"self leveling underlayment," in the Hardwood and Laminates Q&A forum, begins: "I recently put laminate flooring throughout my house. I live in a mobile so the subfloor is particle poo. Rather ..."
I recently put laminate flooring throughout my house. I live in a mobile so the subfloor is particle poo. Rather than ripping it out I laid 3/8" plywood down then foam underlayment and then the laminate. All was well till i got to the kitchen. Im basically gutting it but again I didnt rip out the particle poo. I patched and covered with the plywood. But it was so bad i still feel dips and such.
Will the self leveling underlayment work for filling the slight dips still felt thru the plywood? Or should I try to level the floor under the plywood? I mean i did try to level it somwhat under it. I was thinking this would kill 2 birds with one stone since I need an underlayment anyways. AND fill in all the nooks and crannies. Am I correct in thinking this? Is what I'm using it for what it was intended to do?
Slight dips throught the plywood would maybe mean some structural weakness in the floor so the slc wouldn't be your answer. Was the particle board solid and not rotten under the 3/8 plywood? One way to stiffen a floor is thicker ulay, 1/2 or 3/4 would have been better.
Is the floor on some type of a metal frame? If so, the reason for the dip in the floor is probably the particle board. Once it gets wet, it's sawdust.
When you say you patched, did you cut out any questionable sections and replace them? That would be the best option. And probably cheaper and easier than SLC. Like KW said, you have a problem underneath, and that needs to be fixed first.
I have done a lot of work in Mobiles- I just put laminate in one. Particle was thrashed in parts. The studs are too widley spaced, and the particle starts to sag.
I ripped our a bad part and repaced it. I told the customer unless he wants to pay to have all the existing particle board removed and replaced, I could only patch what was rotten and float the rest. Of course he went with the cheaper route.
Since it was laminate it was not too bad, spongey in places, but overall you cant tell.
Now if this was my place, I would rip it all out, insualte, fix the plimbing electrical etc. then install new 3/4 plywood.
Self leveling would not work in your situation. Its meant for sloped wood subloor in a house with a foundation, or concrete. It works great, but not practical for mobiles.
.....'til I'm blue in the face.........fill the void under a floating floor over dips in yer wood subfloor with layers of felt........no no to usin self levelers on saggin floors....
Thanks for warm welcome and I appreciate your willingness to help and your prompt responses. None of you told me what I wanted to hear tho lol. I think I'm going to take the felt idea and run with it. It seems easiest and most practical for me. lol I've never even laid laminate floor down before let alone rip a floor out. I'm guessing I'd do more damage than good beings I already laid the the 3/8 plywood down on top of the 3/4 particle poo in the hall and livingroom. I was kinda hoping to keep it all relatively on the same level.
Yes I fixed the problems before laying the plywood, one was leaky connection to sink, one was leaky window, and the other was a plugged gutter downspout. I cut around rotten wet spots, thank goodness they were few and far between and in the least traveled spaces ie under sink and in a corner and by a window . I probably patched the holes wrong lol but at this point even the plywood floor is an improvement. The high and low spots show no sign of moisture so thats why I was hoping to level it with the underlayment. And I was hoping it would also fill in the spots that could cause a draft. Oh well was a pipe dream. Thanks so much for your input xoxo
So theres no kinda pour on stuff to fill in the gaps that would work for me? If not to level it but just to keep draft down?
I'll keep checking back to see if someone has posted my miracle cure lol.
oh..btw cproader...im from washington too....other side of mtns tho. nice car in the pic...is it yours? lol im also a car fanatic, I guess thats kinda what got me into this project lol...i did my own bodywork and pantjob on my car, my truck, and my sons car. After accomplishing that I feel like superwoman and think can do anything lolol...well that and I watch a lot of HGTV lol
You are replacing parts of the floor because it got wet .
Flashing has water in it . Are any Bells going off yet ?
You won't hear what you want on this site , But you will get the proper steps to install the floor .
Invite a few friends over for a BBQ and make sure you have enough tools for everyone .
oh..btw cproader...im from washington too....other side of mtns tho. nice car in the pic...is it yours? lol im also a car fanatic, I guess thats kinda what got me into this project lol...i did my own bodywork and pantjob on my car, my truck, and my sons car. After accomplishing that I feel like superwoman and think can do anything lolol...well that and I watch a lot of HGTV lol
.....whew, with them xoxo's in yer response I was gettin nervous........but then I see that yer a girl..........what part of the westside are ya in.....
I live in the region I like to call HELL lol aka Centralia. (bout 20 mins south of Oly) I just assumed youd know I was a woman lol...sorry to freak ya out! Not too many women askin questions on here? Figured it would be mostly women since you men are afraid to ask directions (kidding) thats only when youre driving
Ok all joking aside, thanks for the heads up with the trowable cement. I can scrape that off into the nooks and crannies along the the outside edges where the wall doesnt seem to be square with the plywood too. I figured they made a product for my needs just wasnt sure what to use. I should be able to pick that up at Home Depot I hope since I already own stock lol. (they gotta love me by now).
Thanks again for all your help guys . If I confiscate the the camera from my son, I will post some pics of my progress. if you can even do that here lol.
The dips u cant see but u can feel. If I can feel em, I'm gonna unscrew the plywood and lay some felt down tho to minimize this. I still need the trowable cement tho for the gaps along wall. Or is that not the right product for that? I'm assuming moisture wont affect the cement. I guess I could use some kind of silicone or caulk for that too tho. Which would you suggest? (Not for floating floor for sub floor)
.....'til I'm blue in the face.........fill the void under a floating floor over dips in yer wood subfloor with layers of felt........no no to usin self levelers on saggin floors....
None of you told me what I wanted to hear tho lol. I think I'm going to take the felt idea and run with it. It seems easiest and most practical for me. lol I've never even laid laminate floor down before let alone rip a floor out. I'm guessing I'd do more damage than good beings I already laid the the 3/8 plywood down on top of the 3/4 particle poo in the hall and livingroom. I was kinda hoping to keep it all relatively on the same level. 
....but then I see that yer a girl....
......what part of the westside are ya in.....
(kidding) thats only when youre driving
