Floor Leveling

What is it?

Flooring leveling compound is a versatile product that has many applications for leveling and finishing concrete floors.

Why is it important?

Floor leveling creates a flat, even surface that is necessary for the proper installation of flooring materials such as carpet, tile, or hardwood. An uneven floor can cause issues such as cracking, breaking or separating of the flooring materials and can also create tripping hazards. Additionally, a level floor can improve the overall appearance of a space and increase its value. As such, leveling is a step you cannot afford to skip. In the last 15 years, the sizes of wood and tile flooring have become larger, longer and thicker, resulting in surface requirements being more stringent.

Hardwood, engineered hardwood, laminate and tiles are designed to lay on a completely flat surface. If the subfloor is wavy and unleveled, wood flooring will be forced to bend and alter its shape, causing the planks to warp, split, and separate, with bumps in high areas, and a soft spongy effect in low areas.

Every hardwood floor manufacturer requires a maximum flatness tolerance of 1/8” (3 mm) per 10” (3.048 metres). That means your subfloor must also meet these specifications. If not, then the warranty is likely to be voided if you attempt to make a claim to the manufacturer over defects.

Besides the warranty, floor leveling is important for many reasons:

• quality, durability, safety and comfort;
• your flooring will last significantly longer;
• the general appearance of your rooms with improve with level furniture and floors.

It is important to understand that wall-to-wall leveling is far superior to a ‘patch’ system, which will not result in a completely level floor.