Wavy Floor Solutions?

Question

I bought a duplex as my first investment property and to house hack. My husband and I are doing most of the work on our own and we are learning a ton.

My plan was to replace the carpet and sheet vinyl to LVP throughout. But after we pulled the baseboards and the flooring, we found out that the floor is wavy and uneven. Low spot is about 1/2" lower than a high spot.

We also found that the puddles form in the crawlspace when it rains, and it's very likely the flooring sagging due to structural damage from the moisture. We'll get the full evaluation next Wednesday.

As far as I understand, the right course of action is to fix the crawlspace and any foundational issue that's caused by the water, then install the flooring.

BUT time is not in my favor. We (family of 4) need to move in by at the end of this month.

So what are my options?

I considered pouring self-leveling cement and proceed with LVP as planned, but I wonder if that would cause the issue when we fix the foundation and possibly re-joist?

Marcia Maynard · Answer

#1 Correct your drainage problem.  The drainage system includes: roof, gutters, downspouts, conduits to take water away from the foundation (solid pipe and french drains), proper slope away from the foundation, drainage rock, etc. Water always comes from above. In some areas it can also come from below.  If you're in an area that has ground water, such as from close proximity to a spring or river, then you may be looking to add a sump pump too.

#2 Properly ventilate the crawl space and finish it with a vapor barrier. Proper ventilation and pest exclusion is important too.  Here's a link to a website of a company that services crawl spaces. It offers some good advice and information, even for the DIY folks. https://cleancrawls.com/

#3 Make sure the subfloor to the living space is sound. Take the current floor covering off. Replace the subfloor if necessary. Consider your choices for subfloor and choose the one that fits well with the age and structure of the home, location, and budget.  When all the floor covering comes up, you may see shiplap, tongue and groove boards, diagonal decking, solid board sheathing, plywood, or OSB (oriented strand board).  I'd replace the subfloor in the problem areas and make the floor level. Once you have a good subfloor, then you're ready for the floor covering.

#4 Consider your flooring options.  Luxury Vinyl flooring (planks LVP or tiles LVT) are certainly good for many applications. Laminate wood flooring has also improved in recent years in terms of durability and water resistance, in some applications surpassing LVT/LVP.  Tile is popular in warmer climates and where there is high humidity. People  are moving away from carpet, except for bedrooms, as carpet is harder to maintain for cleanliness and can harbor allergens. But carpet is quiet under foot, warm, and can be a good choice for rooms on higher levels. Carpet also hides subfloor imperfections well and can be cheap and easy to replace between tenants.  Hardwood is timeless, but harder to maintain. Placing an area rug over a hard surface floor can create a softer landing spot and helps quiet the sound of the room. We use sheet vinyl, loose lay, in finished basements. We've also used sheet vinyl, with a realistic wood print, in an entire two bedroom duplex apartment with great success. It's worth paying extra for commercial grade or the top of the line luxury vinyl sheets. With rental property, durability, water resistance, and ease of cleanliness is key.

Ed B. · Answer

If you can't figure out how the water is getting into the crawlspace, you may have to install a sump pump  with a float switch to pump the water out when it gets too high. Crawlspace water  will evaporate and add enough moisture in the air to create mold problems in the house above the puddles as well as make hardwood flooring buckle. I've seen it do this. It's likely the moisture is the cause of the wavy floor. Mike is correct that self-leveling cement works best when poured onto a slab foundation, not on a raised wood floor. However, in lieu of ripping all the subfloor out and replacing, I'd still try using the self-leveling cement.  It may indeed crack, but the LVP floor on top of it is a floating  floor (assuming you don't glue it) so it should nicely span any subsequent cracks in the leveling cement without creating any problems for the walking surface of the floor. It's possible you may have to replace the LVP after 5-10 years if the cracking underneath becomes more problematic, but it's still probably a better option than reconstructing the entire floor.

Mike Reynolds · Answer

If this is a wood floor you don't want to do the cement. The wood will expand and contract it's whole life and the cement will crack. if this floor has been like this for a long time you are likely stuck with it unless you rip it out.

What type of floor are you trying to install? My thinking is if you fix the wet basement you could run wood or laminate flooring perpendicular to the floor on there now. Not the most ideal but it could work in a bind. When you do this plan on cutting the door bottoms a bit.

Sandeep Singh · Answer

how about posting some pictures?  That would be helpful

Pat L. · Answer

Friends had a new addition built with a crawl space (I would never do it) & standing water by virtue of hydrostatic pressure kept flooding the crawl space. They found the ONLY way to eliminate it was to install a sump pump. After several months of moisture build-up the kids putting in the sump pump found mold already appearing on the underside of the flooring & joists. I doubt if you would want a family of 4 living in the conditions you mention.

Bob H. · Answer

I like @Lee VanDenBroeke's suggestion, but I have little expertise in this area. One caution, though, about deciding to install LVP and just live with the wavy floor. We bought a new house with a slab foundation last year. It's a nice place, with engineered hardwood in the main living area. There are a few places, though, where apparently there were low spots in the slab, and the flooring was installed right over them. It's annoying when I walk on the floor, because I notice those spots every time.

Possibly unrelated, but the floor also had some places where the hardwood planks separated at the ends, which has been solved by a tool I posted here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/84/topics/704056-vinyl-plank-flooring-is-separating

Kenneth Garrett · Answer

@Jinwon Hensley

Figure out where the water is coming from.  It might be easy and adjust down spouts and or grading.  Adding a sump might work, but you probably need drain tile to direct water to the sump for the proper way to extract the water.  If this has been a continual problem the subfloor is probably delaminating.  Mold is already down there.  I have dealt with this before.  I put a sump and drain tile system in crawl, pulled the subfloor and leveled the floor.  Make sure you do not have a structural problem.  Did you have a home inspection before you bought the property?  There are many options as have been suggested here, but I prefer to fix it once versus bandaids and then doing the work a second time.  Hopefully when you receive the evaluation it won’t be so bad. Your time is definitely a problem to do this work in such a short time.

Good Luck.

Ryan Benson · Answer

Water in crawl space mostly is a grading probably being you're from Georgia. Under decks are famous for this.  As a flooring contractor I recommend life proof all the time fantastic product. In the industry we call it flat not level. If you can get your floor to be flat and slowly slope here and there that is fine. Rent a edger a bunch of sanding disc sand down high joist. Good luck.

Lee VanDenBroeke · Answer

@Jinwon Hensley, regarding the wavy floor, do you have access to the floor joists? If they are a truss style, it could be as simple as adding a “strong back” perpendicular to the floor joists. Cheap and relatively simple, and extremely effective.

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