| Leveling a Subfloor |
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Products are available that you mix and thickly spread on a concrete floor to smooth out any uneven areas. They can fill in as much as 1 in. in height. Your flooring or building material store can tell you more and show you how they work. Alternately, you can install strips of wood over the concrete and attach a new plywood subfloor to it. The flooring then is attached to the new subfloor. Common underlayment materials for fooring include hardboard, particleboard, plywood, cement backerboard, and mastic with binders (latex, asphalt, polyvinyl-acetate). From the list you can see that underlayment is either rigid or thick viscous. In addition, floors with moisture problems need a moisture barrier, typically some type of plastic sheeting. Mastic is an adhesive with a thickener or binder. The thickener gives the mastic bulk so it can be troweled smooth and level. In addition, some flooring mastics can help waterproof the subfloor, keeping moisture away from the flooring materials. Other flooring mastics retain some elasticity and adhesion after installation, making them an excellent flooring adhesive as well.
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