How to Prepare a Subfloor for a Better Flooring Installation

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In this video I discuss how to prepare your subfloor to get a better flooring installation. Clean the floor of any debris, screw the subfloor to the framing, and sand any high spots to make it as flat as possible.
The drill I use to screw down the subfloor is called a quick drive floor drill. Click the link below to check it out.
amzn.to/3b2tbhJ

[@MzVee106]

I've been looking and looking for just this video. I just removed the carpet in a couple of my bedrooms and plan on installing wood flooring. I needed to know how to prep the subfloor. Thanks for this 👌🏾

[@HowtoHacks]

You’re welcome and good luck.

[@keithartworker]

Very helpful. I was thinking of addressing my issue with self leveler. Thanks for bringing sanity back.

[@HowtoHacks]

You’re welcome.

[@cj7girl280]

Thanks for the video. Unfortunately we have old tongue and groove 2" 10' long X 6" wide boards that has lots of uneven places. Would you recommend a belt sander, floor resurfacer or another idea? Thanks

[@HowtoHacks]

A belt sander will work but for that I would probably use a planer because it will be faster. Just make sure you set the nails deeper before you plane off the wood or your blades won’t last very long. It just depends how much you need to remove. A drum sander might work as well.

[@ChipperTheDipper]

How do you recommend identifying where the floor joists are. My underlayment is also particle board and I’m wondering if that would impact sanding down the seems. If you see this thank you in advance!

[@ChipperTheDipper]

I’m also very grateful for videos like this. I’ve seen a ton of videos about installing LVP and they always brush over the most important part: PREPPING THE SUBFLOOR!

[@HowtoHacks]

To find the joists you can look at the nails or screws that are already there. If you can’t see them because another layer is on top, you can find one by measuring off of a floor register or something like that. Then one will be every 16 or 24 inches depending on the framing.

[@summerxia6288]

Thank you very much for the video! We are prepping the whole OSB subfloor (about 2,000 sqft) for the new LVP installation and planning to rent a floor sander from the Home Depot for a faster job. The nearby Home Depot has Orbital Deck & Floor Sander Rental and Clarke American Sanders Random Orbit Floor Sander Rental two options for medium duty sanding (drum sander would be too difficult for us to operate). Would the orbital ones be ok for OSB subfloor? And what grit would you recommend?

[@HowtoHacks]

It should work. I would try 60 grit and see.

[@garagegadgethacker2246]

When using a belt sander, should you sand diagonally along the joint?

[@HowtoHacks]

That seemed to work best.

[@ursusreborn7205]

What is that screw feeder thing at 00:45? never seen one of those! Looks SUPER handy, maybe put link in description please?

[@HowtoHacks]

It's called a quick drive floor drill. amzn.to/3b2tbhJ

[@LilahFodel]

Thank you for such a helpful video! I have a large area (1100 sf) that we had to remove old nailed in flooring before installing LVP. My subfloor is plywood. I have some spots where a little bit of the plywood ripped out with the nails we removed (strips of ply, maybe 3/8 inch wide, 3 inches long). Should those be filled with a compound? I don’t know what the rule of thumb is for what size holes/divots can be left alone versus what needs filling. Also... with all the nails we ripped out I really need to give the entire subfloor a decent sanding to smooth it all nicely. I was planning to rent a drum sander. Is that a good idea? Or should I rent something else? Thanks!!

[@HowtoHacks]

I don’t know how bad you’re subfloor is splintered but I would guess that you don’t need to fill. If it’s really bad you can use a floor leveling compound. Most flooring will span small gaps. One way to tell would be lay out a piece of flooring over an area in question and walk on it some. If you can feel a lot of movement under your feet that isn’t there normally than fill it in. I wouldn’t use a drum sander as they are pretty aggressive and are hard to keep even. If you rent a large orbital walk behind sander you won’t have to worry about making your subfloor uneven from over sanding. A belt sander does a good job as well. Just be sure to not overdo it with sanding.

[@LilahFodel]

@@HowtoHacks thank you! Do you recommend any particular floor leveling product?

[@HowtoHacks]

@@LilahFodel none in particular. The floor leveling compound is located in the tile section at the big box stores.

[@MzVee106]

Question, how many boxes of flooring did you use. My room is about the same size.

[@HowtoHacks]

It was a lot of boxes. Not sure how many. However, not all boxes have the same square footage packaged in them (depends on manufacturer) so you need to figure your total square footage where you want to lay the flooring. Only way to accurately figure it.

[@derrickhiggins7735]

What grit of belts worked the best, i have ply wood floors seams i need to do.

[@HowtoHacks]

40 to 60 grit works

[@shreddedcukes]

@@HowtoHacks Can I use a Dremel multi-max50 multi-tool with 60 grit to slowly sand/level my plywood subfloor?

[@HowtoHacks]

@@shreddedcukes I suppose so. It will take forever though.

[@notserpify]

I have many screw heads sticking up and can't make them lay flush. What do you recommend?

[@HowtoHacks]

It depends how far up they are. If it’s just a little bit you can actually hit them with a hammer to make them flush. You can also back them out a little and then drive them back in while pressing very firmly on the drill.

[@notserpify]

@@HowtoHacks thanks for your help! I think I need to try an impact drill.

[@HowtoHacks]

Yeah impacts are all I use to to drive screws anymore. They are definitely worth the investment. What’s really nice about them is they don’t twist in your hand when the screws get tight.

[@HowtoHacks]

Also, using screws with a square drive or torques head bit works way better than a Phillips bit.

[@shreddedcukes]

There are some areas that squeak. How can I nail it down safely while avoiding any lines or pipes? Also what kind of nail or screw driver do you recommend?

[@celestineconnie1]

What underlayment is best for hardwood floors and quiet on top of plywood? Great video! Should I use primer on my plywood to get urine smell sealed?

[@HowtoHacks]

There are many different types of underlayments that can be used on hardwood floors. It just depends on what you’re after and how much you want to spend. I would clean the spots with bleach solution and then prime after they’re dry.

[@grocerysmart]

How does any code still allow OSB. Sawdust and glue.

[@HowtoHacks]

Yeah plywood is better. This house I’m remodeling was built in the 80’s so it’s what was there.

[@victorvek5227]

Rent a floor sander! Holy hell.

[@HowtoHacks]

Haha. The belt sander with 40 grit takes it up fast. If I had a large amount to do I would probably rent something but to sand all the seams down took about 4 hours.

[@Jacob-em8mn]

your poor knee's :(

[@garzonlaperle9403]

I did it with Woodprix.