Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Jan 29, 2014 9:24 pm Hi there, Looking for an advice how to avoid spongey or uneven floating floors. We are building on a concrete slab but noticed that spongey floors happen quite often even in display homes! Sometimes nothing much sometimes a few bad spots. Slabs that we have seen laid here and there did not appear quite flat with higher and lower spots as it seems all leveling is a very manual effort done in a bit of a rush given concrete setting time constraints. Is there something a builder needs to do extra to the concrete slab and they do not do it normally? What should we plan and ask for? Should an installer do it perhaps? We just do not want *any* surprises with that issue. Anyone has done floating floors upstairs? Is this (being particle boards) subject to less risk or some planning is needed too? Thanks for any sharing. Built a 2 storey house... hebel, proctor, pvc windows, aiphone, deck roofs, louver covered patio Re: how to avoid spongey or uneven floating floors? 2Jan 30, 2014 12:05 pm My builder had separate professionals come in to do the floating floors and those guys put in some filler (not sure what it was but it was the same grey colour as the slab and took a couple of days to dry) to make sure the ground was level before they laid the flooring. Hope that helps. Re: how to avoid spongey or uneven floating floors? 3Jan 30, 2014 12:19 pm I would imagine if they haven't left enough gap on the edges for expansion and contraction, especially if installed on a cold day, when it's a hot day the floor could meet resistance to expansion from the walls and slightly warp in the middle and be a bit uneven. This is just a thought of mine, not necessarily what happens though. Re: how to avoid spongey or uneven floating floors? 4Jan 30, 2014 5:42 pm Hi, You need to stipulate to your builder that the slab is to be no greater than +/- 3mm per metre (using a straight edge on the slab) for a start. That is most manufacturers maximum accepted tolerance. Less than that is even better. Secondly, if you ask your flooring provider to come and check the floor (the guy doing the job, not the retailer who sells it) prior to the day of installation, they will be able to look towards grinding back high spots and filling low points with a self levelling compound as a previous poster mentioned. If the costs are excessive, you can talk to the builder about them, some people have been successful in recouping costs, others have not. Self levelling can also be done yourself if you are half handy. Hardware stores sell levelling compound normally. Your preferred retailer should be able to assist you with more information if you need it. All the best. CALL 1300GOHARVEY www.harveynormanflooring.com.au Carpet, Rugs, Timber, Bamboo, Laminate, Vinyl & Vinyl Tiles TIMBERMAX Real Australian Hardwood Flooring IN STORES NOW Re: how to avoid spongey or uneven floating floors? 5Jan 31, 2014 7:12 pm Thanks Grom40 and HN Flooring Team for great feedback. I will take this up with my builder and hopefully will be able to avoid these floor issues. Built a 2 storey house... hebel, proctor, pvc windows, aiphone, deck roofs, louver covered patio I hope this help you newhome_24, AS3958.1 is the Ceramic Tile Installation Standard. It specifies the tolerances for the installation of tiles. The tile supplier is… 1 7303 I don't think you're getting a response because you are not quite clear on what the issue is. yep, the site is not level, no site is! but are you just building a garage?… 1 2250 Thanks Simon, I guess I'm no concerned with the volume of the noise rather that dead and hollow sound and feel that is associated with floating floors. But I'm not sure… 3 6109 |