Any flooring guys in here?

[1LtCAP 4,264]

hi guys. doing work in my house. it's a 1900 era build. built by drunken monkeys snorting crack while on a bad lsd trip.

 

 anyway......setting up to do laminate flooring. pulling up the lineolium to check on the plywood that's on top of the old/original tongue and groove. in the hallway, the tongue and groove is high in the middle of the hallway. how the hell do i level this shit out?

 

 thanks guys

[glockncolts 50]

Floor leveler

[Malsua 1,422]

Is it a high spot seam or just a crowning of the hallway?  It also depends on how much.

 

If it's not too much, rent a floor sander and knock it down.  If you have a high seam, you can use a DADO blade, or possible just a router  and cut down the plywood in that spot.

 

It may also be possible to jack up either side and install house jack stands.

 

I've not done that much flooring and only found leveler to be good for smaller areas.  I suppose a pro could do an entire floor with it, but how do you manage connecting areas? 

 

In areas where it was just a very slight difference I've used an extra layer of rosin paper.

[1LtCAP 4,264]

the floor is tongue and groove. the old style. i pulled everything off of the base floor, and it's the floorboards themselves. it's about an inch to an inch and a half. i want to put down laminate, and need to level this crap before i can do it. i'd expected to find that the plywood that was laid down on top of the tongue and groove(sometime in the 60's) had warped....but it doesn't look like it's gonna be that easy......

[siderman 1,139]

do you have visual access to the floor underneath? if so look for either the t/g itself warping or a crowning joist, may help finding the base problem and the path to fix it. does the floor sqeek at the hi point?

[1LtCAP 4,264]

[url=http://s200.photobucket.com/user/1LTCAP/media/98830061-ea2e-4ee9-900c-8273476[/url]

[siderman 1,139]

can you get a look from underneath, as in basement/crawlspace? looks like a joint opened up a got filled with glue/putty a while back?

that cross-grain pc may have impacted the settling over time too. if it was my house and depending on area I'd just r/r the area with new wood. if you can see from underneath if the t/g lifted off the joist, maybe a parallel rip along the seam will provide enough relief to screw the brds down.

[CMJeepster 2,781]

Call this guy:

 

[Luke_WO 11]

Be careful if you decide to use a "self-leveling" product. My family owns an epoxy flooring business, and our stuff is "self-leveling," but all that means is that the coat we put on will level itself out - if the floor is uneven, it will follow the contour of the floor. Seems self explanatory, but it happens all the time where people say, "But I thought your material would fix the wavy concrete." Not the case. If the high spot is drastic enough, you're probably talking about having to skreed or float whatever material you're using if it's liquid.

 

Also be careful about cementitious material, like Ardex. That stuff is so finicky, it has to be poured just right at the perfect ratio, or it will crack.

 

If you can simply sand the shit out of it to get it level, that's what I would do. I'm not sure how high the apex of the floor is compared to the low spots, but if it's too high to sand, your best bet is to probably build up the low spots with plywood to meet the desired height.

[Malsua 1,422]

You would probably be better served to just cut all that out and put down some 3/4 plywood and then put your 1/2" or whatever underlayment needs to be there to bring it even with the rest.   You can plane and massage whatever is underneath to get it level.

 

Looking at that makes me think there's a joist sitting under the middle and you have cross members that run to either side that have sagged.    A picture from underneath would be helpful.

 

I also have an 80 year old house and remodeled a few years ago and dealt with this exact issue.

[Silence Dogood 468]

I second looking underneath.  Are the joists running properly at 90 degrees to the floor boards?  Are the joists level?  What has sagged?  The actual 1 1/2" out-of-level is more than the boards are thick.

[Zeke 5,504]

I'm gonna guess that's where the girder is.

Plane/grind/ hatchet/ sand some of the crown.

Build up the low spots.

 

Industry standard for what you have is commonly referred to as " character ".

 

Why laminate? Get conventional pre finished and run the same way and retain the " character ". Just a thought

[Scorpio64 5,173]

Old houses are such a joy.   No, not really....  I'm facing a similar problem with my built in 1908 house.  I've used dash patch with great success in the bathrooms before laying ceramic tile.  Mix it right and it pours beautifully.  A good laser level will help you mark a chalk line for the pour and if you don't pour enough you just pour more. No screeding necessary.

 

My kitchen on the other hand is too large to level with dash and has it's own unique issues. It has a small extension with a bay window that sunk about 1.75 inches.  On top of that there's four layers of flooring and luan plywood  I'm thinking about ripping up everything down to the joists, shimming and redoing it from the sub-floor up. I'm pretty sure my wife is going to hate me for a while.

[Zeke 5,504]

Old houses are such a joy. No, not really.... I'm facing a similar problem with my built in 1908 house. I've used dash patch with great success in the bathrooms before laying ceramic tile. Mix it right and it pours beautifully. A good laser level will help you mark a chalk line for the pour and if you don't pour enough you just pour more. No screeding necessary.

 

My kitchen on the other hand is too large to level with dash and has it's own unique issues. It has a small extension with a bay window that sunk about 1.75 inches. On top of that there's four layers of flooring and luan plywood I'm thinking about ripping up everything down to the joists, shimming and redoing it from the sub-floor up. I'm pretty sure my wife is going to hate me for a while.

You'll find the bay was improperly cantilevered. Short joist scabbed along side the commons.

Guys were cutting by hand back then.

 

A good trick for floor off leveling is using 3/4 ply rips full span. Cdx, not cheap crap. Infill nailing on joist with automatic plywood straight line.( you feeling me?). Ply wood is serious muscle, ergo TJI's now commonly used. Glue , screw , tattoo!

 

Water, sun and time kill homes and mountains.

[1LtCAP 4,264]

DUMB QUESTIONS

what's skreeding?

 

what're rips?

[Luke_WO 11]

DUMB QUESTIONS

what's skreeding?

 

what're rips?

https://www.hovertrowel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/roller-screed-2-225x300.jpg

 

That's a link to a pic of a guy using a screed box. It's basically a method of applying mortars uniformly. We use it when we're building up and level-coating depressions in a floor - we mix our epoxy with silica sand to make a mortar and lay it out over the existing floor.

[Zeke 5,504]

DUMB QUESTIONS

what's skreeding?

 

what're rips?

Rips= with grain, in your case with hallway/with board.( going same direction with saw)

Cross cut= perpendicular to grain.

 

Pics somewhat vague, if you step on your "hump" does it move?

[1LtCAP 4,264]

thanks guys. the hump doesn't move. when i was hammering some of the staples down, it sounded solid on the hump. boards move slightly on either side of the hump though. i'm gonna go down in the basement tonight to see where this lines up.

[Zeke 5,504]

thanks guys. the hump doesn't move. when i was hammering some of the staples down, it sounded solid on the hump. boards move slightly on either side of the hump though. i'm gonna go down in the basement tonight to see where this lines up.

It's above the girder, main beam. I'll bet you a beer.

I've seen flooring swell and hump due to flooding. But if it doesn't move, it's jus and old tired house bro, with " character "!

Was flat when they built it

[mustang69 505]

I would think the joists underneath run the opposite way from the flooring.  You need to look underneath, either from below or by pulling one of the floorboards.  If it turns out to be from a joist you might be able to get away with cutting some from that joist and sistering up a twin for strength.  That all depends on where that joist goes to and what supports it from below.

[1LtCAP 4,264]

It's above the girder, main beam. I'll bet you a beer.

I've seen flooring swell and hump due to flooding. But if it doesn't move, it's jus and old tired house bro, with " character "!

Was flat when they built it

you would be correct. i just came up outta the basement. where that hump is is where there's a main beam that runs from the front of the house to the rear of the house. right about where the stick in the picture is sitting on the hump, there is a support post from the basement floor  to the beam. that is also where it's the worst. as i move towards the front door(about 6-10ft behind where i was standing when i took the picture) it gets flatter. just beyond the top of the picture is the kitchen. that floor is flat as can be. like imentioned before, on the other side of the wall on the left side of the picture is my bedroom, and on the other side of the wall on the right is my living room. there is no slope in the floor in either of those rooms, confirmed with a level.

 

 i guess it looks like i just need to build up? the low areas, then a thin sheet of ply, then the laminate?

 

 someone above had asked why i chose laminate......a few reasons. first and formost, i'm a careless fuck. from everything i can find, laminate stands up to abuse pretty well. secondly, i like the hardwood look, and so does mom(scares the shit outta me when she agrees with me, lol). laminate can give me that look, for stupidly cheap. easy maintenance, and easy assembly too.

[1LtCAP 4,264]

I would think the joists underneath run the opposite way from the flooring.  You need to look underneath, either from below or by pulling one of the floorboards.  If it turns out to be from a joist you might be able to get away with cutting some from that joist and sistering up a twin for strength.  That all depends on where that joist goes to and what supports it from below.

yes. the joists run east/west, the flooring runs north/south.

[capt14k 2,052]

Laminates can be good, but do yourself a favor and don't buy the cheap crap from Home Depot. Best laminate is Berry Alloc and it isn't that much more expensive.

 

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Luke_WO 11]

Stay away from the Lumber Liquidators bamboo laminate, too. That shit causes cancer.

[bhunted 887]

Think that was addressed. It was pulled and I believe a law suit is involved for selling illegal woods.

http://www.classaction.org/lumber-liquidators

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lumber-liquidators-linked-to-health-and-safety-violations/

 

Stay away from the Lumber Liquidators bamboo laminate, too. That shit causes cancer.

[DeerSlayer 241]

hi guys. doing work in my house. it's a 1900 era build. built by drunken monkeys snorting crack while on a bad lsd trip.

 

anyway......setting up to do laminate flooring. pulling up the lineolium to check on the plywood that's on top of the old/original tongue and groove. in the hallway, the tongue and groove is high in the middle of the hallway. how the hell do i level this shit out?

 

thanks guys

A product called Level best.

[1LtCAP 4,264]

who makes it? i ain't finding it on a google search?

[1LtCAP 4,264]

looking at prices on floor sanders........holy shit.

 

 if i were gonna try to lower the high spot some by sanding....wonder how i'd make out with a handheld sander?

[capt14k 2,052]

Lumber Liquidators sells even worse garbage than Home Depot and Lowes. If you can't find Berry Alloc at a decent price PM me.

 

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

 

[1LtCAP 4,264]

i'm glad you guys warned me. i was looking at the laminate at home depot....then mom told me she'd seen a flyer in the sale papers for lumber liquidators........