How to level timber subfloor for hybrid flooring?

[angesh1987]

Hello,

We are looking to lay hybrid flooring very soon over our timber subfloor in our lounge and dining room. Its a 40yo house on stumps which we recently had jacked and packed but the house is never going to be 100% level.

Is there an easy and cost effective method/product we can use to level the timber floors to ensure we get a great result for our hybrid flooring? 

Thanks in advance

[EricL]

Hello @angesh1987 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about installing hybrid flooring. 

Would it be possible for you to post a few photos of your flooring? This will give our members a better idea of the floors condition. We can then make recommendations on how to proceed. Some of the possible options to level the floor are to use a sanding machine, this is on the condition you have real timber flooring panels. Another option is to use self-levelling compounds such as the Dunlop 15.9kg Timber Floor Level Flex Kit, this is possible if you have large flat timber flooring panels.

I also suggest having a look at this discussion - How to prepare for floating floor? by @mich1972. 

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[angesh1987]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the info! I don’t have great photos but I have attached. 

 

 

 

[MitchellMc]

HI @angesh1987,

How uneven is the floor? Is there a height difference from one floorboard to the next? What if the height distance from the highest point of the floor to the lowest point?

If the issue is more that the floor is rough and slightly uneven, then you can lay masonite underlay over it to even out the lumps and bumps.

Mitchell

[angesh1987]

Hi Mitchell,

There isn’t a noticeable difference between each board, they seem to sit flush with each other.. but there is a degree of unevenness across the floor. Not sure if this photo helps, but I have this metal angle placed on the floor that shows small gaps at each end whilst the middle of the angle is sitting flush with the floor. There is a few instances of this kind of unevenness over the floor. Not sure if this is an allowable amount of unevenness for hybrid floors or if we should be doing some sort of levelling prep first.

 

 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @angesh1987,

The height difference you’re seeing in the floorboards isn’t so much of an issue in itself but rather how abruptly the height changes. These sharp transitions can cause dips to transfer into the new flooring. While they might not be highly noticeable after installation, they can still subtly affect the look and feel of your hybrid flooring.

To address this, you might consider hiring a floor sander to gently sand either side of the dips. This will help feather out the transition and create a smoother, more gradual slope rather than a steep drop. Doing so will ensure a better surface for your hybrid flooring and reduce the chances of unevenness becoming a problem in the long term. I'd start by sanding the central section that your straight edge is sitting on until the two ends of it touch the surrounding flooring. That will remove the big lump out of the middle. You can then sand the whole floor to ensure an even surface.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell