Q: My house is built on a cement slab. It has an addition built on it and the cement in this room is quite uneven. The room is about 12 X 15. Half of the room is slightly lower than the other, and the area where the two halves of the room meet was patched with cement or self leveler for a transition. Is there anyway, without sanding down the cement or using large amount of self leveler, to install hardwood floors in this room?
What are my options re: how to level a cement slab?
A: If the height difference is not too severe you could secure 3/4 plywood to the concrete first. Another option would be to install DriCore, which is 2X2 chipboard squares with dimpled plastic vapour barrier on the underside. These are tongue and groove and just fit together and float. You can get little shims designed to work with this product to account for variations in the sub floor. I wouldn’t recommend nailing a floor to this product however. I would install a floating Torly’s strip to it.
Related Q: I would like to put laminate wood flooring down, but my cement floor is not level (like 3/4 of an inch in a 4ft area). What can be done?
A: If it is a dip you can patch the area until level. If it is a hump it won’t work.
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