How to level a wooden floor with plywood. Leveling the floor under the laminate with plywood Leveling the wooden floor under the laminate with plywood

High-quality laying of a laminate should be carried out only on a perfectly flat and very durable floor surface. Even the best laminate can lose its high performance properties if it is laid on a poorly prepared substrate. The slightest unevenness of the floor can cause severe creaking and deformation of the coating, as well as a significant reduction in the duration of its service.

Laminate flooring should only be laid on a perfectly flat surface, so the first step is to level the floor.

Therefore, today any floor repair work begins with leveling its surface. Nowadays, the easiest and most affordable way to eliminate any irregularities is to level the floor with plywood. This method deservedly enjoys great popularity, since it does not require special knowledge and skills or large material investments.

Alignment methods

Leveling the floor for subsequent laying of laminate with plywood can be done in several different ways. If, for example, you plan to lay plywood on a wooden plank floor, then you should simply fix the plywood to the old floor using self-tapping screws.

The device of technological gaps when laying plywood sheets.

In this case, you will need to use sufficiently strong plywood, the thickness of which is at least 1 cm. But it should be remembered that before proceeding with this technique, you should carefully check how durable the old wooden coating is.

A much more complicated, but at the same time more thorough way to level the surface is to install a plywood floor on logs. Its main advantage is the ability to achieve a perfectly flat floor from plywood sheets, which is suitable for laying any floor covering, including laminate.

Requirements

Before you start laying plywood sheets on a concrete base, you must properly prepare this surface. As you know, concrete is a material characterized by a fairly high humidity. Therefore, before starting repair work, you should measure the level of humidity in the room and make sure that it does not exceed the norm.

Floor leveling technology with plywood on logs.

To protect plywood sheets from the harmful effects of humidity and low temperatures, it must be covered with a layer of a special antiseptic. This will prevent the formation of mold and fungus and thereby protect the plywood from premature destruction. If you are not sure which plywood is best for floor leveling, then it is recommended to purchase category IV plywood sheets. Such plywood is more affordable, moreover, it is treated with special compounds that will help protect the material from the harmful effects of moisture. In addition, it is absolutely harmless to humans and is ideal for leveling floors.

How to level the floor with plywood: step by step instructions

The technology of leveling the floor with plywood is not particularly difficult. Therefore, the work can be done independently, without resorting to the help of specialists. To level the floor, you will need the following tools:

• hammer of medium size;
• perforator;
• screwdriver;
• big roulette;
• level;
• electric jigsaw.

Scheme of repairing the floor with plywood.

First you need to prepare a concrete base, following all the recommendations that were described above. The floor surface must be thoroughly dried and free from dust and other contaminants.

Now draw a line on the wall surface, which will become a guide when installing a new floor. This border should run along the perimeter of the entire room and be carefully measured by the level in order to prevent even the slightest inaccuracy. Now you should prepare the logs. For this purpose, ready-made bars made of fairly durable natural wood are best suited.

Today, ready-made wooden logs can be purchased without any problems in almost every hardware store. When choosing logs, it is best to give preference to those made from carefully dried coniferous wood. The size of such logs in cross section should be approximately 40x100 mm. In addition, you will need to prepare special gaskets, which are also made of wood and are installed directly under the logs. These spacers should be about 10 cm wide and about 20 cm long. As for their thickness, it should be at least 2.5 cm. When laying the log, it is important to remember that they should be located across the rays of light falling from room windows. Logs should be laid at a distance of 50 cm from each other.

Scheme for leveling the floor with plywood.

During the laying of the log, there will be free space between them, which can be filled with various sound and heat insulating materials, for example, mineral wool or basalt insulation. Thanks to this, you will get a very warm and absolutely silent laminate floor in your room.

It is important to remember that logs should never be placed close to the surface of the wall. A small gap of about 2-3 cm must be maintained between the wall and the lag. This will protect the laminate flooring from deformation, which often occurs during the expansion of the material caused by a change in weather. During the laying of the lag, constantly make sure that the system you are installing is at the same level that was previously marked as the boundary of the new floor. If some logs turned out to be lower than you planned, then you can fix this situation by simply substituting wooden wedges under them. We should not forget about the obligatory soundproof pads made of soft material, which must be installed between the lags, wood pads and wedges.

Scheme for leveling the floor with moisture-resistant plywood.

As such a lining, you can use linoleum or a layer of foamed polyethylene.

First, you should lay wooden logs around the perimeter of the room and only after that start laying the transverse beams. After the entire crate is ready, you can proceed with the installation of plywood. Sheets of plywood should be cut with an electric jigsaw into equal parts with sides of 75x75 cm. These squares should be screwed to the logs so that they are not located close to each other, but at a distance of 2-3 mm. If you mount plywood to the joists without this mandatory gap, then over time the floor will begin to creak very strongly.

Depending on the level of humidity or air temperature, a tree can greatly change its original volume. And this can cause the laminate to begin to “walk”. It is in order to compensate for such an expansion or contraction of the tree that it is recommended to leave small gaps between the plywood sheets and between the logs and the surface of the walls. Plywood is best screwed to the joists using self-tapping screws, which must be placed at a distance of 50-100 mm from each other.

If the floor is leveled with plywood in the hallway or in the corridor, then the logs should be laid in such a way that they stand perpendicular to the movement of people.

This simple technique will help make the floor of the laminate more durable and reliable.

Leveling the floor under the laminate with plywood using a log is the most suitable option when there is a need to hide a large height difference between different parts of the floor, which is 5 cm or more. Such a floor made of plywood sheets will become a truly strong and reliable foundation for any modern floor covering. Real birch plywood is absolutely safe for both humans and the environment, which distinguishes it favorably from OSB, chipboard and fiberboard.

In the case when the height differences of the surface fluctuate within the limits not exceeding 1 cm, the installation of plywood sheets can be carried out directly on the concrete floor, without the use of wooden beams. With this type of work, plywood must have a sufficiently large thickness of at least 18 mm. In this situation, to fix the plywood to the floor, you can use dowels or special adhesive mastic. With a similar method of laying plywood, the floor surface is prepared according to the same rules as before installing wooden logs. To apply a layer of adhesive to the concrete surface, you need to use a special notched trowel.

The most suitable material. It is used on wooden and concrete bases for laminate, linoleum, parquet, carpet and other floor coverings. This is an economical option for obtaining a smooth surface with various sizes of defects. In addition, wood is an additional insulation. For leveling, waterproof construction plywood 8–20 mm thick is used without sanding, sanded on one or both sides. Suitable brand FC, NSh or Sh1.

Alignment methods

Depending on the size of the irregularities, they are leveled in different ways. Small irregularities include differences of 0.5–2 cm, medium ones - from 2 to 6 cm, and large ones - more than 6 cm per 2 m.

The following alignment methods are possible:

1. Adhesive method directly on a concrete base with small irregularities. On wood, it is enough to fix with self-tapping screws.
2. Installation of sheets on adjustable logs or anchor bolts (adjustable plywood). The method is suitable for any irregularities, on any grounds, more often used on concrete, but more expensive.
3. On wooden logs, if the height of the room allows you to lose another 10–12 cm
4. On thin bars or plywood dies (mini-logs). A method for those who have the opportunity to lose a little in the height of the room, but get a warm, even floor.
5. For various types of crates made of thin bars.

The last two methods are applicable on concrete and wooden bases, but are more often used for repairing old wooden floors.

How to determine the unevenness of the floor

Clean the floor from dirt, dust, mortar influx, repair all visible potholes, cracks.

1. Take a long rule or a flat board and, putting it on edge, determine the location and size of the irregularities, mark them. Put a level on the top edge of the board.
2. Using a laser level, setting it at the highest visible point on the floor and marking the places where the beam will appear.
3. Use a two-meter building level. When working with a level, the area is divided into parts and slopes are determined in each of them, as well as between them. This will make it clear where you need to level and how much.

With small height differences (up to 1.5 cm by 2 m) and a low height of the premises, the concrete and wooden floor can be leveled by fixing the plywood directly on it with self-tapping screws for wood or a dowel with nails for concrete.

You can also use GVL, MDF, chipboard, OSB and other materials other than fiberboard. The thickness of the sheet with small irregularities is 8–10 mm. The order of work is as follows:

concrete base

1. The base must be completely dry. This can be checked by laying a piece of 1x1 m plastic film on it for a day and pressing its edges to the floor. If there is moisture on the film, it will take time to dry.
2. Plywood is pre-laid out, retreating from the walls 1.5–2.0 cm and leaving compensation gaps between sheets of 3–4 mm, cut where necessary. After that, they are numbered and removed.
3. To avoid cracks, holes are pre-drilled under the dowel-nails with a diameter equal to the diameter of the screw shaft, and under the cap with a diameter of 1–2 mm larger than its size. On 1 sheet you need 30-36 dowel-nails. Holes along the edges are drilled no closer than 2 cm to the edge.
4. All small potholes, cracks, cracks on the floor are sealed with cement mortar, oil and paint stains are removed.
5. The dried surface is thoroughly cleaned of dust and treated with a deep penetration primer 2-3 times. Dry.
6. Work begins from the wall farthest from the entrance. Sheets are glued according to the type of brickwork.
7. An adhesive composition is applied to the base (ordinary building glue can be used) under one sheet and leveled with a notched trowel 4–6 mm.
8. They lay plywood, press it tightly and fix the dowel with nails, first in the corners, then in all the drilled holes.
9. The procedure is repeated by inserting 4 mm tile crosses between the sheets so that the seams are even.

wooden base

Before leveling, the old wooden floor should be examined. It is advisable to lay plywood if the logs are strong and the boards are not rotten. It will not be superfluous to treat them with an additional antiseptic. The boards of the old wooden floor are pre-fixed, if they stagger and creak, putty the gaps between them. Sheets are laid according to the same principle, leaving compensation gaps, and fixed with wood screws. At the end of the work, the expansion gaps are sealed with acrylic or silicone sealant.

Alignment with anchor bolts

It is quite accessible to a person without experience with any irregularities and laid communications. It is produced in two steps: the first layer 20 mm thick is placed on anchor bolts set in level. The protruding ends of the bolts are cut off, the second layer is laid, which is fastened with self-tapping screws to the first. The order of work is as follows:

1. Holes are drilled over the entire area of ​​the sheet at a distance of 35–40 cm from one another along the diameter of the anchor bolt and with a cutter along the diameter of the washer to a depth equal to the height of the bolt nut and the thickness of the washer.
2. A sheet is laid, washers are inserted and holes are drilled through them in the base for installing bolts. The depth of the hole is 5–7 cm. The plywood is removed.
3. Anchor bolts are inserted into the holes in the base and hammered.
4. Nuts are screwed onto the bolts and washers are installed so that they are all at the same level. It is very important! When installing, use a laser level.
5. Plywood is placed on the washers, inserting the bolts into the finished holes. Put the second washers on the bolts and tighten the nuts. At the end of all work, the protruding upper parts of the bolts are cut off with a grinder.

Often, concrete bases are leveled with plywood or GVL under the laminate, since the even surface of the wood protects the coating from premature wear of the interlocks and from excessive moisture. Alignment is carried out in similar ways, depending on the degree of unevenness. For a laminate, it is not necessary to scrape the sheets, since a substrate is laid on them.

When leveling the base under the laminate, waterproofing should be provided. You can glue sheets on bituminous mastic or lay a thick plastic film and seal all seams with sealant.

Leveling the floor under the laminate with medium uneven floors

1. Set up beacons. As the latter, self-tapping screws are used, the caps of which are leveled over the entire area. To do this, the base area is divided into squares of 30x30 cm, in the corners of which self-tapping screws are twisted.
2. According to the level of the self-tapping screws, log bars are installed at a distance of 35–40 cm from each other. They are positioned so that the plywood joints are on the logs.
3. The bars are attached to the base with self-tapping screws or using metal corners.
4. Between the bars-lags, you can lay an additional layer of insulation.
5. The entire surface of the floor is covered with a thick polyethylene film with an overlap on the wall and sheets one on top of the other. Glue the places of overlap with adhesive tape.
6. Sheets are fixed to the lags with self-tapping screws, leaving compensation gaps.
7. A rolled cork or foam polymer substrate is laid on a leveled floor and a laminate is laid.

Leveling the floor with plywood under linoleum

With differences of 2–5 mm per 1 m 2 under linoleum, which is sensitive to unevenness, additional leveling of the wooden floor is not required. It will be enough to seal the gaps between the boards and local defects with silicone sealant or a mixture of PVA glue and small wet sawdust.

With irregularities up to 5 mm, plywood is attached directly to the boards. With a floor board width of 10–20 cm and uniform unevenness (wave distribution), it will be sufficient to fix sheets 8–10 mm thick. If the boards are wide (more than 20 cm), plywood 18–20 mm is preferable. The order of work is as follows:

1. Along the perimeter of the room, pieces of bars 2 cm thick are installed to provide a gap
2. Starting from the opposite wall from the entrance, sheets are laid with a gap of 3–8 mm between them (using crosses or wedges for tiles).
3. The next row is placed with an offset of half or a quarter of the sheet.
4. At the junction of plywood to heating pipes, a gap of 1–2 cm is also left.
5. In the places of the crests of the floor boards, plywood is attached with self-tapping screws along the pre-drilled holes and the heads are deepened into the drilled places.
6. An electric jigsaw is used to cut sheets.
7. At the end of laying, all seams are sealed with silicone or acrylic sealant.
8. The surface is cycled or polished and varnish is applied in 2-3 layers.

This leveled lacquered surface is suitable for laying linoleum and other coverings.

Modern flooring (laminate, cork, linoleum) requires a flat base surface for its laying. In older buildings, the base often requires leveling. There are many methods for this, one of which is leveling the floor with plywood.

For high-quality laying of floor material, a flat base is required. This will save you from having to put felt or bars under appliances and furniture.

Leveling a wooden floor with plywood is necessary to remove bumps, depressions, and also to eliminate curvature in the surface area.

Almost all floor materials react poorly to defects in the rough flooring. Laminate without a prepared floor after a while will creak, loosen and the board will become unusable. On linoleum, after a while, without first leveling the floor with plywood, all the bumps and flaws that are under the finishing material will be visible.

Installing furniture and appliances will also have problems when placed on an uneven floor. A simple installation of a sofa can turn into a many-hour problem with putting felt under the legs, pieces of wood for leveling.

Plywood - material for the floor

Plywood is a durable, multi-layered wood material. Due to its affordable price and excellent technical characteristics, it is often used in construction.

This material is chosen as a subfloor due to many factors. Plywood has an affordable price per m2, it fits well without additional time and money spent on leveling the floor. Due to the arrangement of fibers in different directions, this is a fairly durable material. It can be used not only to obtain a flat floor, but also to make minor repairs to eliminate flaws and defects.

How to buy plywood?

Plywood of different thickness

When buying plywood used for leveling, the following parameters should be taken into account:

• brand;
• Class;
• Grade;
• Thickness;
• Material manufacturer.

Depending on the type of premises, different brands should be preferred. For residential premises, preference should be given to the brands FK or FSF. Such plywood is safe, as there are no phenolic compounds in the composition. For wet rooms, it is preferable to choose FSF brands. Such plywood is moisture resistant and resistant to mechanical stress.

The difference between plywood grades

The plywood class indicates the level of release of free formaldehyde particles into the air. There are two classes:

• E1 contains 10 mg of formaldehyde in 100 g of wood material;
• E2 contains 30 mg of formaldehyde in 100 g of wood material.

For living rooms, it is preferable to buy E1.

Plywood is produced in 4 grades. Grade 1 material is high quality plywood. The fourth grade is a material with a large number of flaws, chips and knots. Professional craftsmen recommend using grade 3 and 4 plywood for rough flooring. For the main floor, grades 1 and 2 are preferable.

Varieties and classification

The thickness of the material is selected depending on the leveling method, the curvature of the floor and the covering being laid on top. Creating a subfloor for laying linoleum and carpet allows you to choose material up to 10 mm thick. Under laminate or parquet, a plywood thickness of at least 12 mm is required to level the floor.

When choosing, be guided by these indicators. If you choose the wrong thickness, then the sound insulation will decrease and the floor will quickly become unusable.

The manufacturer determines the quality of the plywood. European manufacturers guarantee the excellent quality of the material produced. But Chinese-made sheets do not always meet the requirements of the consumer.

floor leveling scheme

Also, plywood can have a sanded or non-sanded side. If it is used as a subfloor, then it is laid so that there is a surface without grinding at the top. This will ensure good contact with the finishing material.

When using plywood as a finishing floor, the top layer must be sanded for subsequent varnishing.

What tools do you need to work

Without the appropriate tool, it is impossible to qualitatively level the wooden floor with plywood. To do this, you will need the following devices:

• Perforator;
• Screwdriver;
• Floor level;
• Roulette;
• A hammer;
• Jigsaw;
• screws
• Marker for marking.

It is good if there are even small skills in handling construction tools and materials.

Before laying plywood, the condition of the base is assessed and the floor level is checked.

Concrete base defects and ways to eliminate them

The revision of the wooden base consists of removing the creak, replacing the fasteners, updating the board in the damaged part of the floor, assessing the condition and replacing the underground utilities if necessary.

The concrete base is checked for defects on the surface. Curvature is determined by the level. Before laying plywood on a concrete base, check the surface for moisture by covering it with a film for several days.

Laying on old logs

Experts report that, depending on the difference in floor height, they choose the method of laying plywood sheets.

With a difference in height of up to 2 mm, it is not necessary to align it. Changing the level of the floor up to 5 mm per m2 allows you to level it with plywood, laying it directly on a wooden base.

A large difference in the height of the concrete floor up to 8 cm requires the installation of strip or spot lathing for leveling with plywood.

The high drop of the floor requires the dismantling of the old coating and replacing it with a new floor.

Finished plywood floor

Knowing the simple rules for leveling different types of floors with plywood, you can easily do the work yourself. When laying plywood as a finishing floor, the sheets begin to be mounted from the middle of the room. Plywood should be fixed with self-tapping screws at a distance of at least 2 cm from the edge of the sheet. After the process is completed, the coating is sanded and opened with varnish.

Creating a subfloor using plywood does not impose special requirements on the fastening and location of the sheets. If two layers of material are supposed, then it is laid with an offset of the sheets in order to prevent the seams of the upper and lower rows from matching. There are a number of methods for laying plywood sheets for laying on a concrete or wood floor.

Laying sheets without lag

It happens that the concrete floor requires not only leveling, but also insulation. For this, the option without the use of a log is suitable, which is considered one of the easiest ways to level the floor with plywood. Work with plywood material begins only after it has been kept in a room for several days to get used to the conditions of the room.

The base for laying and the plywood sheet are treated with an antiseptic before laying it. To create the gap necessary for the technology, bars are placed around the perimeter of the room.

Sealing seams and irregularities

The arrangement of plywood sheets on the floor is carried out so that they are offset relative to each other (as when laying bricks). The material is fixed with screws evenly along the protruding points of the plywood.

All fasteners and seams are covered with sealant, after which the surface is puttied.

For a wooden floor that is not loose and in good condition, you can also use plywood leveling without using a lag.

Self-tapping screws

The floor of wooden boards is treated with sealant or putty. It is leveled with sand or sawdust mixed with resin. A vapor barrier film is laid on top, on which plywood is already laid out.

In order that, after fixing with plywood screws, they do not protrude above the coating, the holes are applied in several approaches. First, a hole is drilled according to the size of the self-tapping screw, and then it is processed so that the screw head is level with the surface of the plywood sheet.

Laying on lags

Leveling the floor with plywood on a strip crate can be used for laying under a laminate, tile or linoleum. Such a support is created using square bars and plywood sheets. Lags are laid in increments of 30-50 cm, and indented from the walls at a distance of 20-30 mm. The transverse bars are fixed to the lags in a checkerboard pattern with screws. To add rigidity, you can fix them with metal corners.

To create sound and heat insulation, wood chips mixed with glue are poured between the crate. This mixture dries for 2-3 days. Also, expanded clay or mineral wool can be used for backfilling.

Laying between the insulation log

Plywood is attached to the support with self-tapping screws. After that, you can lay any floor covering.

The method of leveling the floor with plywood along mini-logs is selected when there is a slope, or the surface difference is up to 8 cm.

Adjustable lags

The floor surface is marked out for the installation of beams and linings, which create an ideal structure for laying plywood sheets. This work requires careful calculations of the height of each support element with markings on the floor and preliminary fitting.

With this flooring, all structural elements will be of different heights. Work in this way is not difficult, but requires a painstaking approach.

Scheme of laying on point supports

This leveling method requires the presence of supports, self-tapping screws, two layers of plywood coating and glue.

First, sheets for marking and numbering are laid out on the base. The sheets are removed and the height of the finished floor is marked on the wall.

Laying laminate is a fairly responsible process that requires thorough preparation of the floor surface. All shortcomings in the work will inevitably lead to deformation of the coating and significantly reduce its service life. Leveling the floor with plywood is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to make the surface perfectly flat.

Laminate floors will be perfectly even only with high-quality leveling of the floor, and plywood does an excellent job with this task.

Leveling the floor for laminate

You will need:

• plywood with a thickness of at least 1 cm;
• drill;
• glue for plywood;
• jigsaw;
• building level.

The first step is to check the evenness of the floor at the building level. If the differences are not more than 1.5 cm, then plywood can be laid without using logs. First you need to carry out preparatory work. The plank floor should be free of rotten places and loose boards. If such shortcomings are found, then they are corrected by replacing the floorboards. It would be useful to further strengthen the floors with countersunk screws, as well as treat the surface with a primer with an antifungal composition.

If you plan to lay the plywood on a concrete surface, then make sure it dries well. To do this, take a piece of plastic film, stick it to the surface with adhesive tape. If the next day you find condensation under the film, then the concrete is still damp. The screed must be even and not have significant differences, all chips and dents must be repaired with a leveling mixture. The floors are cleaned of construction debris, after which they are treated with a special deep penetration primer on concrete.

Leveling the floor with plywood begins with antiseptic treatment, this will further prevent the material from rotting. Plywood is cut into squares, the size of which will depend on the width of the sheet and the parameters of the room (the most commonly used panels are 75 by 75 cm). It is quite easy to level the plank floor with plywood, the sheets are simply screwed with self-tapping screws. At the same time, it is necessary to leave a gap of 3-4 mm between the plates in order to avoid deformation of the surface from exposure to heat and moisture. A gap of 1-2 cm is left between the walls and the coating. Leveling the wooden floor under the laminate does not involve puttying the seams, such work is done only if linoleum is used.

Finishing the floor with plywood starts from the inner corner of the room. The rows are placed with an offset, the seams should not match and form a long line, this will make the coating fragile. The panels are glued to the concrete screed with special plywood glue, after which they are additionally fixed with dowels. If you put sheets only on glue, then there is a high probability that in the future they will simply peel off, in turn, this will lead to deformation of the laminate. Otherwise, the laying technology is exactly the same as finishing the plank floor with plywood.

Leveling the floor under the laminate on the logs

You will need:

• drill;
• wooden beam for crates;
• self-tapping screws with countersunk heads;
• building level.

The leveling of the floor, which has large irregularities, is carried out on logs. To do this, you need a wooden beam with a cross section of 10 by 4 cm. Since wood tends to deform under the influence of weather conditions, the logs must be left in the room for a week to acclimatize and dry. After that, the height of the future floor is marked on the wall, do this with the help of a building level. Logs are laid around the perimeter of the room, stepping back from the wall by 2-3 cm, at a distance of 40-50 cm from each other.

Do not forget to check the height of the crate according to the building level, put wooden wedges in the places of sagging.

After installing the beam along the perimeter of the room, transverse struts are inserted, the structure is fastened with self-tapping screws. Insulation can be installed between the lags: first, a layer of waterproofing is laid, then mineral wool or any other material, then there is a vapor barrier. After that, sheets of plywood are screwed, while a small distance of 3-4 mm is left between them. The tips of the experts outlined above will help you level the floor without making serious mistakes and miscalculations.

Laminate is a high-quality and inexpensive floor covering. This material appeared on the building materials market relatively recently. However, it has already earned huge popularity. This is due to a beautiful and aesthetic appearance (laminate is similar in appearance to parquet), durability, low cost, easy maintenance and ease of installation. However, for laying it is necessary that the base on which it will be laid is perfectly even.

If there is no laser level, then this work can be done using a simple building level with water sensors. But with this level, the work will be longer. The process is carried out in the same sequence:

• first you should find the highest place near the wall of the floor;
• then a level is applied to the wall and a strip is drawn along the lower edge of the level;
• after which a level is applied to the end of the line and a line is drawn until it passes around the entire perimeter of the room.

The next step will be finding bumps and depressions on the floor. Two ropes are pulled along and across the room according to the marking level. If there is no contact with the floor in any place, then this level will be ideal. If, nevertheless, there is contact with the floor, then the level should be increased by a few millimeters.

If the irregularities of the base do not exceed three millimeters, then laying the substrate will be sufficient to smooth them out (the best option is a cork substrate). In all other cases, leveling the floor under the laminate is required.

The first way to level a wooden floor

The first and most common way is to level the floor with plywood. This method is used when the floor differences are not more than 6 millimeters per 1 square meter of the floor. Installation of this material is notable for its simplicity and is carried out as follows.

The second way to level the wooden floor

The second way is to use a log on which the floor boards are attached. This method should be used only if the old boards have become unusable, and the logs themselves are still in excellent condition. The process consists of the following steps.

1. Removing old floor boards. Everything is clear here, with the help of a nail puller and a hammer, old boards are removed. In this case, the logs to which they are attached must not be damaged.
2. Base insulation. First, a layer of expanded clay is poured into the space between the lags, on top of which the foam is then laid. The insulation must be laid tightly, filling the entire free area between the lags. The joints between the plates can be treated with special mastic or filled with mounting foam.
3. Plywood laying. The final stage is the laying of plywood. Sheets are attached to the lags with self-tapping screws. The step between the fasteners should be 15-20 cm. After that, the substrate and the laminate are laid on the plywood.

The third way to level the wooden floor

The third way is puttying with PVA glue and sawdust. It is very easy to use, but takes a lot of time. To do this, you need to take sawdust from wood, PVA glue, wooden guides, a spatula with a width of 300 millimeters, an assembly level. Next, we recommend that you follow the step-by-step instructions.

1. Installing guides. After determining the level of the future floor, we set the guides with a distance of 30 centimeters between them over all floor areas. You need to start on the side where the floor has a smaller deviation from the level. At the same time, we mount guides around the entire perimeter of the room.
2. Primer surface treatment. Initially, the surface should be treated with a primer. The composition is applied with a brush.
3. Production of putty mixture. Wood chips must be added to PVA glue. You need to add until you get a substance of a creamy consistency. You can mix it with a construction mixer.
4. Application of the composition to the surface. Apply the mixture to a thickness of no more than a centimeter, as it will shrink. After applying the first layer, it is necessary to wait for it to dry completely. Then we apply the next layer and so on, until the required height of the applied putty is obtained;
5. Laying plywood or fiberboard. When the putty is completely dry, you need to put thin plywood or fiberboard on top of it. These sheets are attached to the guides with screws or nails. It is also worth initially deciding how you will cover the putty floor. This is necessary so that the joints between the sheets fall exactly on the guides.

Two more ways to level a wooden floor under a laminate

The fourth and fifth methods can only be used if the wooden floor is really strong and reliable. They consist in leveling the surface with a self-leveling mixture or concrete mortar. Moreover, the second method has a significant load on the base: it increases by about 75-100 kg per 1 sq. meter.

Step-by-step instruction:

It is worth remembering that these two methods are not the best options for a wooden floor. With the deflection of the boards, the screed can simply crack. Therefore, it is preferable to choose the first three alignment options.

The final stage of any method immediately before the installation of the laminate is the laying of the substrate. There are different types of substrate (roll type), but the principle of their installation is approximately the same: on the prepared base, pieces of material rolls are placed with a slight overlap on each other, or joint to joint. The seams are sealed with tape. And after that, you can mount the laminate panels.