Prep a Plywood Subfloor for Hardwood or Laminate

Hardwood and laminate flooring add warmth and beauty to any room, and they’re also a great way to increase the value of your home. At Lowe’s, you’ll find a variety of hardwood flooring styles and colors, from domestic species like Oak and Maple to exotics like Brazilian Cherry and Bamboo. Remember that a good flooring installation starts with a correctly prepared subfloor. So be sure to watch the subfloor prep videos and download the instructions at Lowes.com/Videos. We show you how to level your floor, check for excess moisture and mark a starting guideline.

Getting Started

01 Determine how much flooring and materials will be needed.

Multiply length x width of the room.
Add about 10% to that number to account for any possible mistakes and warped boards.
TIP: You can also use the square footage calculator at Lowes.com/Calculators.

02 Remove any carpet or other flooring.

If you have a vinyl floor, you may be able to install your flooring directly on top of it.
Check the manufacturer’s instructions for additional assistance.

03 Remove all baseboards to create the appropriate gap at the floor edges for expansion, as recommended by the manufacturer.

04 Check clearance at the doorways.

If a floor plank and underlayment, or adhesive, will not fit under the door casing, cut the casing with a backsaw about 1/16” above the level of the new flooring.
If a floor plank and underlayment, or adhesive, will not fit under the door, remove the door and trim it with a circular saw about 1/8" above the level of the new flooring.
TIP: If you need to cut the door, get the approximate layout of the cut, and use masking tape on top and bottom of the cut line to reduce splintering as the cut is made. Measure and mark on top of the masking tape.

Subfloor Requirements:
Clean, Level, Dry and Structurally Sound

Before you install, your subfloor must meet four requirements: clean, level, dry and structurally sound.

01 Clean

For a glue-down flooring application, the subfloor must be free of wax, paint, oil, sealers, adhesives or other debris.
Use a sander to remove any coating or sealant.
Vacuum the floor thoroughly.

2. For nail down, locking or floating installations, you can leave any coating as is, as long as the subfloor is free of dirt and dust.

02 Level

Make sure your floor is level.

Use a long level and tape measure to check that the floor is level.
Typically, the floor must be level and uniform within 3/16” every 10’.
Check your wood flooring manufacturer’s recommendations.

Sand down high spots with the sander.
- If the high spots are large or there are a lot of them, you might want to rent a random orbital floor sander.
Fill in low spots with cementitious leveling compound.
- If you are using nails or staples to secure your flooring, do not use the leveling compound—it will crack.
  Follow the flooring manufacturer’s instructions.

03 Dry

Check the moisture with a moisture test kit.
- Follow the test kit manufacturer’s instructions.
- If moisture levels are not within the wood flooring manufacturer’s recommendations, stop immediately and call a Lowe’s associate for help.

If you have a subfloor that consists of wood on top of concrete, you’ll need to test both floors.

04 Structurally Sound

Check for structural integrity.
- The subfloor must safely support the flooring, furniture, and people in the room.
- If you’re not sure about the integrity of your concrete subfloor, call a Lowe’s associate for help.
If a wood subfloor has any loose or squeaky boards, screw them to the floor joists (or nail using ring shank nails).
Check wood subfloor thickness.
- Check the manufacturer’s requirements about wood subfloor thickness and width, typically the preferred thickness is ¾”.
- Contact a Lowe’s associate if your wood subfloor doesn’t meet the manufacturer’s requirements.
Locking, engineered and laminate flooring may be installed directly over vinyl or linoleum, as long as the floor is no more than two layers thick.

Installing The Underlayment

01 Cover the subfloor with the appropriate underlayment for your type of flooring.

Depending on the type of floor you install, your underlayment may require a moisture barrier (locking hardwood floors require a moisture barrier like 2-in-1 underlayment).
A Lowe’s associate can tell you what type of underlayment will work best for your materials.
Some products have the underlayment pre-attached, but you may also need a separate moisture barrier.

02 Install the underlayment according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Typically, you roll out the underlayment in strips, joining the edges of each row. Leave the underlayment long at the ends; cut it after you’ve installed the floor.

Acclimating To The Room

01 Bring the flooring into the room so the wood planks can acclimate to the room’s temperature and humidity for at least 72 hours before installation. This reduces problems associated with moisture, such as warping and fit. Stack the flooring in a flat position in the room or rooms where it is to be installed and allow it to acclimate.

Establishing a Guideline

01 For a wood subfloor, install the planks perpendicular to the floor joists.

If you choose not to install the planks perpendicular to the floor joists, you will have to reinforce the subfloor to prevent sagging. Call a Lowe’s associate for help on reinforcing your subfloor.

02 Measure and mark the center of all four walls at floor level.

03 Snap the chalk line overtop the plywood or underlayment between the marks on opposite walls making a cross in the center of the room.

04 Determine your starting wall.

You will lay the flooring lengthwise to this wall.
When possible, always begin layout or installation from the straightest wall, generally an outside wall.

05 Measure from the center cross to the starting wall, subtract the manufacturer’s expansion gap, and mark on the plywood or underlayment by the starting wall.

06 Using the center line parallel to the starting wall, measure and mark the same distance on each end of the starting wall.

If your walls are not square and this distance doesn’t allow for the manufacturer’s required expansion gap, re-measure this point per the previous step and use this distance to mark the center and opposite corner measurements along the starting wall.

07 Snap a line between the marks on the starting wall to form a guideline along the starting wall.

08 You will lay the flooring lengthwise along this line.

You are now ready to install laminate or hardwood flooring in your room or home. Check out the step-by-step instructions for installing hardwood or laminate flooring at Lowes.com/Videos.

Submit Comments & Photos

0 out of 0 people found this comment helpful. Was this comment helpful?

Flag this comment.

Please feel free to post a comment and someone from LowesCreativeIdeas.com will review your submission. You can check back after 24 hours to see if your comment has been posted.

Fields in BOLD are required to preview and submit your comment.

Your Name (displayed with comment)
close[X]

Instructions

Your email will only be used in the event that one of our moderators needs to clarify your comment. It will be used strictly in the context of or relating to your comment.

Your email will NOT be used for marketing purposes or shared with any 3rd parties.

Your Email
(Why do we ask?)
Your Location (eg, 'Chicago, IL')
Your Photo

Have a photo? Attach it to your comment here.
Make sure your photo meets the following requirements:
Max File Size: 2 MB
File Types: jpeg/jpg, gif
Photos will be scaled to fit this space.

Upload Photo
Your Comment

Character count: 0

(500 character limit)
Enter the above image text

close[X]

If you do not see the security words image:

• Make sure the version of your browser is current. For example, you need to have at least Internet Explorer 5.0 or Netscape 6.0 or higher.

• Make sure your graphics (pictures and images) are turned on or enabled in your browser.

• Refresh your browser and try again. You may want to copy your comment though as it will not be saved.

Can't see the image?

close[X]

Instructions

Please enter the words you see in the box, in order and separated by a space. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this service.

If you are not sure what the words are, either enter your best guess or refresh the browser for a new set image.

What is this?
Terms & Conditions Terms of Use & Guidelines Lowe’s Creative Ideas Web Community Lowe’s and its affiliates (“Lowe’s”) offer this Creative Ideas Web Community (“Community”) to users to enable them to share projects and ideas and discuss how to use and enjoy a variety of home improvement products and services. If you have questions or concerns regarding a Lowe’s home improvement store or the services or products offered by Lowe’s, please contact at http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=topicSelect&topic=contactUs These Terms of Use & Guidelines (“Community Terms”) govern your use of and conduct associated with the Community, including all comments, information, and any other content submitted by you or other users. If you submit any content on or through the Community, you are acknowledging and accepting these Community Terms, as well as Lowe’s Terms and Conditions of Use (“General Terms”) for Lowes.com and Lowe’s Privacy and Security Statements (“Privacy Terms”). To the extent of any conflict between these Community Terms and the General Terms, Privacy Terms, these Community Terms shall control with respect to the Community. Lowe’s has the right, but not the obligation, to monitor, review, revise, and/or remove any content posted by a user. Lowe’s assumes no liability for any content posted by a user and Lowe’s does not regularly review all such content. You are solely responsible for any content that you submit, the consequences of posting that content, and your reliance on any communications found in the Community. By submitting any content you acknowledge and agree to the following: • Lowe's has the right but not the obligation to display all content you provide for public view; • The content you submit is non-confidential for all purposes; • You are not using a false e-mail address, impersonating any person or entity, or otherwise misrepresenting yourself or the origin of the content you submit; • You represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to content you submit; • All content you post is accurate, truthful, and lawful; • Use of the content you submit does not violate these Community Terms; • Use of the content you submit will not cause injury or harm to any entity or person; • Use of the content you submit will not give rise to any claim against Lowe’s, and the content you submit shall not, in the judgment of Lowe’s, expose Lowe’s or any of its customers or suppliers to any liability or detriment of any type; • You grant to Lowe’s and all Community users an unrestricted, irrevocable, world-wide, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense through multiple tiers of sublicensees) and right: (i) to use, reproduce, display, perform, modify, adapt, publish, translate, and transmit and distribute your content for any purpose and in any media; (ii) to rate, review, comment on and tag your content; and (iii) to send and distribute your content via E-mail, Instant Messenger or otherwise over or through the Internet or any other electronic communications system; • With regard to any media content that you submit (such as photos, audio, etc.), you warrant that you have permission from all persons appearing in such media content for you to make the submission and grant the rights described herein, and you certify that any person pictured in the submitted media content (or, if a minor, his/her parent/legal guardian) authorizes Lowe’s to use, copy, print, display, reproduce, modify, publish, post, transmit and distribute the media content and any material included in such media content. • You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Lowe's, its affiliates and subsidiaries, and each of their respective directors, officers, employees, shareholders, agents, attorneys, assigns and successors-in-interest, and third-party service providers from and against any and all liabilities, damages, losses, claims, demands, assessments, actions, causes of action, costs (including attorneys' fees and expenses) and any of them, arising out of or resulting from the content you submit, your failure to comply with the terms set forth herein, or your violation of any law or the rights of any third party; • In addition to all other remedies available, you acknowledge that Lowe’s has the right to (i) remove your content from the Community or refuse to include your content in the Community, (ii) suspend or terminate your account or refuse to grant you access to any current or future use of the Community or any other Lowe’s service, with or without warning, if Lowe’s, in its sole discretion, believes you have: (1) violated or tried to violate the rights of Lowe’s or others; or (2) violated or tried to violate or otherwise acted inconsistent with these Community Terms or any other applicable terms or conditions. • Lowe's assumes no liability for any content posted by you or any third-party; and • All content you submit is subject to each of these Community Terms, the General Terms, and the Privacy Terms, collectively. You further agree and represent that you will not submit any content: • that is illegal, obscene, vulgar, offensive, threatening, harassing, defamatory, libelous, slanderous, hateful, abusive, discriminatory, racially or religiously biased or offensive, pornographic, profane, sexually explicit, indecent or embarrassing to any other person or entity, or otherwise restricts or inhibits any other user from using and enjoying the Community; • invasive of privacy, infringing of intellectual property rights, injurious or objectionable to third parties, • that is fraudulent or otherwise constitutes or contains false, inaccurate or misleading indications of origin, endorsement or statements of fact; • that violates, plagiarizes, misappropriates or infringes the rights of third parties including, without limitation, copyright, trademark, trade secret, confidentiality, contract, patent, rights of privacy or publicity or any other intellectual property or proprietary right; • that violates any law, statute, ordinance, code or regulation; • that consists of or contains advertisements, political campaigning, commercial solicitations, chain letters or pyramid schemes of any kind, mass mailings, any form of "spam", embedded links, or references to other products, offers, Websites, URLs, or viruses. For the purposes of these Community Terms, "viruses" includes, without limitation, software routines, codes or instructions, hardware components or combinations thereof, that are designed to (a) permit unauthorized access to software; or (b) disable, delete, modify, damage, or erase software, hardware or data, including, but not limited to, components that are commonly referred to as "viruses," "back doors," "time bombs," "Trojan Horses," "worms" or "drop dead devices"; • that consists of or contains e-mail addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses or other forms of personal or contact information; and • for which you were compensated or provided any consideration by any third party. Lowe's has no obligation to post any content that you or anyone else submits. Without limiting the foregoing, Lowe’s reserves the right not to post your content if it contains any of the following or violates other posted or referenced guidelines: • Keep it clean: Obscenities, profanity, discriminatory language, or other language not suitable for public display. • No ads: Advertising or referencing other products, offers, or websites is strictly prohibited. • No personal information: Email addresses, phone numbers, mailing addresses or other personal information will not be accepted for posting. • No content that identifies any specific store or employee. • No harassing content: Do not attack other users or make overly critical comments regarding other reviews. • No off-topic information. Lowe’s shall have no liability to users of the Community or any other person or entity for refusing or failing to post, or removing, editing, or disclosing, any content that you or anyone else submits. Copyright Infringement If you believe any content accessible on or from the Community (including the content of other users’ posts and submissions) infringes your copyright rights, you may request removal of such content (or access thereto) by submitting a DMCA Notification at http://lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=topicSelect&topic=dmcaNAT. If your submitted content was removed from the Community (or access thereto is disabled) due to an allegation of copyright infringement, and you believe such content is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner's agent, or pursuant to the law, to post such content, you may submit a DMCA Counter-Notification at http://lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=topicSelect&topic=dmcaCN. In an effort to protect the rights of copyright owners, Lowe’s maintains a policy for the termination, in appropriate circumstances, of the accounts of repeat infringers.
I have read and agree to all of the Terms & Conditions
Please review your comment for accuracy and click submit. To edit your comment, click edit.
Once submitted LowesCreativeIdeas.com will review your submission. You can check back after 24 hours to see if your comment has been posted.

Total Votes: 2

(1)

close[X]

These "social bookmarking" services make it easier to share and manage your favorite online content.

StumbleUpon, digg, and del.icio.us help you gather content from around the web, describe it how you see fit, and tag it for easy sorting. These sites also allow you to see what other people are gathering and tagging (if they've made it public), and find new content that may interest you.

Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace also allow you to share content that you find interesting, with people who visit or subscribe to your personal profile.

(What are these?)