For questions generally relating to the structure and construction of floors in buildings, including designs, materials, support mechanisms, load-bearing calculations, etc. For questions specifically about the top-layer covering of a floor (tile, carpet, hardwood) see the "flooring" tag.
9
votes
2answers
11k views
How do I fix a squeaky floor below my carpet?
I have a squealy floor below my carpet on the 2nd floor of my house. It sounds like the subfloor under the carpet is moving up and down a little and makes this awful load squeak when I step down on ...
3
votes
3answers
143 views
What is the proper way to clean a paintbrush and metal pan with KleanStrip paint thinner?
I am finishing my hardwood floors tonight with an oil-based polyurethane. I bought a natural bristle paintbrush and a metal pan, as well as some KleanStrip paint thinner that is "made with Mineral ...
27
votes
5answers
19k views
Should I use a subfloor for a finished basement's floor?
We are refinishing our basement and have not yet decided what to do for the floors. Part of the basement will be tile, and we are all set. However, the rec room side is going to be carpet. The ...
6
votes
5answers
4k views
How can we fix bouncy floors?
Our floors are somewhat bouncy, especially in big rooms with long joists. I think that the main cause is that they used 2x8 joists on 15-20' spans.
We are going to replace/install hardwood in ...
4
votes
3answers
3k views
Can I lay down solid wood planks on top of my basement concrete floor?
I live in Oakville, Ontario and have a detached home with an unfinished basement with concrete floor. I would like to put hardwood flooring in part of the basement. Instead of tongue and groove ...
14
votes
6answers
3k views
How do you reduce floor sound transmission?
How do you reduce the sound transmission through a floor? Using "green glue" between a couple layers of plywood subfloor seems to work well. Are there any other tricks or suggestions?
10
votes
4answers
5k views
How do you stop the floor from squeaking?
I have a home built in the 1940's. The main floor creaks a lot and more squeaking and creaks seem to spring up in new places all the time.
Is there an easy way to stop the squeaking and creaking? I ...
8
votes
1answer
14k views
How can I level a sloped floor?
I have a 10x13 first-floor room which used to be a porch but at some point was closed in by the previous owners, and sheet linoleum was glued down to the plywood subfloor. Unfortunately they didn't ...
6
votes
3answers
3k views
How do I level a basement floor but not the slab underneath?
I'd like to install laminate floor on top of Delta FL in my basement.
The basement slab is not level, it slopes (from all directions) towards a floor drain (that, via a pipe, leads to a sump pump) ...
4
votes
1answer
375 views
How do I cut grooves in self-leveling concrete to incorporate an existing drain?
This is a follow up question to my previous question about leveling a basement floor without losing the drainage. After the feedback I decided to use self-leveling concrete and cut (or form it in ...
5
votes
3answers
7k views
How do I use 'surface shims' to level out a sloping floor?
Asked a question about leveling my floor here earlier this week, and one of the options suggested sounded appealing, but didn't contain enough detail for me (a not-too-handy, ...
5
votes
2answers
5k views
What are these spongy/soft spots on my hardwood floor?
The house I recently bought has hardwood floors, but I've noticed that some spots are spongy when I walk over them. There is visible downward flex in certain spots to an observer of someone walking ...
3
votes
2answers
657 views
How do you determine the slope of a floor?
What are some methods for figuring out the slope of a floor?
I've always heard the slope referenced as, eg: "1/2inch over 6ft." - is this the normal way, and/or are there other common ways to say ...
2
votes
1answer
255 views
Is floor paint on concrete purely aesthetic or actually functional?
I have a large thatched barn recently (6 months) laid with a concrete floor to replace the original mud floor. The concrete was dusting badly, especially near where a table tennis table sits, so I ...
