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A kitchen in Portland made me rethink my whole underlayment process
I was putting down some engineered hardwood in a 1920s house last month, and the floor had a slight dip I almost missed. The homeowner's old dog walked across a test piece and I heard a tiny click with every step. Now I always put down a full sheet of 1/4 inch ply first, even if the subfloor looks flat. Has anyone else caught a problem like that from something totally random?
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kaigibson6mo ago
Wait, the dog found it? That's wild.
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dixon.james4mo ago
My old lab did the same thing. Joelburns is right, that slow marble roll is a total horror movie moment.
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joelburns6mo ago
Got to love a quality control check from a senior dog. My last warning sign was a marble rolling slowly across a bathroom floor like it was in a low budget horror movie. Now I'm the guy obsessively checking for level with a six foot straight edge before anyone even unpacks a tool. That little bit of extra plywood is cheap compared to the sound of a clicking floor haunting you forever.
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michael_green446mo ago
Yeah that marble trick is no joke, it's how I caught a dip in my own kitchen floor. I ended up using a ton of leveling compound before putting down the new vinyl planks, just a whole bag feathered out across the low spot. It added maybe half a day to the job but now it's dead silent, totally worth the hassle. I mean you just can't un-hear that click once you notice it.
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