How To Level Old Unevel Floor

If you have an uneven floor you may need to think about leveling floor joists with shims.

How to level old unevel floor.

Before you do you ll need to level the floor. Epoxy won t just finish out the floor. Raise the lower end of the level until the bubble is centered then measure the distance from the bottom of the level to the floor to find the depth of the dip. Lay a long level downhill on the floor with one end of the level on the level part of the floor and the other end at the lowest point.

When you re finished spread some concrete leveler primer over the floor and let it dry until it has a tacky finish. If the floor is uneven lift up the board until it is level so you ll know how much flooring compound you ll need to even it out. Then go over any particularly high spots with a concrete grinder so they re level with the rest of the floor. You will have to make sure your joists can handle the addition of considerably more weight from the plywood subfloor and any floor coverings.

The material will level itself automatically filling in any low spot and oozing around high spots rather than making them higher. On the top side of the floor another fix it idea to lay down new hardwood over the existing floor. If the area is very large use a long straight 2 in 4 in 5 1 cm 10 2 cm board and set your level on top of it. If the uneven floor is due to floor joists that have warped or twisted over time or were incorrectly installed the only way to level the floor is to remove the subflooring and shim the joists.

This job can run you 1 000 and 5 000 depending on the extent of the job. The most durable and attractive option for an uneven floor is often a pour on option such as epoxy. Modern epoxy can be designed to mimic a variety of appearances from hardwood to galaxy designs. When you are dealing with uneven floors one option that you have is to use self leveling compound.

You simply pour the leveling compound on the floor and then smooth it out. To level concrete floors start by cleaning the floor and filling in any cracks or holes with concrete filler and sealer. This compound can potentially be utilized on a concrete slab or a wood subfloor and it works well when you are dealing with dips in the floor. Floors are rarely perfectly level.

Leveling the floor with shims is when you attach thin wedge shaped pieces of wood on top of the low areas of the joists to make the top joists even. A plywood subfloor will bridge any minor waves in the existing floor and leveling compound would help too. When properly installed it will actually even out the floor.