How do you level a subfloor before installing hardwood?
Raise Low Spots
- Stir pre-mixed cementitious leveling compound with a trowel. Spread the leveling compound over the low spots with a trowel. Feather the edges to blend with the surrounding subfloor.
- Sand any rough edges of the leveling compound after it dries overnight, using medium-grit sandpaper.
- Vacuum away any dust.
Can hardwood be installed on uneven floor?
In order to properly install hardwood on uneven flooring, the floor itself has to be smoothed out. This can be done through the use of underlays and re-surfacing. If the floor simply tilts, most hardwoods (especially engineered hardwoods) will be able to be installed quite easily.
How do you level subfloors?
Pour the liquid-like floor leveler onto the subfloor and smooth it out with a trowel. Gravity will help it settle into the low areas. Remove any excess floor leveler and feather it around the edges so it blends with the rest of the floor. Let the floor leveler dry overnight or as indicated by the manufacturer.
Do I need to level subfloor?
It is essential that this subfloor layer be stable, solid, flat, and level. If the subfloor is uneven, with dips, ripples, or waves, this irregularity will be telescoped through to the surface floor covering and can even cause the flooring installation to fail.
How do you fix an uneven subfloor?
For concrete slabs: If there are only a few problem areas in the concrete, you can mechanically flatten them by grinding, bead-blasting, abrading, or using a patching compound. If the entire slab is uneven, you may have to use a self-leveling concrete compound to smooth it out.
How do you fix uneven subfloor on hardwood floors?
Using a flat-edged trowel, apply the floor leveling compound. Fill in all dips and uneven spots in the subfloor. Allow the leveler to dry as is instructed by the manufacturer’s product label. Remove hills or humps using a floor sander until the entire floor is level.
Can a hardwood floor be level with the subfloor?
A hardwood floor is only as level as the subfloor beneath it. Related Articles. Hardwood floor installers often use the term “level” when referring to subfloors, when actually they are meaning the term “flat.” While it’s desirable to have a level floor, most homes have a variance of a fraction of an inch across the width of a room.
Which is the best way to install hardwood flooring?
Here are some factors to consider as you determine whether your subfloor is up to the task of protecting and supporting your new hardwood floors. The first thing to consider is the type of installation. Stapling or nailing your flooring to the subfloor is the most common way to install solid hardwood.
What’s the best way to install a subfloor?
Pound nails into the subfloor with a hammer and set screws slightly below the surface of the subfloor with a screwdriver. Pass a long carpenter’s level or straight board across the floor in all directions. Get down on your knees and look for daylight under the level or board. Mark the high and low spots on the subfloor.
How big should the subfloor be when nailing down wood?
When nailing down a wood floor, the subfloor should be flat to within 1/4” in 10’ or 3/16” in 6’. It is the responsibility of the flooring installer to assess and address substrate flatness before installation.