How To Tell If Your Floor Is Level Before Laying Laminate

Laminate planks can pull apart.

How to tell if your floor is level before laying laminate.

Lay a 4 to 6 foot beam level on your floor. First assess the severity of the uneven. Before taking steps to level a floor. Hold your level over any areas of the floor that appear to be higher or lower than the surrounding surface.

Not only is trying to install laminate over an uneven subfloor difficult but also it can be dangerous. Check the sub floor moisture content. Typically the floor must be level and uniform within 3 16 inch every 10 feet. However your new flooring will raise the level of your floor slightly about 3 8 inch so you need to be mindful of transitions to other rooms.

A subfloor is meant to be flat and level. Fill any low spots with a cementitious leveling compound following the manufacturer s directions and allow it to dry before proceeding. Check your wood flooring manufacturer s recommendations and sand any high spots with a concrete grinder. A little cheat to help work past a small dip in your subfloor when installing laminate flooring.

Look for areas where the level doesn t lay flat to identify high and low spots. That means you don t have to tear out old surfaces before you begin. Check the bubble in the horizontal tube in the level to ensure it floats between the two vertical lines. Before installing a laminate floor you must make sure the subfloor is completely level.

It should be no higher than 12 on a protimeter prong test scale. Moisture can often destroy a perfect laminate floor installation so before you begin it is very important to ensure that your site is perfectly dry. Because laminate is typically thinner and less sturdy than real wood it is critical that you properly level the subfloor before you install laminate. The only way to tell for sure is to get under the floor and check the condition of the joists and beams beneath.