Pre-finished Maple Wood Floor

Nice replacement to pink shag carpet!

This flooring job was more preparation than it was flooring because the subfloor was so out of level. Actually level is not the correct term in this case because a subfloor does not need to be level to apply hardwood flooring but rather flat as the flooring should not be bent up or down too severely, nor should it bridge low spots. Any of these scenarios would create a potential for a squeaking floor if not broken flooring. The low spots had been built into the house and were not a problem when the floors were carpeted. Now before laying hardwood flooring shimming was needed either above the floor joists, under the subfloor or above the subfloor. The owner preferred shimming on top of the sub floor so with 1/4 inch luan plywood and heavy tar paper we crafted layers to fill in sometimes 1/2 inch depressions! Once shimmed the subfloor was not by any means flat but by filling the sharpest dips the flooring could bend over the more gradual dips that were left. The finished floor looked flat and beautiful and was well worth all the preparation.