How to level floorboards

charlie_chaplin

Hi, im thinking about getting solid wood flooring as the plumbing guys cut my floorboards to shreds when fitting central heating so i can't sand em as they'd look terrible, but i need to level the boards out first and then lay plywood,, then the solid wood, but what do i use to level the boards out, do i just put small off cuts of wood on the floor joists then lay the boards back down?, i havent a clue, lol

charlie_chaplin

someone must have an idea on how to best go about doing this

ajbaker

Why not get new boards to replace the existing boards? 18mm may be ok, but 20mm + thick will be most suitable as a replacement. Price for both seems to be the same.

polybear

How uneven are the boards? For Laminate Flooring I've used Underlay from Wickes (comes in a pack of sheets, each of which is about 10mm thick). Works pretty well.
Apart from that the answer would be to lift the uneven boards and pack them underneath. I'd screw them down again afterwards using long screws (I've used 3inch No. 12 on my flooring) rather than nails. The last thing you want is for the floor to squeak after you've laid the new boards! Be careful of cables and pipes running thru' joists, by the way.

One tip - if you go to a specialist upvc supplier (as used for upvc cladding for houses etc) they often sell boxes of packing shims. These are hard plastic, about 4 inches long by 1.5 inches wide (from memory) and come in different thicknesses (1mm, 2mm etc.). Invaluable for the sort of job you have. I get mine in boxes of a 1000.

Polybear