Leveling Floor For Nail Down Planks

ike_in_nc

Let me start by saying -- thanks for this forum and all the shared wisdom. It has been very helpful in the past. I've been doing small remodeling/renovations for family and friends for the last seven years, and have just started to branch out into larger jobs. In many trades, I'm self-taught, so forums like this are invaluable to me when I run into new and unusual situations... said new and unusual situations cropping up constantly, of course!

The particular situation that brings me to post here for the first time actually involves my own home, so I hope I won't be booted from the forum for this.

I'm purchasing a new construction (stick built) home from a developer. I've been involved with the project since before the land was cleared, but my contract is with the developer, not the builder. One of the options I chose for my home was a "prep for hardwood" option, meaning the upstairs flooring would be left unfinished so I could have my choice of hardwood installed after closing.

The second floor is constructed on engineered trusses at 24", with one layer of sturd-i-floor. In the middle of the master bedroom, the trusses change direction (for a small cantilever of the upstairs). Where the trusses change direction, they are joined to the last truss in the opposite direction with metal fastening plates which bend over the top of the supporting truss.

Herein lies the problem. When the sturdi-floor was put down, a seam was laid directly over the truss which has all these plates on it. The seam is very lumpy. The floor was put down in Feb 2006 and we immediately identified that this would be a problem. The builder agreed that it was a problem but still hasn't fixed it 18 months later. In the interim, the lump has chipped away in its lumpiest spots, leaving holes because it was basically the top half of the groove that chipped away. We are trying to close on this house in the next two weeks, and since the first thing we will do is install the flooring (5/8" strand-woven bamboo, nail down), fixing this is a very high priority. The builder is suddenly balking.

The site supervisor claims that their tolerance is 1/4" (over what, he did not share), and through some math I didn't understand, the 1/2" measured is within tolerance (though, actually, I think it is probably less than 1/2" in reality). Anyhow, though I don't have access to the developer's contract with the builder to check the tolerances, I am sure that we can get them to admit that they need to fix the problem, but I am worried about how they are going to fix it. The site supervisor was planning on pouring leveling compound because "that's what the carpet guys do to fix this." It has always been my understanding that SLC was not for nail-down flooring. Am I wrong?

Another option that has been raised is to grind the high spots away. In that case, I'm worried about the structural integrity of the floor. We're already spanning 24" with a single layer of sturdi-floor, and if we grind away to the groove, it seems to me that the floor would be significantly more prone to flexing.

I've installed four hardwood floors myself, and been involved in the installation of four others, so I'm no expert by any stretch. I've only dealt with nail-down, so I'm loathe to switch to glue right now without a chance to learn it first.

What do you all see as the best options here?

Thanks,
ike

Mike Costello

Grinding down the high spots doesnt seem to be a bad idea to me. It sounds like where you will be grinding is just over the beams.

Keep in mind too that you will be adding over another half inch of structural integrity by installing the wood.

thom

I'm with mike on this one. Take a belt sander or a floor sander and bring everything down to flat, then fill the low spots and sand again.

AllGoNoShow

We had to do something similiar on my house. Don't use a belt sander, it will take forever. Use a floor edger if you have one or go rent one.

JustaFramer

if ardex were to be laid sleepers would have to be installer also for nailing

lawndart

If it was my home I would let them lay down the SLC, and glue down the bamboo flooring you've purchased. Bamboo is an engineered floor and is perfectly suitable for this type of application. If you do decide to go with this method make sure you use the best adehisive on the market. Bosticks Best. Good luck to you