How to Level a Concrete Subfloor

Though it will be much easier to contact a professional technician with all your home repairs, you can learn how to level concrete subfloors all on your own. Do not be intrigued with the type of equipment you will need for this process. You can simply rent these equipment for home repair or hardware stores for a very reasonable price. Leveling your concrete subfloor is necessary if you are thinking of installing new flooring or tiles in your home. Below are the materials that you need along with the instructions on how to level a concrete subfloor.

Step 1 - Clean the Subfloor

Use a 12 grit rock paper attached to the bottom of your flooring buffer, and clean the subfloor by buffing it. Make sure to remove all dirt, paint, and particles that are on your subfloor. You need to have a clean subfloor when installing new flooring or tiles to ensure that these do not come off from your floor. This also serves as a protective measure. If you do not have a buffer, you can also use a scrub and manually clean the floor.

Step 2 - Lumber for Subfloor

Take your lumber and use this to determine the flatness of your concrete subfloor. Place the lumber in different directions. You will be using this piece of lumber to determine if your concrete subfloor is flat after the grinding process. Subfloor tolerances do not go over 3/16th of an inch. This is on a span of about 10 feet of floor space.

Step 3 - Cover Area with Drop Cloths

The next step involves grinding, and this will cause a large amount of floor dust to accumulate. Protect your furniture, equipment, and other important objects in the room with drop cloths. Before you proceed to the next step, open the windows so that you have good ventilation. Make sure to close doors that lead to other rooms so that the dust does not get into those rooms.

Step 4 - Grind the Subfloor

Wear your protective glasses and working gloves  before proceeding with this step. Using a hand-held grinder, grind the concrete subfloor. Make sure you pay attention and grind the high areas so that your floor will be completely leveled.

Step 5 - Use Lumber to Level

Use your piece of lumber again, and make sure that your concrete subfloor is completely leveled. If it is not leveled properly, take a pencil and mark the high points that may cause the unevenness. Use these marks to determine where to proceed with grinding again.

Step 6 - Vacuum the Area

Check that the concrete subfloor is leveled. Use you piece of lumber for this again. When everything is equal and leveled, you can now clean the area and rid it of all dust and saw particles. Use a vacuum to ensure that all dirt and debris from the grinding are cleared.