Hi all,

I am looking for a bit of advice on how to fix a flooring problem. I
want to install some new flooring (good vinyl or laminate) in my
kitchen. The cupboards/counters form a U-shape around the problem
area, which is about 5' by 10'. 8" Joists are running parallel to the
10' section.

Although I haven't done any extensive measurements, it appears that
two of the joists have a slight arc and are slightly higher than the
surrounding joists. It is possible that the surrounding joists are
too low. In either case, I have a wide hump across the floor. This
may be ok for vinyl, but it isn't suitable for laminate/ceramic and
certainly isn't very aesthetically pleasing.

To fix the problem, I am considering removing the old vinyl (house is
about 6 years old, but the vinyl is in horrible shape), cutting away
the 5/8" plywood subfloor in the problem area, and manually planing
down the offending joists. Because it is such a small space, I cannot
remove the full sheet of plywood without first removing the
cabinets/sink/etc....which I definitely do not want to do at this
point.

I was thinking of using a reciprocating saw to cut the subfloor from
below (exposed joists in the basement). This would allow removing a
section of the subfloor without ripping up an entire sheet of plywood.
Once the joists were "corrected", I would drop in a piece of plywood
(cut to fit). I plan on tacking up some 2x6 to the joists (flush with
the top) to provide a solid surface to screw the new subfloor down.

Finally, some levelling compound of some sort might be in order.

My 2nd problem....the floor doesn't seem to be particularly
solid....jumping (or simply 'bouncing' without leaving the floor)
causes items in the room to shake....particularly at the top of a tall
bookcase in the room. I am concerned that this might prevent me from
installing laminate/hardwood. I am considering adding an extra 3/8"
surface to the entire area (approx. 400 sq. ft.), but don't know if
this will buy me anything in terms of a more solid floor. Any
opinions? As I said, joists are 8", and the span is probably 10'.
I could do some cross-bracing of the joists from below, but again, I
don't know if that will result in a more stable floor.

Thanks in advance,
Dave