How To Level Up Hardwood Floor
Be suspicious of wood posts set on dirt floors or wood posts with concrete poured around the post bases.
How to level up hardwood floor. Pour a generous amount of mixed leveler onto the subfloor focusing on one or more wavy areas. If an engineer found no structural issues you may be able to level the floor by applying a cement based self leveling floor product such as henry level pro self leveling underlayment available. Use screws to secure the leveling strips to the floor every 16 inches. Clean it well with a wet dry vacuum.
If the subfloor is the same in both rooms connecting the two rooms with an even floor shouldn t be difficult. Use a pry bar to pull up hardwood floors one section at a time or unfasten carpet or laminate and roll it up from one end. This will expose the subfloor underneath which is where most leveling problems lie. Screw the strips into the floor joists or subfloor.
Mix the floor leveling compound with water in a bucket following the manufacturer s directions. To do this simply cut several leveling strips the same size as the original strip. You will have to make sure your joists can handle the addition of considerably more weight from the plywood subfloor and any floor coverings. If your house is built over a basement first inspect all of the basement support beams and posts where they meet the floor.
Pound nails into the subfloor with a hammer and set screws slightly below the surface of the subfloor with a screwdriver. As the posts slowly rot and melt into the floor the house settles accordingly bottom to top. Pass a long carpenter s level or. If the bubble is off raise the low end until it s level.
To do this you ll want the longest level you can find. Spread the leveler over the floor with a trowel or a gauge rake so it covers each low area completely. Watch our step by step video showing how to level a wooden floor with expert advice and top tips to help you complete the job with confidence. If the level is in the bubble you re ready to go.
A plywood subfloor will bridge any minor waves in the existing floor and leveling compound would help too. The thickness of hardwood flooring boards is known as the profile and profiles vary. Otherwise lay a very straight metal bar or wood board on the floor and place a level on top.