Im getting ready to install a bamboo floor in an old house (as some of you may have read in a previous thread) and am trying to figure out the best way to level the floor. There is old fir T&G which is pretty wavy, and slopes about an inch from one side of the room to the other.
I’ll be putting down new plywood subfloor… should I level the floor with self leveling compound, or try to shim between the old floor and the new subfloor? Any good techniqes/ suggestions? I’ve used the self leveling stuff quite a bit on concrete (under VCT or carpet tiles), but never in this application. Will I be able to fasten thru it?
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In "old houses" crooked floors are what appeals to me, one inch is not all that much depending on the size of the room of course. How old is "old"? My first concern would be why is it out one inch? If accessible from underneath, I would look underneath. Sometimes jacking a few floor joists & adding some shims solves the problem pretty quickly without leveling compound.
I agree, I'm not worried about it sloping so much as taking any low/ high spots out to prevent sqeaks, soft spots, etc. The house (about 100 - 120 years old) had all of the posts and beams replaced in the crawl space, and was jacked up as much as possible. So, it shouldnt be settling any more. Removing the subfloor isnt really an option as there are no joists, just beams on about 4' centers, with 3 layers of 1" fir on top.
As a vapor barrier, I'm planning on installing 30lb tar paper under the flooring. Also planning on gluing and screwing the new sublfoor down to the old fir. And, I'm assuming that I will use self leveling compund on any low spots. Anyone see any problems with this?
I would take up the old subfloor, level the tops of the joists with shims, and install a new 1-1/4" T&G plywood subfloor, glued and screwed.