# Wood floor movement...



## idonutn0 (Jan 22, 2007)

This weekend I started an install of 5/8 inch wood floor. There are a couple of spots where the floor sags up and down when I step on it. The flooring was laid over the cement slab and an underlay material.
What is the best way to fix this problem? 
Thanks for the help.


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## glennjanie (Jan 22, 2007)

I wonder what your underlayment material is. Is it glued down all over and the floor glued to the top of the underlayment (thinking it might be wood)? If we are talking about a paper underlayment you certainly can't glue the wood to that. Wood and concrete are not good companions; especially if the concrete is under grade. The moisture is always present in the concrete which adversely affects the wood; causing it to swell and buck up.
The best way to counter the bucking up and rot is to lay polyethelene sheet on the concrete, install treated 2 X 4 sleepers with a powder actuated gun, put 3/4" tounge and groove underlayment grade OSB on that with glue and screws; then glue and nail the floor to the underlayment. I know, it sounds like a killer but I know it works.
Glenn


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## idonutn0 (Jan 22, 2007)

The underlay material is the standard moisture barrier type material. (I dont have it in front of me at the moment.) Its the tape together type that lays on the cement and then the flooring lays on it. 
The wood floor is tongue and groove style. You glue the groove, put metal clips on the bottom, and then snap it all together. 
Its not that the floor is buckling up. There are spots where it feels like it sinks in  a little bit. 
Thanks for the help.


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## evansvillehousewife (Jan 22, 2007)

idonutn0 said:


> This weekend I started an install of 5/8 inch wood floor. There are a couple of spots where the floor sags up and down when I step on it. The flooring was laid over the cement slab and an underlay material.
> What is the best way to fix this problem?
> Thanks for the help.





Hi! I just dealt with this issue myself. First, are you sure the cement slab is 100% level? You can use a laser level in the dark to scan it and see if it is true, or a long ordinary level. If it is not level, you may want to either have it ground down or level it with abocrete, or a similar self-leveling epoxy to make sure you are installing your floor on level. 

We just dealt with this- we had our cement slab ground AND a self-leveling epoxy applied! Then over that we did plastic sheeting, mold fighting foam, a 3/4 plywood subfloor, now we have put in our solid oak planks which we hope to finish with a tung oil varnish.  We also had to take out and re-hang two doorframes and doors. Yay. It's been two weeks of lovely labor but now that we are driving the pegs into the floor (my husband is a purist, and the house is 1900-1920 vintage) I can see the final product.......

The other possibilty is warped boards if you are working with engineered strips.  You could try replacing those boards and see if that helps. Certainly wold be cheaper.


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## idonutn0 (Jan 22, 2007)

I already have half of the floor put down. It wasn't too bad at the start and my thought process was that the more I put, the greater the weight across the span would be and it would then settle into place.
Are there any "after the fact" type of fixes for this situation? Because Id hate to have to take up what Ive done and risk any damage.
Thanks


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## glennjanie (Jan 23, 2007)

"When all else fails, read the instructions"; if that has failed too you could check with the supplier. 
Glenn


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## red0wednesday (Mar 19, 2007)

I have a similar problem as idonutn0. The floating laminate wood flooring my brother and I layed (with the help of a professional to get us started) isn't quite right. In two places, when you step on the laminate you can feel it slightly press down on the floor beneath it. It's a 300 sq. ft. room and I will try anything before taking it up. I thought about somehow attaching the "bad" parts of the laminate to the floor beneath using well-placed screws. Or, I even though of drilling a couple of small holes and filling them with some kind of self-leveling material. Are these crazy ideas?
Thanks


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