Floors Uneven In Winter

How to fix squeaky floors is a question many homeowners find themselves asking especially if they ve tried tiptoeing across the house and woken up a sleeping family member because of the creaking.

Floors uneven in winter.

Sloped floors are common in older homes and even in homes as new as 15 to 30 years. The cause is usually settling or shifting of the foundation underneath the floors. For example if a toilet overflows and the water reaches the hardwood hallway. If the floor beams and joists are made from wood like the ones above a crawl space they will usually bend rather than crack.

Hardwood floors will usually shrink in the winter months and expand in the summer months. However even beyond the cosmetic issues there are other problems uneven floors may herald. In some cases the slope is caused or aggravated by similar deflection in the girder main bearing beam that supports one end. Floor buckling is the most extreme reaction to moisture in a hardwood floor.

Fortunately this is not a common occurrence. If you have an uneven floor in your house it can be a chore to set up furniture or even just walk depending on how uneven the floor is. Dealing with uneven floors is a part of the trade when installing flooring. Uneven floors are rarely caused by problems with the floor itself.

However with masonry foundations soil issues can actually cause. The planks may show separation at the joints and the floor become uneven because of buckling. A plywood subfloor will bridge any minor waves in the existing floor and leveling compound would help too. Installation of floating floors are easy and fast because planks click or snap together quickly and float above the subflooring surface.

On the top side of the floor another fix it idea to lay down new hardwood over the existing floor. Water hardwood floors will buckle if they are subjected to excess water. Buckling occurs when the wood flooring actually pulls up from the subfloor lifting several inches in one or more places. Sloping floors are most often caused by normal and acceptable deflection bend in the wood joists which comprise the floor structure.

Glued floors come loose or the nails pull loose. There are environmental factors that can cause buckling or it may be because of faulty installation. You will have to make sure your joists can handle the addition of considerably more weight from the plywood subfloor and any floor coverings. Uneven floors can be a very frustrating issue to deal with.

Before you can do a good job of installing wood laminate or any other flooring you need a good subfloor to start out with. Floating floor the best floor for uneven surface a floating floor is easily installed without using glue staples or nails making it an exceptional diy floor option. Here are some things to consider when your subfloor is uneven.