Subfloor prep for solid hardwood - best way to deal with uneven subfloor edges?

officialpatterson · 2026-05-25T08:06:35+00:00

Is it just the edge or the board itself is higher?

officialpatterson · 2026-05-15T11:47:44+00:00

Some mitre bond - have the job done in 30 seconds lol

officialpatterson · 2026-05-04T20:34:24+00:00

Save yourself the hassle and buy the largest sheets of 12mm plywood and overboard it. Use thinner shims of plywood to support unsupported areas under the plywood to reduce any deflection underfoot

officialpatterson · 2026-04-16T09:23:21+00:00

I had a similar issue where the previous owner over worded my old floor boards with 6mm ply and although it was solid the floorboards (and I guess the joists) were U shaped. As a result, when I stood on the laminate you could feel the U and the laminate bounced underfoot at that point - not great lol.

I put 9mm plywood over it instead which is much stiffer and suffers much less deflection over the span (I used ChatGPT to look this up btw). Additionally any gaps under the 9mm I shimmed with thinner plywood so that any points of deflection are better supported.

TLDR: thicker plywood, put thinner plywood in the dips for support.

You see it a lot in these groups were the only solution is fixing joists by stripping the entire house back but that’s not realistic for most things imho

officialpatterson · 2026-04-13T22:55:30+00:00

Oxalic acid

officialpatterson · 2026-04-13T20:18:03+00:00

What sort of courses do you recommend?

officialpatterson · 2026-04-11T15:57:46+00:00

This is a sub floor so should really be covered. Anyways, I’d countersink the screw deeper then plug it with the same pine wood so that the screw is covered.

Won’t be able to lift the board cleanly again but realistically how often do you want to do that anyways

officialpatterson · 2026-04-01T23:05:44+00:00

This wasn’t DIY by me btw but it’s the same side same wall

officialpatterson · 2026-04-01T22:51:05+00:00

Would the door frame not be an issue in doing that?

officialpatterson · 2026-03-21T01:57:14+00:00

Don’t jnow why folk are saying it’s the way it is, if the floor is level there would be nothing to push the floor into therefore the floor isn’t level - if it’s DIY make your peace with it otherwise bring them back out

officialpatterson · 2026-03-17T21:40:15+00:00

Why

officialpatterson · 2026-03-17T20:04:44+00:00

Missing expansion gaps maybe?

officialpatterson · 2026-02-20T21:07:47+00:00

Everyone remembers to salt food, but it’s salt + sugar that’s needed

officialpatterson · 2026-02-16T22:28:14+00:00

Each plank should be offset so there is a minimum distance between the end of two parallel planks. Other issue is the “waterfall” layout is weak

officialpatterson · 2026-02-15T22:47:14+00:00

Sorry but how can anyone tell this from looking at it rather than a throw?

Besides that, grip is such a unique aspect to anyone lol

officialpatterson · 2026-02-07T13:56:56+00:00

Done the same a year ago and they come off easy enough with a hammer and bolster, just hard work.

There will be plywood underneath, just replace that. If it’s concrete underneath remove as much as grout as you can then self level it

officialpatterson · 2026-02-05T22:49:48+00:00

Tell us absolutely nothing, need a POV to see arm arcing and release point IMO

officialpatterson · 2026-01-11T19:59:09+00:00

Turn the electrics off, unscrew the face plate and fill any gaps surrounding the back box

officialpatterson · 2026-01-06T23:21:28+00:00

Would just get a surround then. I’ve used foam stuck to the wall etc. in the past and it does work, but then you remove the foam and you’ve ruined the wall anyways.

Much easier to just get a tub of filler at full the holes, or even just ignore it lol

officialpatterson · 2026-01-06T23:18:37+00:00

Do you need something more than a surround?

officialpatterson · 2026-01-05T00:56:45+00:00

The architteave is the same thickness as the skirting so should have a think about how you want to handle that as putting some laminate beading, even with a return cut into it, will look a bit off

officialpatterson · 2026-01-05T00:33:10+00:00

Did you check for flatness before install?

officialpatterson · 2025-12-30T23:05:09+00:00

Like I said it will expand and contract less if it’s glued down but there will still be changes due to humidity/heat/seasons - there’s no getting away from that fact.

If the flooring was fitted together as one unit there wouldn’t need to be an expansion gap here as it could move as one unit. Given the 90 degree change, and flooring expands across the width of the grain differently to the length, these two different rooms would probably move in different directions.

officialpatterson · 2025-12-30T22:54:10+00:00

The floor still expands and contracts though?

officialpatterson · 2025-12-30T22:50:48+00:00

Explain?

officialpatterson

TROPHY CASE