I am installing hard Maple pre-finished harwood floor in my second floor
bedroom. The floor seems to slope up a little bit from one end to the
other along the length of the room. About 17" from the wall it then
slopes down between 1/4" to 1/2'. I started laying down the planks from
the good side and after a few row had problem going over the ridge. If
the board is long than the edges are not flush. The outer board is
slightly higer.
Initially I started ensuring that the boards end approx 17"before the
wall and use a different piece for the last end. There are 2 problems
with this technique. I got a fairly straight joint line about 17" from
the wall (offset by an inch or two) and the second is the floor seems to
slope over the other side.
As I add more rows the slope seems to gradually increase. the boards
seem to be sitting fairly tightly on the sub floor with no gaps.

Is this going to create problems for me later? Will the floor open up at
the ridge later in the years? I have tried not to bend the planks to
fit, thereby avoiding any tension on the wood. I am hoping that this
will prevent the wood from snapping out. is there a better way?

I don't want to rip the already laid down floor to fix this. I am also
thinking of removing some of the end planks and than place some shimmy's
on the end to level the floor. Maybe cut strips of 1/4"ply and place
near the wall. Will this work? It may leave a gap between the floor and
the sub. Will this cause the floor to squeak later? I need a quick
solution as I want to finish the flooring by the next weekend.

Anyone with similar experience, please advise.

Thank You.

Have you thought about pouring a thin layer of floor leveling compound?
It's quick, easy and not expensive.
Mark L.

MM wrote:

I am installing hard Maple pre-finished harwood floor in my second floor
bedroom. The floor seems to slope up a little bit from one end to the
other along the length of the room. About 17" from the wall it then
slopes down between 1/4" to 1/2'. I started laying down the planks from
the good side and after a few row had problem going over the ridge. If
the board is long than the edges are not flush. The outer board is
slightly higer.
Initially I started ensuring that the boards end approx 17"before the
wall and use a different piece for the last end. There are 2 problems
with this technique. I got a fairly straight joint line about 17" from
the wall (offset by an inch or two) and the second is the floor seems to
slope over the other side.
As I add more rows the slope seems to gradually increase. the boards
seem to be sitting fairly tightly on the sub floor with no gaps.

Is this going to create problems for me later? Will the floor open up at
the ridge later in the years? I have tried not to bend the planks to
fit, thereby avoiding any tension on the wood. I am hoping that this
will prevent the wood from snapping out. is there a better way?

I don't want to rip the already laid down floor to fix this. I am also
thinking of removing some of the end planks and than place some shimmy's
on the end to level the floor. Maybe cut strips of 1/4"ply and place
near the wall. Will this work? It may leave a gap between the floor and
the sub. Will this cause the floor to squeak later? I need a quick
solution as I want to finish the flooring by the next weekend.

Anyone with similar experience, please advise.

Thank You.

Engineered floors will telegraph the subfloor pretty well, so you should
level the subfloor before installation. Getting some bags of self-leveling
compound and laying that down would be your easiest solution. Most
compounds can only do about 1/4" in thickness at a time, so be sure to read
the instructions first. Are you gluing or nailing the floor down? If you
are nailing, then yes the floor will squeak later as it settles in its place
and fully acclimates to your environment if you continue with your present
plans. If you are using floor adhesive the only place it might squeak is if
you don't have the right trowel size and skim over a low point in the floor.
Is your floor running horizontal or vertical to the ridge? If
horizontal, then yes, the floor will probably open up after time as the
house continues to settle. If vertical, then the tongue and groove of the
floor should hold it together.
You need to find out why you have a "ridge" in your floor. Is this a
spot where you have a loadbearing wall downstairs and the second story
overhangs this by 17"? The weight of the top story could cause such a
ridge, if it overhangs the first floor support beams.
Just a few thoughts....
Brian


"MM" wrote in message
ganews.com...
I am installing hard Maple pre-finished harwood floor in my second floor
bedroom. The floor seems to slope up a little bit from one end to the
other along the length of the room. About 17" from the wall it then
slopes down between 1/4" to 1/2'. I started laying down the planks from
the good side and after a few row had problem going over the ridge. If
the board is long than the edges are not flush. The outer board is
slightly higer.
Initially I started ensuring that the boards end approx 17"before the
wall and use a different piece for the last end. There are 2 problems
with this technique. I got a fairly straight joint line about 17" from
the wall (offset by an inch or two) and the second is the floor seems to
slope over the other side.
As I add more rows the slope seems to gradually increase. the boards
seem to be sitting fairly tightly on the sub floor with no gaps.

Is this going to create problems for me later? Will the floor open up at
the ridge later in the years? I have tried not to bend the planks to
fit, thereby avoiding any tension on the wood. I am hoping that this
will prevent the wood from snapping out. is there a better way?

I don't want to rip the already laid down floor to fix this. I am also
thinking of removing some of the end planks and than place some shimmy's
on the end to level the floor. Maybe cut strips of 1/4"ply and place
near the wall. Will this work? It may leave a gap between the floor and
the sub. Will this cause the floor to squeak later? I need a quick
solution as I want to finish the flooring by the next weekend.

Anyone with similar experience, please advise.

Thank You.