Hello,
Can some of you guys tell me how to go about leveling a 3/4" osb subfloor?
I am cosidering installing a engineered wood floor and the tech support said I can use anything non conpressible to flatten the osb with.

please list all available material you know of for doing something like this, so far I have heard of 15lb builders felt.
can rosin paper be used for this?

Also, most of the raised areas look to be where the osb is buttied and nailed on top of the floor joists. Can a belt sandr be used to bring this down, or is osb board something that cannont be sanded?

If a sander is in order can you guys reccomend a inexspensive one to do this type of job?




thanks
zim

Yes, sand down those butts and joints and any high spots. If you're gluing the flooring down, you can use a cementious patching compound. If stapling/nailing, you can layer up asphalt felt in 15 or 30 lb. It will probably be cheaper to rent a sander than to buy one. I'd recommend a flooring sander called an edger and some course (20 grit) sandpaper to rent. Punch down the nails first so you're not sanding the heads off.

As Gary said-do not even waste your time with a belt sander. I tried to use one to sand down a few high spots and two hours later had not even made a dent in the area i needed to sand down. I rented an edger for a day for $35 from Home Depot (they cost $1,800 new!) and it is ten times faster but it still took a while. If I had $400 to buy a used one on ebay I would...those edgers are quite awesome and manly!

Nick

Agreed.... one tool I desperately need is an edger. I'm always on the lookout for a deal on one , no luck so far

Hey guys is'nt a edger to big for 1 person to lug around , plus I dont own a pickup truck or anyone that does.

its basically a drum sander right?

If it is really bad, I will take my circular saw. Mount a dull blade in it. and rake it sideways across the peak. Then break out the sander. with some 24 or 36 grit.

Goes a little faster. And not for the scaredy cat.

I've also used my hand held power planner. That works pretty well for removing stock fast but they're noisy. Worse than a sander!

ok I think algo meant a handheld edger and not a big drum sander if im not mistaken!

I just checked the parts of my floor that I have access to right now and when I balance the level across the joist of the subfloor I get nothing greater then 3/16" on either side.most of the joists are 1/8" or less .
so would the edger be the best tool for this job or garys hand held power planer idea?

Also should i fill the dips with felt paper first and then see what joists need to be plained down or should the joists be done first?

floorguy that circualr saw thing sounds something just like my father would have done and way to scary for a newbie like me to try (i should of paid more attention to what he was doing while he was still alive)


zim

Get all the edges knocked down flat , then see how much filling is needed.. if any. Either tool will will work but a planer creates much less dust. Make sure to set all the nail heads before doing this.

Don't do what Floorguy suggested... he's scaring me too

how many inches out from the middle of the joint can I plane down to fix the cupping?
Is sanding/planing 6 inches on each side of the joint to much?

also how much is the maximum I should bring it down the cupped areas before I start creating other problems?
3/16"?


zim