Just read a study that said 40% of wood floor failures come from wrong subfloor prep

I was checking out some old trade journals at the library yesterday and found a report from a testing lab in Ohio. They pulled up a bunch of failed jobs and found most weren't about the wood itself, but the surface underneath it. How many of you actually check moisture and flatness on every single plywood subfloor before you start laying?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo_ellis16d ago

Ever see a floor buckle because someone skipped the moisture check?

the_seth16d agoTop Commenter

Oh man, yes. A buddy of mine put laminate right over a concrete slab in his basement without checking. It looked great for about three months. Then summer hit, the humidity came up, and the whole thing turned into a wavy mess. Locking boards popped apart everywhere. He had to rip it all out and start over.