Getting a New Hardwood Floor Level

When leveling your floor for hardwood installation, do you lay the shingles on the subfloor and then the tarpaper, or first the tarpaper, then the shingles?

I prefer to do the tar paper first.

I am in the same predicament where I have a couple of significant dips in my floor due to a high joist, likely due to excessive crown. If i do not have shingles could i use 3/16" mohogany subfloor to level the floor? If so, how do I minimize the impact of the edges of the sub floor patch? Would the laying of the felt paper over the patch be sufficient? Or should I sand the edges of the sub floor patch to make a smoother transition? I have already laid down the first 5 rows and will not reach this lower spot for probably another 5 rows of flooring.

Thanks in advance for the help

Ron,
You can use that thin plywood. Yes, sand the edges.

Unfortunately, I think i have a more complicated problem and am in desperate need for assistance. My kitchen and dining room share the same floor. I have installed cement board in the kitchen upto where I want the hard wood floor to begin in the dining room. Both the underlayment and subfloor surfaces are flat, with no dips. If i were to install the ceramic tiles and the hardwood flooring the two floors would be flush to eachother. Sounds good so far right? The problem is that the entire floor is sloped to one side about 3/16" per foot. The kitchen wall is 14 feet long. The dining room wall is 24 feet long. I would like to make the kitchen floor level because of the base cabinets and countertop. Is there any way that i could level out the hard wood flooring so that it stays flush with the tiles? I want to stay away from using a saddle because i have alreasy chosen a ceramic border piece. Thank you for your time. Happy holidays.

Luis,
If your measurements are accurate, you have serious issues. My math shows the floor is out of level over 7 inches in the 38 feet. That can't be the case. Well, it can be......but if so, you better call in a structural engineer to see if your house is going to tip over one day.

We purchased a house with hardwood floors and the first time we walked on it without shoes we notices the floor was kind of rough. It feels rough on the hands also and you can feel the gaps between boards. Was this floor just not finished or sealed?

Tim,
It could be that or maybe their is water vapor hitting the underside....... Read ALL of my Hardwood Flooring columns.

Tim,

I'm dealing with the uneven wooden subfloor challenge with dips of almost a half an inch in an 8-foot span. The difference is I'm planning to install engineered hardwood with a floating installation. Would you still use shingles to fill the dips? Would they:
- be nailed or somehow fastened?
- be installed upright or upside down?
- be above or below the underlayment?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Geoff
Osgoode, ON

Geoff,
You can nail them - especially in your case with the floating floor. With traditional hardwood, the flooring nails pin the shingles. You can install them however you want - up or down. I would put them under the underlayment in your case.

Okay honestly- I can NOT tell you how excited I am to have ran across your shingle advice. We have been batteling with what to do in our kitchen for months now. We didnt want to spend the money to have someone come in and take the floor down to bare nothings.. and we didnt want to do it ourselves.. we've already done that to a few rooms in our house this far.. and we are tired. I just wanted to say thank you so much! Genious I tell you!

Have existing hardwood floors that is not level in dining area, saggs in the center, is it possible to raise the joist, without damaging the hardwood.This is the only area that the problem exist. Thanks for any help or information you can give.

Herbert,

It is very doubtful you can lift that joist to make a difference. You may do more harm than good. Be careful.

Tim,

I am dealing with a bit of predicament with recently installed 3/4 inch Maple hardwood. My contractor stripped the floor to the bare joists, added a subfloor and said he would level things to take out a fairly pronounced hump in the middle between my living room and dining room. Now that the hardwood is installed there are numerous bouncy areas and lots of crackle and popping as we walk over the floor. Obviously this isn't the way newly installed hardwood should look or feel correct? So my dillemma is this...if I ask the contractor to fix the problem he is likely to suggest face nailing...which will then most likely result in a pronounced hump in the floor and create a less than perfect feel to the floor after we wood fill the 'holes'. I have heard of drilling and injecting an epoxy solution under floor to fill voids...worth the attempt? or do we start to try to pull up the floor and gently as possible, level correctly and lay down floor again. Help!

thanks
Dave

Dave,
Take the floor up and please tell the contractor to do it right. Squeaks are totally unacceptable since the effort was made to start with bare joists.

Tim,
I am installing new 1/2" cypress hardwood flooring over older existing pine hardwood
I plan to run the new floor perpendicular
to the old to help with any minor uneveness.Would you recomend an underlayment that would cusion and soundproof the floor.And would this allso help with some minor imperfections.I have seen some foam underlayments but have no previous experience with them.
thank you in advance
Tony

Tony,
No. Read ALL of my columns that deal with Hardwood Floors if you wish to discover how I would install it.

There is one section of my living room, where I am trying to install hardwood, that appears to have a 'peak' where the sheets of plywood meet about a joist. When I put a straight-edge down over the joist, the end of the staight-edge near the wall (about 3 ft away from the joist) is approximately 1.25 inches off the floor. How do I fix that? I am guessing I may have to get the joist planed down.

I am trying to flatten an existing floor for ceramic tileing. It has a 2" drop in a corner that measures 3' by 3'out from both walls. What would be the best way to bring this drop up to the same plain as the rest of the floor, but still have a good solid subfloor for installing backer board and tile.

Douglas,
Sleepers, a pourable self-leveling compound, etc.

Does it matter whether you use old shingles or new shingles for leveling the subfloor?

David,
I would use new shingles.

Would this same leveling technique work with porcelin tile?

Wendy,
Possibly and only if the shingles were placed under cement board. But in all honesty, it is better to place the cement board in thinset so that all gaps under the board are filled. There will be slight air gaps with shingles. Hardwood can deal with tension. Tile cannot!

I have laid new shingles for leveling over my felt paper. I am planning to put hardwood over the shingles and felt paper. The asphalt smell is fairly strong in the house. Will this go away with a little time?

David,
Absolutely Yes. We have no asphalt odor in our home.

is tar paper still used today to protect the plywood on wood floors before you glue vinyl flooring down

Frances,
I don't believe that is an approved method. You need to follow the sheet-vinyl instructions.

I am using 2.25" wide hardwood boards (Bruce). Will I have a problem when the dropoff of my leveling shingle occurs across the width (2.25" side) of my hardwood plank? Thanks.

David,
You may. Feather the drop off with decreasing layers of felt paper.

I am planning to install a new 3/4 oak strip over my existing hardwood floor. The issue I have is that my existing floor has no subfloor, its just 3/4 tongue and grove perpendicular to the floor joyces. It has many highs and lows, up to 1/4. I was told that I can put 3/8 ply down and it would even it out for the new floor or I can just install on a 45. What would be the best approach?

Tom,
It would be best to install this new hardwood directly on top of the existing, but run the new at right angles to the old flooring. Be sure to use the shingles or some leveling compound in the low spots. Do not use plywood.

I'm installing laminate flooring material and have depressions up to 1/2" deep. Have you ever used the shingle method to take up space and then apply self leveling compound over the shingles to fair out the edges? Otherwise how do you get rid of the edges which would show under the underlayment and then affect the overall laminate flooring?

Thank you very much

Keenan

Are you ignoring my questions on purpose i have come to this site everyday since the 14th (my original post) seeing if you have responded but I keep seeing responses to the questions that came after mine. you could at least inform me of your disinterest in responding so I dont continue to provide your site with hits.

Hi I have purchased a bungalow with some slab movement which is historical.
The parquet flooring down at the moment has moved with it and is still fixed firmly in position. But the worst case along one wall is a gap of 15mm in the centre over 4 meters span. If I want to replace the parquet flooring with a bamboo or maple. I will need to remove the skirting and existing floor. but there is a tar like substance which was used for adhesive. Will it need to be removed before a self leveling compound is laid? Will it also need to be sealed first? What is the best products to use.

Nick

Keenan,
I have. The leveling compound feathers out nicely.

My subfloor is "flat" but where the plywood sheets butt up against each other, one might be as much as an 1/8th of and inch higher than the other. Can I just lay the 3/4inch oak hardwood over the joint perpendicularly and not worry about it, or should I use your shingle idea to soften the edge.

Thanks
Jerry
Denver Colorado

Nick,
You need to follow the instructions provided by the manufacturers of ALL the products you intend to use. Doing this takes out all guesswork.

Jerry,
Just use floor-leveling compound to feather out that offset.

I am currently installing hardwood flooring on the first level of our house. We live in WI and house has engineered I beams as floor joists with 3/4" tongue & groove OSP.
The first question is I have a step down to another room with 3/4" oak transfer strip along the floor. Can I install the hardwood floor tight to this transfer strip or should I leave room for expansion? I would rather go tight to it to eliminate any trim strip over the top of both items to hide the expansion gap.
Second question is what should I place under the hardwood. Should I use rosin paper or tar paper? The room I am concerned with is the kitchen where I had to remove vinyle floor with 1/4" subfloor. The subfloor has many staples and I did my best to either remove or nail the staples flush to the OSP board.

Thanks in advance, Matt

Tim,

I'm installing floating laminate and need to fill in few low spots. I've been told that 15 mil tarpaper will give more flexibility than shingles. If I use tar paper, and then roll out the foam underlayment over the tar paper, do I risk any stickiness from the tar paper seeping through the foam and not allowing the floor to "float" as it should? Thanks.

Michael
Northwest Indiana

Matt,
I have answered your questions in my other past columns about Hardwood Floors. It really would be worth your while to read all of my work on this topic.

Michael,
In your case, why not fill the low areas with a leveling compound? That solves both issues.

We have a contractor that has installed the wood floor. Subfloor is not level. Part of the floor was raised to make it all one level.

Problem floor dips and raises. Visually you can tell in areas and of course feel with your feet.You can also tell by sliding and french doors that it is not level.

How unlevel can it be without further damage down the road. It almost feels like it cold bow out. How much is acceptable? Does it need to be redone?

What shold I tell my contractor? What can be done at this point? I thought that of course our home is not level and a contractor is suppose to allow for that which is what he said when commenting about our home in other areas

Husband feels it is because it is a 35 year old house. We had it lifted because our addition was not level b 4 to 6 inches. We had them come back and lift this area where we have a problem Which for whatever reason was taken care of the first time. He feels what they came back and did more or less made everything out of wack.

Sorry to gon just want to make sure I am giving you all the facts. I feel like the girl that takes her car and knows nothing about cars except this is our home.

Kimberly,
You tell the contractor it is unacceptable and do not pay him until the floor is installed correctly.

I discovered a similiar problem in my 1954 home, when trying to instal new hard wood. Is ok to use the shingles to go up to an 1" slump that stretches across 3 support joices, or is it better to go underneath and try to jack it up? There are currenlty no cracks are anything else to suggest a sinking foundation, but what do we need to consider in trying to raise the floor?

Lisa,
I would jack up the floor if it has bowed. Another choice is to pour a self-leveling floor compound to fill the depression.

Let me start by saying that I wish I found this article and QA thread earlier, but too late for that so...

We're putting down 5/16" hardwood but are trying to get the floor in my 80 year old home level first.

I'm working with a carpenter friend who insisted that the way to do it is to use significant amounts of glue (PL440) on the OSB that is going over subfloor to make up for uneven areas. We then screwed it all down with lots of screws.

We're now using a leveling compound to get a smooth surface. He suggested Ardex, but I couldn't find it locally, so we settled on Henry 555 Level Pro.

So here's my question: when it is time to start laying down the 5/16" floor, will I be able to staple through the Level Pro? The Ardex? Also, do we really need to smooth out the whole floor, or just uneven areas at the seams?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Can you sand down some of the high spots at the joists with a belt sander?

I have a 2" drop in a 6' porch what is the best way to fix this issue?

Is it OK to use tar paper as a sound barrier when installing pre-finished laminte floor? I will be going over a ply-wood floor with a pre-existing vinyl floor. I am trying to go as inexpensive as possible.

I am currently renovating an old home built roughly 1880s. Over the last 100 years different rooms have been renovated at different times which have lead to abrupt changes in floor heights. It is as drastic as a 2 inch lip between the kitchen and the dinning room. Are the methods described above relevant to this problem, or is there another method I can use? Thank you!

spence

I have an existing old 1901 wood floor that drops to 2 inches at one point. Will the shingles work there also or should I use plywood? I plan to put roofing paper and a plywood subfloor over the existing floor before putting down tongue & groove pine boards. Also, do you recommend glueing or nailing the T&G?

Tim,

I want to install a floating floor. When I pulled up the old carpet I found a strange substance oo the floor which looks like sawdust glued together and spread out. I have since been told it is called magnasite. Anyway this magnasite stuff it is not level at all, there a various high and low spots. Whoever levelled it (back in 1963) must have had a few too many beers beforehand. I was hoping to sand the high spots down with a floor sander. How can I do this? I will need to remove about 10mm of material at the high spots to get it near level.Will a drum sander do this or will it simply follow the contours of the existing floor? Or should I use an orbital sander with a screen? The 80 grit screen does not look abrasive enough to me to do the job. what do you think? thanks for your website.

Hi,

I am trying to level the floor in a kitchen and livingroom of an old cottage. The owner wants to install a lanolium floor. There are spots that are at least 1 inch deeper than others. I understand that I will be using roofing tiles to shim, but do I lay down a 3/4" plywood befor the Lanolium , or can I use 1/2 inch plywood ? And do I still have to lay down roofing black paper for moisture ?
Thanking you in advance.
A Fay

I'm dealing with a floor dip.
the dip is in the center of the dinning room & kitchen ,the sub floor seems to have a dip of 1/2 in a 8-foot span .my basement cieling is opened ,it seems that the mais suppot beem 16' long is sagging
i jacked up the beem slightly ,but my dip is still there
i'm going to install hardwoor floors,and than sand & finish them .
1 was thinking to lift up the subfloot plywood aroung that area ,then screw in 2x3's beside the joists to act as a new joist ,then scew the ply wood from top into new acting joist .
1dont kow any other way to correct this ,help

I recently had to remove some old water stained and damaged 3/8" K3 board from my floor in an area where I want to install 11/16" oak hardwood flooring. THe subfloor is 1 x 6 planks run on a diagnol to the solid wood joists. There are gaps between the planks up to 1/4" or so. Can I can just install the oak flooring right over top of the planks or do I need to cover it with plywood. The area is in the homes second level.

thank You

Hi,

Are asphalt shingles safe to use indoors?


Thanks
Alan

I have a big problem I just had my hardwood floors sanded and sealed and they are very rough on your feet and to the touch. What can I do?

1. Can too much of leveling compound on the subfloor be a cause of any problem? I mean from the nails (getting thru) and heaviness point of views. By the way, what brand of leveling compound would you recommend?

2. Will shingles make noise over time?

3. Can I use one to three layers of stapled tart paper to even up the floor?

4. What are the pluses and minuses of nailing and/or glueing down the eng. hardwood floors? I am asking this because I put so musch of leveling and now I think I better go with glue (because of nails and the thickness of the leveling).

Thank you for you attention and advice.

I had new hardwood flooring installed and where the hallway abuts the liv. rm. flooring (which was installed when the house was built) there is a difference in height and in color and type of hardwood. Is there a simple solution??

I am looking at purchasiing a 1951 home that has two areas which have 2-1/2 inches of fall in 10 feet. Will a leveling compound be applicable to "float" the floor? It is a concrete slab with tile currently installed, with only cracks in three tiles. Should I float the floor enough to attain the required 3/16 inches in 10 feet? I want to install Laminate engineered wood.

What is a ballpark cost per cubic foot of floor leveling compound. I estimated approximately 25 cubic feet of compound for the 950 sq.ft home, is that ridiculous? It has movement, but I think it can be fixed!! Please help quick, I am about to open escrow!

John

Hi Tim,

My house was built in 1887 and needless to say the floor is pretty uneven. The current subfloor is 3/4" tongue and grove (probably Pine?). I want to install new 3/4" oak flooring and my question is this. Should I cover the existing subfloor with plywood after leveling as you've said with the shingles? or should I just use the shingles? I don't mind spending the time and money if it will make the flooring job easier.

Thanks,

Bill
Toronto, ON

I am installing a new prefinished oak floor over the original fir floors, my house was built in 1909. There is a little bit of gapping in the old floors and some patches that had been done with particle board. I was wondering if I still lay the new floor perpendicular to the joists? I did look at removing the old floors, but was advised to leave them, as there are thousands of nails that were used to stop squeaks. Also can I use the same underlayment used with most laminate flooring? Thank you in advance for your help!

Casey
Butte, MT

Tim,

How do you go about leveling an existing hardwood floor to prep for a new one. I have just moved into a house built in the 20's and the existing hardwood floor is not even close to level, however, there is no subfloor underneath. I was hoping to use the orginal hardwood as my new subfloor. Is this possible?

Hi Tim.

I'll be floating an engineered wood floor in my basment (5/8ths thick). My basement is dry, has A/C vents and a return and passed a moisture test done by taping down a bunch of plastic squares for about one week. I will be laying 6 mil poly beneath a sound deadening material. My first question is, is it worth also using a cement sealer as well? In my case, most of the cement floor is covered with glue residue from an old carpet so here I don't think this would work (I don't want the hassle of cleaning the cement) but in about 25% of the basement the cement floor is clear of any contaminants so perhaps sealing these areas? If so, any suggestions on sealer to use and does it require a primer too?

My second question you may have answered regarding using asphalt shingles to fill a few depressions. I've been hesitant to use a self leveling compound, so I appreciate your fix. I would think place these above the 6 mil poly?

By the way, I've also heard using dry sand to flatten out the depressions, though I think you would feel/hear underneath.

Thanks!

Dear Tim
It looks like I have the same problem as Luis had. My House has joists meeteng on metal I-beam in the middle of the floor along entire lenght of house. Joists are practically crossing while leaning against the metal beam in the center of house's struture, causin high bump along center line of living room and kitchen. Slopy job of builder left first owner with first floor (and second too but smaller)sloping toward both longest walls: one 9/16" and on other side almost one inch. It looks like they went out of any rules they should. You mentioned about using roof shingles to level floors. Would be possible in your opinion to use asphalt shingles to level subfloor with 1/4" on top of it and entier floor as to make it smooth at the same time leveled with existing kichen tile floor? Could you give closer look at how this task should be done? Up to how tihick gap/level asphalt shingles can be used?

Than you for your patience and help in advance.

Chris

We bought a 12-year old house, which has uneven floors that at some point has 1.5 inch drops 6 ft apart. Also most of the floor (let's say 90%) is at about -1 inch relative to the highest spot - do you suggest we use asphalt shingle for the 90% of the space to match the highest point of the floor? Or are there any better way to make the floor at the highest point lower?

Thanks for your comment in advance.

Tim,

Which brand or kind of wood floor would you recommend to hide the imperfections or uneveness of the subfloor? Thanks.

Hi Tim,

I'm just about to install new hardwood floor (Canadian Oak) and have a dip of 3/8" on 4'-0" length. I do not want to use shingles as I have a heating outlet in the area effected. The heat coming out of the register could warm up the asphalt shingle and cause unplesant smell.

My quastion is:

What kind of leveling compound I can use (specific name manufacturer)? I have been to Home Depot and Rona and the do not have any compound (except concrete base)which is not recommended to use. Also, where can I get this floor leveling compound. No one sims to know or have any suggestions. Could I use wall tile glue material?

Thanks.

Miro

Hi we are getting ready to install new hardwood floors over plywood after we pulled out our 25 year old carpet. We have a split level house and the stairs go up and down in the hall. Question? At the bottom of the step going up, the piece of wood next to the step is uneven. Meaning on the left side it is lower then our plywood and on the right side its higher then our plywood. We thought about sanding some of the high part down but there are nails in it. Any suggestions? Thanks so much

I currently have a concrete slab on the 4th floor of my building. I want to install hardwood flooring. Can I use engineered wood on the concrete as a subfloor prior to installing hardwood flooring?

Geoff,

Thanks for the great advice on your site! I, too, am getting ready to lay a hardwood floor. Part of my room is level, but about a third of it slopes downward toward another part of the house (all is well structurally, by the way). All told, there's a one-inch difference between the level portion and where the slope ends at the wall. Will your asphalt shingles work here if I build them up? What about a combination of shingles and leveling-compound?

Thanks!

Dennis
Missouri

GREAAAAT Tip thanks for sharing. After taking out my carpet my jaw dropped at how uneven my floor is.
One joist in particular was slightly over 3/8 of an inch higher than the two on either side..
For forteen feet my floor had an onimous peak.

I fixed it using angle iron to support my router at the proper height based on the two joist on either side of the mountain. Then with my router sliding along the angle iron adusted to the right heigh I managed to bring the floor to the right level. Mind you half the subfloor is gone along this joist.

The rest of the floor isnt so bad and the shingles sound like they have worked. That will save me making a lot of sawdust.

Thanks

hi i am installing a floating floor oser plywood ,but i have dips 1 1/2"deep can i still use shingles to level this floor .older house

Tim, hows it going? I have a slight leveling problem. I am installing on a plywood sub-floor and the floor drops
from a half inch under the window frame to an inch over a sixteenfoot span and is very noticable underneath huge exterior window. How should i level it if i were to install a nail down or glue down. Thanks Patrick

I'm laying hardwood flooring and you mention using asphalt singles for the dips. Wouldn't the shingles make noises when walking on them

I ask this because the shingles have a rock like substance on one side. No matter which way you install them, wouldn't you get a crunching sound?
Thanks
Rick

I have an extremely high spot (hump) in in one quarter of my 8x10 kitchen floor. Holding a 4' level centered on the high spot it is well over 1/4 in higher at either end. I would like to install a laminate floating floor. How do I eliminate this hump. Thanks.

What can I do to level out my concrete floor in my basement? The floor is uneven and has humps in them.

I am remolding my kitchen and the new cabinets have already been installed. I have notice the floor seems to slate a little (1/4 to 1/2 in) from one corner. I was planning to put down a bruce engineered hard wood floor.Do I need to jack up the floor and take a chance of cracking my drywall or can I use a self leveling compound? I could not find a thread about this, so I hope you can help.

Tim-
Very informative, thank-you. My concern is that laying asphalt shingle under hardwood will produce a crackling effect (or affect... I'm not a grammer teacher)when you step on it. Has this ever been an issue that you know of? Your comments will be EXTREMELY valuable!

Doesn't the leveling compound crack when driving nails through it?

The shingle technique is intriguing. I guess the granules on the shingles stay intact over time?

Can you shim with layers of 30# felt, or does that compress over time? Would be easy to cut in overlarge areas (I have a subfloor installed by disgrunteled carpenters apparently. Every other joist is crowned upside down)

Thanks
Alan

Tim,
We enclosed a large wood porch at a winter place. The problem is the floor was laid down on a salint for water run off. And the joist are already down and now the walls are put up. Can I still lay down shingles to level this out. I want to lay down floating cork flooring.
Thanks for any help Donna

I have a maple harwood floor I want to install. The room is 12' x 12' which has a wood subfloor with a glued down vinyl floor which is in great shape; however, there is one area where it ends in a door way (the vinyl flooring has curled up and has tore in 3" x 15" area. Can I leave down the vinyl floor and if so what do I do with the problem area?

My second problem is the floor dips in 2 corners about 1/4" (on the same wall) but levels out in the middle of the floor. You suggest using regular roofing shingles. Can you layer the shingles on top of each other to level out the problem areas? If I decide to use a concrete leveling compound instead can I apply over the vinyl?

I have a few issues with my install,My house was built back in 1947 with the subfloor being a 2 inch wide x 3/4 thick oak plank.The room is about 14 feet long 12 feet wide with the joist's running the width and the plank subfloor running the length, like I had planned on running my 3/4 Brazillian Cherry.The planks have toed up where they didnt split the joist and just run any length then run another piece.The joist are easly gotten to because the wash room is directly underneath in the basement,I have thought of ripping some 2x6s or 2x8s to fit tightly between the joist,laying these flat aginst the planks to give me a 6 or 8 inch nailer and screwing the planks from the top to these nailers in the high spots or lay some 1/4 inch (louen?) like under vinyl floors then useing your shingle trick or self leveler or the possibility of ripping all the planks up and useing some 3/4 plywood has crossed my mind since this would match my carpet line and the stair nose in the ajoining rooms. Whats your suggestions?

Thanks in advance
Jason

We hope to install second hand junckers beech, 22mm T&G, over a concrete floor of about 130 metres square. The size and level worries us. There is a variation in levels of up to 100mm. We are prepared to go up to 100mm above the HIGHEST point. What thicknesses of joists can we lay down and what is the best way to create adequate level and should we lay a chipbpoard layer before the beech? Other tips and admonishments gratefully accepted. Andrew

what type of self leveling compound do you suggest.Is thinset ok or would it crack when I nail the hardwood down.

Very clever with the shingles.

We're actually installing a new floor over an existing oak hardwood floor. We're going to glue it down, because of the difficulty in driving the nails into solid oak.

I don't want to use a typical floor leveller on any depressions, because it's concrete-based and would not hold the glue. Are there any other substances (caulks or the like, maybe liquid nails?) you can recommend?

Hello Tim,

I am currently building a house and the hardwood was just installed. The house is a pre-fab and came in sections. The builders then placed 3/8" plywood over the initial 1/2" aspenite on the premade sections and overlapped the joints.

The hardwood installers couldn't see the joints and laid down the hardwood and now there are three humps down(Two in one room and one in another).

They suggest just taking up 5 pieces wide(3 1/4" width hardwood)and replacing this and screwing down last piece.

Is this acceptable?

Thanks,
Molloy

We have a 1927 Sears catalog home that has had room after room added on. As far as we can tell all the added on rooms have only subfloors which consists of tongue and grove pine and each room has a slope. We don't want to necessarily put in the tradional hardwood floors. Can this same tip of using aspalt shingles also work if you want to put in a laminate flooring rather than tradional hardwood?

Tim, I'm preparing to add a maple wood floor which the manufacturer recommands a 5/8 inch subfloor. Presently, my subfloor consists of an 1/2 inch plywood. There are highs and lows which will need to be leveled out. What should I do about the 1/2 inch plywood? Should I add a 1/4 inch plywood to meet the manufacture's recommandation. Or should I use a 3/4 inch plywood on top of my 1/2 inch subfloor and then level out the high and low using roofing shingles?

Hi Tim,
I recently placed 3/4" plywood over the original wood floor. I now noticed a gap of 1/8 to 3/16" that is about 6" wide and 11 feet long. This gap runs along three joist. In this case, should I the shingle method or should I use three sister joist to level that section. Also, if I use the shingle method, should I use the shingle to level the original wood floor and then place the plywood over it, or shingle above the plywood.
Thanking you in advance...Ed

Hi Tim,
Is it just as good to use wood shim rather than shingles to level the floor. Thanks .... Eddie

In addition to the variations in the height of the floor which I will rectify with shingles as you suggested, I will have to install 1/4 in. underlay to bring the floor level with ceramic tiles in adjacent areas. Should I apply the poplar underlay first and then use the ashphalt tiles to level the trouble spots or do I level first and then apply the underlay on top?
I loopk forward to your recommendations
Cheers!
A Butler

Never heard of using shingles, but it will solve many of my problems over just using a leveling compond.

Question: how high would you stack the shingles udner manufactured flooring like pergo?

The floor under the fridge has about a 3/4 inch drop.

Thanks-Greg

I am using asphalt shingles to fill in some low spots due to excessive crowning of joists --
When I walk over the sections already filled in whith shingles I hear crackling -- will this noise go away after I install the hardwood flooring or am I doing something wrong?

Thank you for the information. I have a dip of nearly 1/2" where an addition was added to the house. When putting down the shingles, I noticed that they make a gravely noise when you walk on them. Is this going to dissapear when the floor is nailed down over them?

Jeff
Chico, CA

My house is 100+ years old. When working on the floor some time ago, we discovered that instead of beams under the floor there are logs...complete with the bark still on them. Needless to say, the floor is definitely not level.

Will the shingle method work well with this, too.

Hi Tim,

I have the opposite of the crowning issue. A previous owner removed the load-bearing post-and-beam system in the basement which caused the whole house to "slump". The old full-dimension joists held up well and a steel post and I-beam was installed to pick up the load. We jacked the basement joists up as much as we could but we're left with about a 2" valley along the long axis of the rectangular house.

Do you suggest the shingle method for this issue as well? Would a liquid leveler be better or would you recommend a "sleeper" system.

Thanks,
Chris
Chicago

I know you suggest running the 3/4" planks perpendicular to the joists, but what can i do if i want to run them parallel?

I have a similar problem with a twist. Instead of peaks and valleys, I have two sections that seem to slope down. The room is 14x14. The floor is close to flat except at one side. The floor changes plane at a joist 30 inches from the wall running parallel. The floor at the wall is just under 1/4 inch below where is should be if it was in plane with the rest of the room. Just to one side of this same wall is an entrance hall of about 5 feet long. At its far end where it abuts the hardwood floor at the entrance hall, it has a similar problem but with less of a gap. I am worried about building up the two sloped areas as this would result in a step problem at the hallway. Do you have any recommendations? Thanks, Ted

I have a floor that is supported by joists attached to a main beam running down the center of the room. This beam is supported by a pillar on one end and the outside wall on the other. The beaM and the joists are level where they connect to the outside walls. The problem is the pillar side of the beam is about 7/8" low giving the room a bowl effect. The engineer said there is no structural problem, but the pillar cannot be adjusted to fix this. How can I level this before I install my hardwood. I was installing cabinets which is how I found the problem.

Thanks

Holley

putting down a floating floor,when I removed the carpet the whole floor was rooled roofing over tongue and groove planks.Nothing was evev close to being flat, the tar in some areas was melted into the wood.After approx. 40 hrs. of scraping the floor is clean but not flat. To fix this I am down in the basement jacking up the floor planks, shiming and renailing them to achieve a flat surface to start. Am I going about this all wrong? I know I would like to strangle the person that put the roofing mat'l down. Maybe they could have sandwiched it in plastic. What do you think?

I'm installing floating laminate hardwood floor over uneven concrete. Can I use your shingle leveling method? If so, what sort of shingles? Should I glue them together as I level so they don't drift?

Thanks!

Dear Tim,

We recently bought a 1953 condo, and I'm currently renovating it. It has a plank subfloor (1x5) on top of 2x10 joists spaced 16". I fixed most of the squeaks by pulling a lot of the nails out, and putting screws into each plank (a couple of metal joist supports still squeak and crack a bit). Main problem is that the floors are very bouncy! However I don't think pulling all the subfloor, reinforcing joists, and laying down 3/4 TG ply is worth the hassle for such an old construction, is it? Kitchen also had a nasty dip in the middle (in an 8' space, more than 1/2" in the middle). I was going to use wood shingles before, but then read this article and used roofing ones instead. I am a little concerned because of the amount of shingles I used (90% of kitchen is covered, with 3-4 shingles in thickest points). I just put down 7/16 OSB, and the floor is quiet and less bouncy. Next step for me is to put down 30# felt in some places for final leveling, and then 15# across the whole floor as a hydro barrier. Bamboo will be nailed right into that. Are all of these steps correct, or do you have any suggestions? Does weight become an issue for these old, weak joists?

Thank you in advance!
Dmitry

I have slate flooring in my foyer and different surface (ceramic tile) on the rest of the first floor. I recently purchased an engineered floor (Austin Springs Loc-to-Fit)because I am on a concrete slab. There is some give in the foyer due to the uneveness of the slate flooring. The installer put some self level on but I am concered it was not enough. The floor is bouncy in the foyer. Can this be fixed?

Dear Tim,

Is there a limit to how many roofing shingles I can use to level the floor? I covered about 85% of the kitchen floor, with thickest layer having 4-5 shingles, on top of 1x4 plank subfloor. On the shingles I'm putting 7/16 OSB, and then a final leveling with different weight roof felt (Bamboo will go on top of that).

Does weight become a concern in this situation? The floor is very bouncy, as well as bumpy. The trouble is in its construction (1953), as the 2x10 kitchen joists span 16 feet for example. This is in a condo however, and not much can be done to really fix this (nor will it make sense).

Thank you for any insight and suggestions in advance!!!

Dmitry

I am installing a hardwood floor in by master bedroom. after getting the carpet up noticed my chipboard subfloor, is not level in multi areas, would it be best to sand down the high and lows and then put down a 1/4 inch subfloor on top to blend out the difference? I have already laid almost 1000 square feet. this is the worst I have seen yet in my home.

All help you have to offer would be great not m

when using shingles to fill in gaps, do you end up with a noise problem. I'm thinking that they would make a noise from the stones on the shingles. Wouldn't you hear a crunching noise?

Tim,

I have areas upstairs where I'm putting 5/8 bamboo. The subfloor has some issues and several people have suggested using 1/2 hardie underneath then glue the flooring to it. Suggestions?

After I nail them don't, put down the underlayment and lay the floor, I won't get a crunching noise when you walk on the floor?

Dear Tim,

I removed layers of old carpet and linoleum from the second floor of my 1920th house, and discovered a well-preserved finished cedar (guessing here) floor with no subfloor under it -- just tongue and groove on joists that are 29" apart.

I want to keep this original floor and just paint it over, but I wonder if there might be a safety issue. When I walk on the floor it seems fine, but when my 250-pound husband walks, the planks between joists visibly bend under his feet. He thinks that if somebody jumps on this floor, they'd go right through.

My question is should we be concerned? Or is it normal for an old floor to behave this way?