'd ask around first.

I'm hoping the advice isn't to lift every block and re-lay
them ......... :)

Ta
Kevin.