A client's simple note made me change my whole underlayment routine

I finished a big vinyl plank job in a Denver condo last month, and the owner left a note saying the floor felt 'hollow' in a few spots when she walked on it. She was right, I had rushed the floor prep and missed some low areas. Now I use my 6-foot level to check the whole subfloor in a grid pattern before I even open the underlayment roll. I mark any dips deeper than 3/16 of an inch with chalk and fill them. It adds maybe an hour to the job, but the floor feels solid everywhere. Has anyone else found a better way to spot subfloor issues fast?

3 comments

3 Comments

david5624d ago

Guess that client saved you from a lifetime of hollow floors. My level gets more use than my tape measure these days.

king.aaron1d ago

Yeah, that grid check is key. Had a floor last month where a laser level and @david562's method saved us a ton of time.

oscarc534d ago

My old foreman used to say you can't fix a problem you haven't mapped. That grid check is the map. I've seen too many guys skip it and end up with callbacks on the very first row they laid, all because of a hidden valley in the subfloor.