Showerthought: A talk with a building inspector in Denver changed my whole view on floor flatness

He told me he's seeing a lot of new builds where the subfloor is off by a quarter inch over a 10 foot span, and installers are just trying to float it out. Said it's a ticking time bomb for LVP and laminate, especially with the big temp swings here. Made me realize I need to check flatness before I even unroll the underlayment now. Anyone else started carrying a longer straightedge because of this?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_miles10d ago

Yeah that's a real issue. I had to fix a floor that was almost that bad last year. We ended up using a self-leveling compound over the worst spots before putting down the LVP. It added a day to the job but saved a ton of callbacks later. A six-foot level is part of my kit now, no question.

jesse_west10d ago

What brand of self-leveler did you end up using for that job? I've had mixed results with some of the big box store stuff on really uneven slabs. Did you have to do any special prep or priming first, or just pour it right over the old concrete?