How to Level a Floor Before Putting Down Hardwood Flooring
Easy to use products make leveling a cracked, sagging, or warped floor possible
If you are ready to upgrade the floor coverings in your home, or even if you are installing them for the first time, it is vitally important that the sub-floor be level, smooth and free from blemishes. Self leveling floor compounds, which you can mix and apply yourself, are an ideal solution. The products, coupled with easy to install sub-flooring panels, will ensure that your finished floor covering is free from cracks, sags and creaks for years to come.
Step 1
Apply a Bonding Agent to the Existing Concrete
A latex bonding agent must be applied to the existing concrete slab to ensure that the self-leveling floor compound adheres correctly. The bonding agent can be purchased at the home improvement store with the rest of your flooring products. Make sure that the surface is as clean as possible, and is free from any dust or debris. Apply the bonding agent around the corners with an inexpensive paint brush, and then complete the job using a mop.
Step 2
Establish a Routine for Mixing and Pouring
The floor leveler itself is a product that dries fairly quickly, so you need to be efficient in the process of mixing it up and pouring it. This is a process that is best done with a few people, so enlist some friends or family to help you set up an assembly line of sorts, with one crew mixing fresh product, while the other is transporting it inside to the crew that is pouring. Be sure to check the video clip for Ron's tip about pre-measuring the water for your mixture!
Step 3
Tips for Pouring the Floor Leveler
Pour the floor leveling slurry slowly out onto the floor. Begin in one corner and work your way across the room. You will notice that you don't need to work with the product to move it into the right location, it will find its own way there as it seeks its level. It is very important that you work towards the door! Don't pour yourself into a corner! Once you've successfully made your way out the door, you can reach back in with a long handled garden rake to smooth out any lumps, although these should be minimal if you've mixed the product to the proper consistency.
Step 4
Fill any Blemishes
If you are working with a large space, you may find that some of the floor level starts to set up before you are able to get back to it with the next bucket full. This can create a small ridge, as the product doesn't have the opportunity to flow together as one solid unit. These ridges can be eliminated with a different compound that is mixed and spread with a trowel. This same product can be used to fill any small cracks that may have been caused by holes or cracked grout in the existing floor.
Step 5
Choose the Best Product for the Sub-Flooring
There are a number of products available for you to use as a sub-floor. This particular project is going to be completed with hardwood flooring, so we must install a subfloor that can be nailed into. The Dri-Core product is perfect for that. It is thick enough to be nailed into, and also has a water resistant backing, just in case there are ever problems with moisture. Additionally, it is fairly easy to install, as it fits together with a tongue and groove system that doesn't require any nails or glue.
Step 6
Tips for installing the Dri-Core Sub-flooring
When installing any sub-flooring product, it is important to leave a space of approximately 3/8" around the outside edge of the room. This will allow the floor to expand seasonally, without causing any of the panels or finished flooring to buckle. You can use a spacer to help you maintain a consistent gap, and then remove it once the sub-floor is down. You will also want to make sure the seams of your sub-flooring material are staggered. Much like laying brick, this creates a much stronger, more stable surface that is less likely to move under normal wear and tear.
Step 7
Ensuring the best results from hardwood flooring
To ensure the best long term fit and results from hardwood flooring, allow it to rest in the room where it is to be installed for 48 -72 hrs before you actually put it down. This will allow the wood to acclimate to the temperature and humidity of the room and to avoid later buckling.
Step 8
Determining where to begin and unrolling vapor barrier
Once you've determined the direction that you want the planks of your floor to run, it's time to begin. Run a chalk line to ensure the first run of planks is straight, and then snap it down. Don't rely on the wall to serve as a straight line, as they often aren't! Unroll the vapor barrier that will sit underneath the hardwood, running it up a few inches onto the wall. This will be trimmed away later. The pieces of the vapor barrier can be overlapped and then taped together with duct tape.
Step 9
Starting the Pattern
Begin the installation of the hardwood flooring itself by opening a full carton and laying it out into a rough pattern that matches up the color variations and wood grains in a way that you like. Once you've establish a preliminary layout, install the first row on the chalk line we snapped in Step 8. You should be able to see it through the clear vapor barrier. The first row should be face nailed into place. These holes can be filled when the project is done.
Step 10
Using a Flooring Stapler
The tongue and groove system of installing hardwood flooring allow you to use an angled flooring stapler. The fasteners will be hidden, with each nail head hiding underneath the groove of each successive piece that you install. As you install the successive rows of hardwood flooring, you may find that some pieces fit together better than others. Stubborn pieces can be persuaded to fit into place by using a plastic block to lightly tap them to the grooves. Avoid using a hammer for this, as it will damage the tongue and groove system. A pull bar can also be used to work difficult pieces into place near walls or corners where your block may not fit. These tools are available at the home improvement store where you purchased the flooring.
Step 11
Finishing touches
Once the final pieces have been trimmed and nailed into place, (you may have to face nail a few more if your stapler won't fit into corners or up against walls), its time to install the baseboard. This is also the time to use a matching hole filler to fill any nail holes you created in the floor by face nailing.
15Project Comments
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Ron this is some great information. I need to level an old fir floor, install a sub floor followed by hard wood. Is this type of product appropriate to use on existing wood with some cracks in it?
Brian
Apr 27, at 11:22pm
I had a flooring contractor level a 3/4 tongue and groove particle board sub floor with wooden strips of wood. The uneven section was about 4x4 feet at the entrance of the sliding rear door with no sign of water damage or moisture but the first 2 strips of new flooring are starting to bow. Now when it is walked on the floor squeaks Im assuming that this section of flooring must be removed and leveled properly? type of flooring that was used was 31/4x3/4 tongue and groove red oak. The unfinished basement below the floor does not show any signs of sagging.
jack yanovitch
Apr 24, at 9:06am
Wow looks so easy to accomplish in a few days.
andy
Apr 19, at 12:52am
theres also a floor leveling product called “gypcrete” that is usually pumped in through a hose system, and it works well for bigger jobs.
richard crowley
Mar 4, at 1:36pm
I am planning to install a floating laminate flooring in the kitchen and adjoining hallway my 62 yr old house, first floor, over a basement. The old flooring has been taken down to the original 9” (linoleum?) tiles, which I have been told could have asbestos and should be left in place, under the underlayment and laminate. Can I use the leveling compound on this material? Also…as the floor meets carpet at 4 transition areas, a lower flooring level at the bathroom (ceramic tile) and a stairway off the kitchen leading to the basement, how do I keep the leveling material only in the spaces I need leveled, and avoid it getting into lower areas (down the stairs, into the bathroom) or onto the carpeting? Is there a way to apply the material so it just sits in the lowest areas?
Joyce
Dec 28, at 5:47am
I have a question - I have a similar room as the one in the video. I do not want laminate floors, but the bruce product would be excellent for my family room as well as your 4 seasons room. I’m looking for the bruce flooring used in the video - 5/16ths strips. Would you please provide me with additional information about the bruce flooring, “Echo” ? whatever? I looked for it on the internet at Lowes and Home Depot. I come up with nothing. Please respond.
Thank you,
Loretta
Loretta Levi
Dec 17, at 5:21pm
Thanks for this video and advise. I am sure it will help with my project. I have an old house with a large verandah. I want to level the verandah floor. It is an “L” shape and was built to allow water drainage to the outside. I need the 12m x 3m section to be level so that we can play carpet bowls on the verandah.
I need to raise the level by 40mm in places. The existing floor is very smooth and want to know whether i need to chip the existing plaster or what other method to bind the new concrete. I thought i might use a wire mesh on top of the old floor.
Regards Trevor
Trevor
Oct 30, at 5:14am
The concrete floor in my garage needs to be leveled and smoothed out. It has some low spots and the surface is crumbling in some spots. No one in the area seems to know what product would work in a self leveling way. If there is a product that I could pour down and resurface the floor that would be just the ticket. Do you or anyone out there know what the name of a product that would work for me??? Thanks !
Maggie.
maggie moore
Oct 2, at 4:35am
The same guy at Lowes who says to not use a primer probably doesn’t prime new drywall or over glossy paint. It looks good for awhile, but give it a few bumps in the real world and it just doesn’t hold up as well as it could. I have had bad experiences not using primer when I was ignorant but swear by it now. Use the primer!
Justin
Sep 26, at 4:34pm
I’m trying to level my kitchen with a basement underneath. How to I prevent the self leveler from flowing down the heat register or water pipe holes?
leggtree
Aug 25, at 10:33pm
if you live in a two story home with a basement but its not for the basement its for a living room can you still use that floor leveling
yaniyah
Aug 13, at 8:38pm
thank you that was great now I can level my floors the right way lol. Tried a different approach and had bad results been eating at me now I know thanks. warren
warren
Aug 12, at 1:56am
Christ, leveling the floor is covered in the sequence of videos you replied to.
Ron, I have a question for you. One guy in Lowe’s has told me that using a primer prior to using a self-leveling compound isn’t really necessary. He said it’s recommended so that people would spend more money. Do you have a bad experience using a self-leveling compound without using a primer prior to that?
Roman
Aug 3, at 6:08pm
Ron this project is great and easy to follow. I have a home that was built prior to 1900 and the floors need leveling prior to the installation of new flooring. How about a project explaining how an individual would accomplish this leveling procedure.
Christ Wendling
Jul 10, at 12:37pm
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You did a wonderful job in your Four Seasons room ,l will copy your step by step on my computer room for my husband and hope it will be a beautiful as yours .Many thanks Ethel