Pergo is an excellent option for improving a home’s flooring and aesthetic appeal. However, when it comes to its installation, many homeowners have had questions about whether installing it on uneven floors can cause any alarm. For this reason, I have outlined whether you can install Pergo on uneven floors.
Installing Pergo on the uneven floor is doable. However, it is not recommended as it can compromise the quality of your flooring. For instance, installing Pergo on an uneven floor can result in loose and buckling boards that might even break when you step on them.
For best results, you want to identify and correct any cracks, gaps, uneven concrete, and sloped areas in your home to get a sturdy subfloor that will maintain the structure and aesthetic value of the Pergo for decades.
Have difficulties in identifying the sloped areas on your floor? Measure the height from the floor to the ceiling at 6 feet intervals to determine regions with excessive sloping to correct them. Alternatively, you can use a construction level and a marker to mark the slopy, depressed, and bumpy areas to level them.
If you overlook the above aspects and proceed to install the Pergo on the uneven subfloor, then don’t blame the manufacturer if your Pergo loosens a few days after installation.
Should You Put Pergo On Uneven Floor?
You should never put Pergo on uneven floors. If you do, you will compromise the quality of your floor and the comfort of your home due to the discomfort associated with the dips, bumps, slopes, and potholes on your uneven floor.
More specifically:
The dips in your subfloor can damage the interlocking mechanism between the boards, leading to gaps or bumps that can be hazardous to household members. This is not to mention the associated creaking sounds that may come from loosely attached boards.
The uneven subfloor can cause some parts of the boards to bend, risking household members of an injury. Or attract new repair costs.
That said, you should always inspect for any slopes, voids, gaps, cracks, humps, bumps, and other elements that are likely to interfere with the effective installation of the Pargo. Then, use the right tools to create an even subfloor for Pergo installation.
What Tools Do You Need To Put Pergo On Uneven Floor
Installing Pergo on the floor is not an easy job. You need the right tools to execute the task effectively.
Examples of the tools you may require to put up Pergo on the uneven floor include a vacuum cleaner, self-leveling compound, hammer, sandpaper, carpenter level, hammer, wide putty knife, finishing nails, etc. Below is a brief description of each of the tools.
Spirit Level/Carpenters Level: Ideal for leveling the subfloor before installing the Pergo. It contains a liquid in one or more tubes which helps to determine whether a surface is level. More specifically, the liquid/s move to the center of the transparent tube when you place the instrument on level ground.
Sandpaper: Features a paper backing or a cloth with sand or abrasives like aluminum oxide or silicon carbide. It is fit for smoothing rough surfaces and scrubbing away small bumps on the floor. You can use sandpaper with an electric sander when working in large spaces.
Self-leveling Concrete: It is a polymer-modified cement used to level concrete, screed, timber, tiles and other floor types. One good thing about self-leveling concrete is that it spreads itself evenly to create a smooth, level surface.
Vacuum Cleaner: It is ideal for sucking dust and other dirt from the subfloor. If you don’t have a heavy-duty vacuum cleaner, you can use the typical cleaner for your home but stay in the know that any metallic objects like nails and staplers could destroy it.
Hammer: For driving/ removing nails from the boards
Power Saw: For reducing the boards into required sizes
A Magnet: for trapping small metal particles to prevent them from destroying your vacuum cleaner
What Preparations Do You Need To Install Pergo On Uneven Floor
Now that you know the right tools, the next step is to start the Pergo installation process. Like any other construction task, you have to start by preparing your working area. Remember, how you prepare your subfloor impacts your final product’s quality significantly.
Remove any old floor covering from your space, then clean the floor surface thoroughly using water and a cleaning agent. Use a claw hammer to remove any protruding nails and a magnet for any staples and metal particles on the floor, and then level it.
Don’t feel like cleaning? Before leveling, use a vacuum cleaner to suck dust and other dirt from the subfloor surface.
The leveling stage is the most important. Ensure you have filled any potholes and leveled any available bumps. Also, use a carpenter’s level to identify the sloped areas, then use self-leveling concrete to level them. Be sure to confirm the levelness of the subfloor after the leveling concrete has cured.Moreover, remove any old skirting boards that may interfere with your working efficiency. The idea is to achieve a clean, level surface subfloor for installing the Pergo.
How To Install Pergo On Uneven Floor
Pergo flooring can be applied over wood or concrete subfloors.
As mentioned above, you should start the installation by cleaning and leveling the subfloor. Then, install a moisture barrier before installing the fiber boards. Finally, you can cover the Pergo with a baseboard or otherwise. Below is a detailed procedure for installing Pergo over an uneven floor.
How To Install Pergo On A Wooden Floor
Below are the steps to follow when installing Pergo over wood.
1. Prepare The Floor
Whether working on an old or a new floor, you need to clean the space to clear debris and secure loose boards before fitting any boards over them. Additionally, you need to ensure that the floor is level to avoid the cracking and separation of the boards, which may result if you install the boards on an uneven surface.
2. Fit The Vapor Barrier
The moisture from the subfloor can penetrate the fiber boards and cause them to warp. For this reason, you need to install a vapor barrier to create a waterproof surface for laying the Pergo.
Copyright protected content owner: ReadyToDIY.com and was initially posted on September 18, 2022.
3. Start Laying The Pergo From A Corner
I’m fond of starting it from the back left corner of my room and then working my way to the door. To fit your boards:
4. Remove The Tongue From Your First Board and Then Attach the Side to the Wall
Connect the tongue of the second board to the groove of the first plank. Have difficulties connecting them? Attach the tongue and the groove at an angle and then apply pressure on them so the joint clicks into place.
5. Repeat The Process Until You Are Done With the First Row
6. Move to The Next Row
7. Continue Fitting the Rows Until You Cover The Entire Room
8. Install a Baseboard and Return Any Fittings You Had Removed From The Room
While installing the planks, ensure you leave some space (at least 0.635cm) between the boards and the edges of the wall to allow for expansion and contraction.
How To Install Pergo Over Concrete
Like wood floors, concrete floors require prior preparation to make the Pergo installation process efficient.
1. Start the process of cleaning, leveling, and correcting all culprits in the concrete floor. You may need self-leveling concrete to level the surface and achieve the smoothest surface possible.
Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on September 18, 2022.
2. Install a vapor barrier
The vapor barrier in concrete floors plays the exact role of preventing moisture from penetrating the planks.
3. Fit the planks from a corner and then move towards the door
Note: The procedure for fitting the planks is similar to the one we applied in creating Pergo rows on wooden floors.
4. Install the planks until you have covered the entire room.
ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on September 18, 2022.