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Fanman
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# Posted: 28 Nov 2023 06:44am
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I'm in the middle of a remodeling project (at home, not the cabin). Due to settling and old botched repairs the floor is far from level; the new parts I've built are solid and perfectly level but there are areas near the perimeter where the floor is up to 1/2" lower than points 4 feet in. I'll be working with self leveling filler for some areas but I'll have to blend it down somehow to other areas that I don't want to touch. Jacking and leveling from underneath is not feasible. The room (open floor plan combined kitchen and living room) is 20'x30' with two columns supporting the ceiling.
The old floor was lineoleum over 1/8" hardboard underlayment in some places, and stick on tiles over the hardboard in others. The current plan is to put down new hardboard where necessary. Everything is complicated by the need to live in the house while working.
Given all that, I'm trying to figure out our best reasonably priced flooring option. I expect it will be some form of vinyl. Sheet seems like the best option but I don't want to do that myself. I could hire a contractor but they may balk at the floor condition. Click lock vinyl plank is an option, but I don't know if it is flexible enough to accommodate the unevenness and my experience with click lock laminate elsewhere wasn't good... and laminate isn't waterproof enough for the kitchen.
Right now I'm leaning toward the vinyl plane with "grip strip" overlapping adhesive edges; friends have used it at cabins near ours with good results. It's thinner than the click lick stuff so should be more flexible? The adhesive just holds one plane to the adjacent one, it's a floating floor. The advantage is that the adhesive strips would seem less likely to work loose, and being individual planks I could work slowly as I move stuff around.
But I'm open to any advice or suggestions.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 28 Nov 2023 09:40am
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Sounds like our old one-room schoolhouse turned into a house in the 1950's; it has been a challenge....the b-room and kitchen were Bad.
I did some self leveling goo on the stiff side so I could trowel into the worst and built it up in layers to get reasonably close. Then I covered with luan underlayment with some 'mudding' of the seams and paid the flooring guy to install sheet flooring. He was quick and efficient and it looks great. He liked my prep.
Lots of product to choose from and def waterproof.
I did parquet 1'sq's in our entry on a level floor 20? years ago. Oh My, What A Job! I wasnt good working on my knees back then and Lots of up/down.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 29 Nov 2023 10:14am
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Quoting: Fanman don't want to touch. Jacking and leveling from underneath is not feasible
Theres a reason why floors become un level and it's not due to a great foundation with great floor joists.
If you dont want to get under the building to jack it up then cut the subfloor out..from what it sounds like there wont be much loss.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 29 Nov 2023 11:04am
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That was one of our options too...cut out the floor, sister in level joists and re-deck. I didnt have the time but it certainly would have been the best. At lease I was able to shore things up below and its has worked out/held up for the past 35ish years.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 29 Nov 2023 11:04am
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It seems strange that the floor level is lower in some of the perimeter areas than in the middle. Perimeter sag may indicate a foundation problem.
Sorry, I have no thoughts other than ripping it out to see the real problem and then going from there.
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spencerin
Member
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# Posted: 29 Nov 2023 09:44pm
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Why can't you get underneath and jack it up?
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travellerw
Member
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# Posted: 29 Nov 2023 10:22pm
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So, I will be the downer in this post..
You can do it, or you can do it right.. There are times where jacking isn't an option (and not needed since stuff hasn't moved in years). If that is the case, then the right course of action is to rip up the subfloor, shim everything out and redo the subfloor.
Failing that, your best bet is self leveling compound (stuff is amazing these days and feathers to a paper edge).
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 30 Nov 2023 07:50am
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Quoting: travellerw Failing that, your best bet is self leveling compound (stuff is amazing these days and feathers to a paper edge
This can also add alot of weight to a alreaty failing floor system. 1/2in over 4' dosnt sound like alot until the building is 30' long
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 30 Nov 2023 08:33am
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My click vinyl shows every imperfection on the floor.
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travellerw
Member
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# Posted: 30 Nov 2023 03:02pm
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Quoting: Brettny This can also add alot of weight to a alreaty failing floor system. 1/2in over 4' dosnt sound like alot until the building is 30' long
This is a very valid concern. Self leveling is heavy stuff.
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Fanman
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# Posted: 1 Dec 2023 12:49pm
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I should have been more clear. There is no foundation; the house rests on pilings. It started out as two trailers, gradually over the years the previous owner did modifications and additions so now all that's left of the original trailers are the steel floor beams (still solid and level) and the low ceilings. I suspect the outboard settlings is due to the added weight of the peaked roof over the original trailer roof, but it's been stable for a long time, just not level. One end of the house was in bad shape due to damage from water leaks, that's the part I've gutted and rebuilt, but the rest is in good enough shape that I don't want to open another can of worms.
What I've done so far is to build a new solid and level floor in the laundry and part of the kitchen where I also rebuilt the exterior walls. Last week I got the kitchen substantially level with self leveling underlayment. It still needs one more thin layer, then I'm going to try using trowel grade underlayment to gently slope down to the areas where I'm not going to try to level.
If we didn't have to live in the house while I'm working I might have chosen to be more ambitious, but it's tough when you have to do it piecemeal (and solo). We just spent the last week most of the kitchen contents (counters, sink, stove, etc.) removed and piled in the living room.
After pouring the underlayment, I covered it with a temporary remnant of cheap sheet vinyl until I can circle back and finish that part. It actually doesn't look all that bad.
The kitchen cabinets and island will be over, and hide, some of the worst discontinuities.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 2 Dec 2023 07:54am
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Does the trailer framing angle up towards the outside walls?
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Fanman
Member
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# Posted: 2 Dec 2023 10:21am
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I forget, a lot of it is above the lower metal sheathing so it's not visible. The main metal beams are below the sheathing, with additional structure above, and wood floor joists above those internal beams. It's a mishmash, but as I said it's been stable for long enough that I don't want to mess with it and disturb the exterior walls.
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