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Remember when we used to glue down hardwood with just a trowel and a prayer?
Back in the 90s when I started, we'd spread mastic by eye and hope the floor laid flat. Now I use a moisture meter and a 1/16 inch notched trowel every time, after a job in Austin where the planks cupped bad within 6 months. What changed was that expensive callback taught me to check the subfloor like a detective. Has anyone else had a wakeup call that made them switch up their method for good?
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emery8795mo ago
The thing nobody talks about enough is the subfloor prep, not just the glue. Back when I had that job in Houston, I skimped on sanding high spots because I figured the glue would fill it in. Wrong. The hardwood ended up telegraphing those bumps right through, and the homeowner noticed within a week. Now I check the subfloor with a straight edge and feel for any dip or ridge before even opening the glue bucket. That Austin job taught me that a moisture meter is useless if the floor isn't flat first. How many of you actually level the subfloor with self-leveler before laying hardwood?
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cameroncarr5mo ago
@emery879 nailed it. I'll never skip straight-edge checks again, learned that the hard way too.
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