The foyer in my house is about 5 feet wide & 20 feet long. It runs down hill about 1/2 inch over the with of the 5 ft space. I want to install nail down flooring in this area. Is there something that I can put on the plywood subfloor to level it out? If so can a nail be driven into it? Thanks.
Edited 4/11/2002 9:40:40 AM ET by richieg
Replies
Cedar roof shingles make a good wedge shim and the butts are about 3/8" which is close enough but the whole correction would happen in about 16" which might leave a dip in the finished floor. You could then use a floor leveling compound to float this in level.
And yes, you can nail through these.
I had the same problem and came up with the following:
Start at the low end of the room and put a strip of 1/4" plywood underlayment. Then glue down shims along the edge. Come back with another sheet of ply a foot wider from the wall out. Repeat this until you have leveled. I have two photos attached.
It took approximately 3 layers on mine, but yours should only require 2.
Just to mention, go under the house and put in some bracing and take care of the root cause of that sag, or this will be all for naught!
Jon
You should be able to glue and nail down thin sleepers. 1/2 " at the wall, 3/8 part way over, 5/16, then 1/4, then 3/16 and 1/8th and notheing at the high side. Long strips the length of the hall. The nails will go right through to the original floor. That gives you support every 9 inches or so, plenty.