If your subfloor isn’t level, it can cause problems. A crooked floor can make it difficult to lay carpet or tile and can even ruin the structure of an entire house. It’s important to have a proper levelling of sub floor before going for Timber Floor Installation in Melbourne.
Plus, uneven floors look terrible! Fortunately, there are ways to fix this problem that don’t require tearing up your floors entirely. We’ll discuss some options below:
Self-Levelling Compound
Self-levelling compounds are designed specifically to level uneven sub-floors, and are the best option for this timber floor installation Melbourne job. These compounds consist of two components: one part polymer, which expands as it dries, and one part cement or polymer dispersion, which helps to disperse moisture in order to speed up drying time.
The compound is applied as a layer on top of your sub-flooring (typically plywood), and then a second layer of plywood is placed on top of that.
As the compound dries out over the next 24 hours or so, it begins to expand due to heat generated by chemical reactions between its components.
This expansion causes your floor surface to level out gradually over time until there’s no more room left for expansion—and voila! You have an evenly levelled floor!
Plywood
Plywood is a great option for uneven floors. The plywood can be cut to size, so it’s easy to install, and can be laid on top of existing flooring. It can also be used in conjunction with a self-levelling compound if you choose to go that route.
If you have no existing flooring, consider laying down plywood before installing any new timber flooring.
Grinding & Sanding
For a smooth finish, you can grind and sand your floor. This will give you a very flat surface, but it does come at a price. Grinding and sanding costs more than using self-levelling compounds, so it’s important to do the math before deciding which method is best for you.
If you don’t want to hire professional contractors for this type of work (or if you’re planning on doing this yourself), there are some tools that will help make grinding and sanding easier:
- A brad nailer – As its name suggests, this tool shoots nails into wood with great force. It also makes driving in screws easy too!
- An orbital sander – This is used mostly on floors as opposed to other surfaces like walls or ceilings because orbital sanders are designed specifically for polishing wood surfaces until they reach their desired smoothness and shine.
Using Thick Underlay
Underlay is a layer of material that’s placed between the subfloor and flooring. It can be made from a range of materials, including rubber and cork, but polyethylene is the most common type.
Using underlay prevents any damage to your flooring by protecting it from the sub-floor. This is particularly useful when installing timber floors on an uneven surface as it makes sure your flooring doesn’t get damaged in these areas.
Underlay also has another function: To reduce noise produced by walking across hardwood floors or laminate flooring with high heels on them.
Conclusion
If you suspect a major cause that is causing your floors to appear uneven, you must first address this root cause before going for Timber Floor Installation in Melbourne project. If you ignore the problem, you risk causing damage to your new floors. Hire prestige floors right now.