Leveling compound on wooden floor

micks_address

Hi folks,

We have some sagging on a upstairs wooden floor since we moved in 20 years ago..the joists are fine but there's a dip in the laminate flooring that was fitted. Going to get a carpenter to sort it but wondering has anyone used a leveling compound like this?

https://www.ardexbuildingproducts.ie/product/smoothing-levelling-compounds/water-based-levelling-and-smoothing-compounds/ardex-fa-20/

The other option is strip the board, new joists fitted to the existing ones where the dip is and level that way?

Cheers

Mick

Deregos.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058302705/leveling-compound-on-wooden-floor

It's worth a shot Mike. It's a much quicker and cheaper option than ripping the sagging floor out.

Try and reduce as much movement as possible in the floor by securing it tightly with screws, and scratch up the area in a crosshatch motion with a Stanley knife.

If it doesn't work, then do the bigger job would be my tuppence worth.

Lumen

No way would I use leveling compound on a wooden floor.

rob316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120778734#Comment_120778734

You can screed a timber floor you just need to fill all the gaps in the floor boards with silicone and between the floor and wall.

Alternatively you could board it out with 9mm plywood and then poor the compound on it. That's what I did when I tiled an upstairs bathroom with a dip in the floor boards.

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120797683#Comment_120797683

thanks having a carpenter look at it and they don't like the idea of using levelling compound. I'd imagine they will double side the existing joists with new ones.. will try and get them to look at it over the next few weeks. holiday season for most

sydthebeat

Trying to solve sagging joists by adding more weight to the floor doesn't make any sense at all to me

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120798136#Comment_120798136

well to be fair they havent looked at it so i dont know what they will suggest

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120798147#Comment_120798147

i think a carpenter will propose a carpenters response to the problem.

accro up the sagging joists, remove the floor finish, determine if its a lack of bracing or inadequately specced joists, and amend as necessary.

CelticRambler

I'll be using something very similar on a small landing where there's a bit of a dip in the (300-year old, tongued-and-grooved) oak parquet floor, and a bit of a wobble where I had to cut, lift and re-fit another section when running power cables. The whole landing is only about 2m², slightly recessed compared to the adjacent space, and will be carpetted afterwards, so it's the right product for the job. I've previously used the stuff on chipboard flooring prior to tiling too, to help evenly bury a heat mat and seamlessly blend the chipboarded area with a concrete slab. Again, it was the right stuff to use in those circumstances, so worked well.

While you're waiting for the guy to come, though, use your spirit level to check (a) whether the whole floor is in fact level in all directions, and (b) how deep is the dip really. What feels like "a bit" of a dip when you walk on it can actually be a more of a "hole" if you measure it, and may well need a lot more material to fill it than you think. And if there's more than a few mm of a slope on the floor, all your product will flow to one side, in which case Murphy's Law will dictate that that's the wall with the doors in it and now you've got even more problems to sort out ...

Lumen

I'll be using something very similar on a small landing where there's a bit of a dip in the 300-year old, tongued-and-grooved oak parquet floor...will be carpetted afterwards

shots fired!

CelticRambler

:-) A necessary evil. 25m² of the original floor wll remain exposed (and not entirely flat), but these 2-3m² need to be covered - as much to protect the parquet from further insult as to limit the sea-sickness induced by walking through the space.