I am about to begin reflooring the main level in the house. One thing
I know I'll have issues with is the fact that the floor is not level.
I could see/feel dips and rises through the carpet, so I know I will
have to adjust the underfloor to some extent.

I did a search online for some ideas of how to best level the floor,
but none of the articles I found were very good. For example, what's
the maximum thickness of leveling compound you should use? When
should you shim instead of using leveling compound, etc? What do you
do about rises right next to a wall (assuming the floor board actually
goes under the wall? What unexpected special cases might I run into?
Nails or screws? What about squeeks? etc

This is for the main level of the house, so I want to do this
properly, but I also have a time constraint. I'd rather not run into
situations at the last minute that I hadn't thought of. Does anyone
know of any good articles on the subject, or can anyone offer any
advice?

Thanks

John

On May 7, 2:34*pm, John wrote:
I am about to begin reflooring the main level in the house. *One thing
I know I'll have issues with is the fact that the floor is not level.
I could see/feel dips and rises through the carpet, so I know I will
have to adjust the underfloor to some extent.

I did a search online for some ideas of how to best level the floor,
but none of the articles I found were very good. *For example, what's
the maximum thickness of leveling compound you should use? *When
should you shim instead of using leveling compound, etc? *What do you
do about rises right next to a wall (assuming the floor board actually
goes under the wall? *What unexpected special cases might I run into?
Nails or screws? *What about squeeks? etc

This is for the main level of the house, so I want to do this
properly, but I also have a time constraint. *I'd rather not run into
situations at the last minute that I hadn't thought of. *Does anyone
know of any good articles on the subject, or can anyone offer any
advice?

Thanks

John

get a structural engineers opinion if the main level has standard
floor construction.

if its woood you might have termites or carpenter ants weakening your
floors

On 5/7/2011 3:27 PM, bob haller wrote:
On May 7, 2:34 pm, wrote:
I am about to begin reflooring the main level in the house. One thing
I know I'll have issues with is the fact that the floor is not level.
I could see/feel dips and rises through the carpet, so I know I will
have to adjust the underfloor to some extent.

I did a search online for some ideas of how to best level the floor,
but none of the articles I found were very good. For example, what's
the maximum thickness of leveling compound you should use? When
should you shim instead of using leveling compound, etc? What do you
do about rises right next to a wall (assuming the floor board actually
goes under the wall? What unexpected special cases might I run into?
Nails or screws? What about squeeks? etc

This is for the main level of the house, so I want to do this
properly, but I also have a time constraint. I'd rather not run into
situations at the last minute that I hadn't thought of. Does anyone
know of any good articles on the subject, or can anyone offer any
advice?

Thanks

John

get a structural engineers opinion if the main level has standard
floor construction.

if its woood you might have termites or carpenter ants weakening your
floors

I'll second that bigtime. If the main floor is wavy, you start looking
in the basement. If you don't have the skill set to know what to look
for, pay somebody who does. If you don't want to pay for a 'real'
engineer, a gray-haired semi-retired master carpenter would probably be
good enough.

--
aem sends...

"John" wrote in message
...
I am about to begin reflooring the main level in the house. One thing
I know I'll have issues with is the fact that the floor is not level.
I could see/feel dips and rises through the carpet, so I know I will
have to adjust the underfloor to some extent.

I did a search online for some ideas of how to best level the floor,
but none of the articles I found were very good. For example, what's
the maximum thickness of leveling compound you should use? When
should you shim instead of using leveling compound, etc? What do you
do about rises right next to a wall (assuming the floor board actually
goes under the wall? What unexpected special cases might I run into?
Nails or screws? What about squeeks? etc

This is for the main level of the house, so I want to do this
properly, but I also have a time constraint. I'd rather not run into
situations at the last minute that I hadn't thought of. Does anyone
know of any good articles on the subject, or can anyone offer any
advice?

I had a problem where an addition met an older area of the house, there was
a slight rise over a foundation wall and a drop on one side. I used leveling
compound to level the floor after using a #36 grit belt sander to reduce the
rise. Where I needed more than 3/4" of filler I glued and power nailed in
plywood filler pieces to reduce the amount of filler needed and to add to
the floor stiffness. Worked like a dream. Topped it all with 1/4" firply
glued down the the old plywood floor and filler. This gave a flat, strong
and level surface to nail the hardwood flooring onto.

On May 7, 6:03*pm, "EXT" wrote:
"John" wrote in message

...



I am about to begin reflooring the main level in the house. *One thing
I know I'll have issues with is the fact that the floor is not level.
I could see/feel dips and rises through the carpet, so I know I will
have to adjust the underfloor to some extent.

I did a search online for some ideas of how to best level the floor,
but none of the articles I found were very good. *For example, what's
the maximum thickness of leveling compound you should use? *When
should you shim instead of using leveling compound, etc? *What do you
do about rises right next to a wall (assuming the floor board actually
goes under the wall? *What unexpected special cases might I run into?
Nails or screws? *What about squeeks? etc

This is for the main level of the house, so I want to do this
properly, but I also have a time constraint. *I'd rather not run into
situations at the last minute that I hadn't thought of. *Does anyone
know of any good articles on the subject, or can anyone offer any
advice?

I had a problem where an addition met an older area of the house, there was
a slight rise over a foundation wall and a drop on one side. I used leveling
compound to level the floor after using a #36 grit belt sander to reduce the
rise. Where I needed more than 3/4" of filler I glued and power nailed in
plywood filler pieces to reduce the amount of filler needed and to add to
the floor stiffness. Worked like a dream. Topped it all with 1/4" firply
glued down the the old plywood floor and filler. This gave a flat, strong
and level surface to nail the hardwood flooring onto.


ROFL... So you fixed the symptom but didn't correct the problem...

How many times are you going to keep adding leveling compound ?

~~ Evan

On May 7, 2:34*pm, John wrote:
I am about to begin reflooring the main level in the house. *One thing
I know I'll have issues with is the fact that the floor is not level.
I could see/feel dips and rises through the carpet, so I know I will
have to adjust the underfloor to some extent.

I did a search online for some ideas of how to best level the floor,
but none of the articles I found were very good. *For example, what's
the maximum thickness of leveling compound you should use? *When
should you shim instead of using leveling compound, etc? *What do you
do about rises right next to a wall (assuming the floor board actually
goes under the wall? *What unexpected special cases might I run into?
Nails or screws? *What about squeeks? etc

This is for the main level of the house, so I want to do this
properly, but I also have a time constraint. *I'd rather not run into
situations at the last minute that I hadn't thought of. *Does anyone
know of any good articles on the subject, or can anyone offer any
advice?

Thanks

John


@John:

You need to determine why your floor is "wavy"...

You could have uneven settling, problems with the building being
under-structured for the load or issues with the methods used to
attach the structural members together when the home was built
which are now weakening things...

Joists should be adequately supported by resting on the foundation
or by means of being attached to a beam using a joist hanger...

If it is your joists which are sagging due to age you can try
sistering
new joists next to the older failing ones...

This is something that to do correctly is not a DIY task unless you
are an experienced carpenter...

~~ Evan

"Evan" wrote in message
...
On May 7, 6:03 pm, "EXT" wrote:
"John" wrote in message

...



I am about to begin reflooring the main level in the house. One thing
I know I'll have issues with is the fact that the floor is not level.
I could see/feel dips and rises through the carpet, so I know I will
have to adjust the underfloor to some extent.

I did a search online for some ideas of how to best level the floor,
but none of the articles I found were very good. For example, what's
the maximum thickness of leveling compound you should use? When
should you shim instead of using leveling compound, etc? What do you
do about rises right next to a wall (assuming the floor board actually
goes under the wall? What unexpected special cases might I run into?
Nails or screws? What about squeeks? etc

This is for the main level of the house, so I want to do this
properly, but I also have a time constraint. I'd rather not run into
situations at the last minute that I hadn't thought of. Does anyone
know of any good articles on the subject, or can anyone offer any
advice?

I had a problem where an addition met an older area of the house, there
was
a slight rise over a foundation wall and a drop on one side. I used
leveling
compound to level the floor after using a #36 grit belt sander to reduce
the
rise. Where I needed more than 3/4" of filler I glued and power nailed in
plywood filler pieces to reduce the amount of filler needed and to add to
the floor stiffness. Worked like a dream. Topped it all with 1/4" firply
glued down the the old plywood floor and filler. This gave a flat, strong
and level surface to nail the hardwood flooring onto.


ROFL... So you fixed the symptom but didn't correct the problem...

How many times are you going to keep adding leveling compound ?

No more adding. The problem was caused by a ridge forming when new wet
joists were installed next to old dried joists. They started out perfectly
level but as the new ones dried out they shrunk in height. They couldn't be
jacked up to level them with the old joists because they were nailed and
bolted in place with many utility items in the way. Originally carpeted, it
didn't become apparent until the carpet was removed. The floor needed
leveling in order to install hardwood flooring which would not be able to
negotiate the ridge.

"John" wrote in message
...
I am about to begin reflooring the main level in the house. One
thing
I know I'll have issues with is the fact that the floor is not
level.
I could see/feel dips and rises through the carpet, so I know I will
have to adjust the underfloor to some extent.


Check under the floor in the crawlspace or basement with a level. In
my case, there were joists under the floor 24 inches apart which were
"sistered" and a bathtub in that area. Of course the floor dipped in
that area. This was fixed by adding a wood beam along where the joists
were sistered and then adding pier supports under that.

In another area there was a water heater which had leaked throughout
the years and the floor boards were rotted and quite "wavy". The
joists under that were fine. So that was just a matter of replacing
the wood subfloor and floor in that area. Then pouring floor leveling
compound over the entire area. Now perfectly smooth and level.

The bumps I have are not huge, its just that they would be visible if
I have a nice shiny floor on top of them, and I don't want to go
through all the work of putting a new floor on if I'm going to be
disappointed at the end. Having taken the carpet off, it seems my
problems are limited to one specific area, which is below the
stairwell. There aren't any ants, molds, or other alarming things in
the area -- I can see some of the joists from below. It just looks
like there was some shifting over the years, but I'll know more once I
take the actual floor board off. There is another section, right
beside the main supporting wall there is a bit of a dip down. That's
a little more concerning, but again, I'll know more once I take those
floor boards off as well. It looks like I will have to reinforce the
area underneath a bit before I continue though regardless.

John

On May 9, 1:32*pm, John wrote:
The bumps I have are not huge, its just that they would be visible if
I have a nice shiny floor on top of them, and I don't want to go
through all the work of putting a new floor on if I'm going to be
disappointed at the end. *Having taken the carpet off, it seems my
problems are limited to one specific area, which is below the
stairwell. *There aren't any ants, molds, or other alarming things in
the area *-- I can see some of the joists from below. *It just looks
like there was some shifting over the years, but I'll know more once I
take the actual floor board off. *There is another section, right
beside the main supporting wall there is a bit of a dip down. *That's
a little more concerning, but again, I'll know more once I take those
floor boards off as well. *It looks like I will have to reinforce the
area underneath a bit before I continue though regardless.

John


Umm... When solving "dipping floors" it is actually much more
effective to examine the problem from below so you can see
which structural elements aren't doing their jobs properly or have
settled/become detached/bowing/etc. as it is *impossible* to
see those defects from above the floor even if you remove the
finished layer of flooring to expose the sub-floor...

~~ Evan

John wrote the following:
The bumps I have are not huge, its just that they would be visible if
I have a nice shiny floor on top of them, and I don't want to go
through all the work of putting a new floor on if I'm going to be
disappointed at the end. Having taken the carpet off, it seems my
problems are limited to one specific area, which is below the
stairwell. There aren't any ants, molds, or other alarming things in
the area -- I can see some of the joists from below. It just looks
like there was some shifting over the years, but I'll know more once I
take the actual floor board off. There is another section, right
beside the main supporting wall there is a bit of a dip down. That's
a little more concerning, but again, I'll know more once I take those
floor boards off as well. It looks like I will have to reinforce the
area underneath a bit before I continue though regardless.

John

Getting in late on the discussion.
After my house was built, I noticed a distinct hump in the LR floor.
Tested with a level and various smooth balls that rolled away from the
hump in all directions.
It seems that one floor joist was installed correctly with the hump side
up, but the hump was much greater than normal.
I went down in the basement and found the offending joist.
I then took a reciprocating saw and made 3 cuts maybe 6" apart in the
center of the offending joist from the bottom to about 1" from the top
of the joist.
Next, I went back to the LR and jumped on the floor above the offending
joist.
I heard a crack, and the floor was checked with the level and the ball,
and was level.
I then sistered a 2x6 to the cracked joist.


--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

In article ,
willshak wrote:

It seems that one floor joist was installed correctly with the hump side
up, but the hump was much greater than normal.

I learn something on a.h.r. every day. I never knew that floor joists
had humps, and were meant to be installed hump side up.

Smitty Two wrote the following:
In article ,
willshak wrote:


It seems that one floor joist was installed correctly with the hump side
up, but the hump was much greater than normal.


I learn something on a.h.r. every day. I never knew that floor joists
had humps, and were meant to be installed hump side up.


I meant the crown. I couldn't think of the correct name at the time.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On 5/24/2011 2:52 AM, Smitty Two wrote:
In article4bydnU1J6OaxYEfQnZ2dnUVZ_gKdnZ2d@supernews .com,
wrote:

It seems that one floor joist was installed correctly with the hump side
up, but the hump was much greater than normal.

I learn something on a.h.r. every day. I never knew that floor joists
had humps, and were meant to be installed hump side up.

I think he means crown. I know you know that, but some of the newbies on
here might not.

--
aem sends...