Leveling a Sloping Bedroom Floor

In this video I show how I leveled a sloping bedroom floor that sloped down in the back corner by 3.25" over a 10 foot span (about 8cm over 3m). Based on a letter that I found in the house from a former homeowner, I know that the corner had been sunken down for at least 50 years. I had the foundation stabilized with helical piers and they were able to lift up that corner by a small amount. That gives me peace of mind that the corner will not continue so sink. Then, on the second floor, I leveled the floor by sistering in new joists that were level and then putting in a new plywood subfloor to meet up with the old subfloor.
If you'd like to get a pair of the HISEA pants or steel toed work boots, you can get a 15% discount by using the following link and entering the code HSWORK15.
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You can find items I use in my projects at my Amazon storefront at www.amazon.com/shop/woodumakeit.
Items I used in this project include:
Evolution Power Tools Miter Saw and Stand: amzn.to/3RfDa6K
Ridgid Palm Nailer: amzn.to/34QiGOd
Makita Framing Nailer: amzn.to/3BwCIJA
DeWalt Pry Bar: amzn.to/3BwCIJA
Makita Driver and Drill: amzn.to/3sRns6b
Makita Brushless Circular Saw: amzn.to/3h0FUU8
72" level: amzn.to/3gZ7PE1
Narex Chisels: amzn.to/359jlKz
Makita Multitool: amzn.to/359jlKz
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[@joshinils]

I watched the whole series of essential craftsman build their spec home, so yes, i do enjoy this kind of content

[@marcobucci]

A great example of a caring dad helping his daughter. I have a daughter too (she's 3), and I hope to one day work on projects like this with her :)

[@youtoldharpotobeatme5023]

While she's growing, have her learn by helping you on projects you're working on. That way you both can work on her future home together as well.

[@sajidrafique375]

Just give her a good education..make her a doctor or scientist and ahe can hire someone to do this.

[@ARCHCOMPO]

@@sajidrafique375 contractors make more than doctors, Pablo and juan got a new 2024 Ford this year, hard work!

[@stroys7061]

As a dad that has done a lot of renovation for my daughter’s 1870 build house, I appreciate your effort and attention to detail. One thing I would recommend on flooring is construction adhesive. Screwed and glued!

[@mistersniffer6838]

What, the old 100 year nailing wasnt good enough for you? You expect to live 200 years???

[@paulradice3534]

Who cares about your?? Pants

[@ching574]

This guy is a hack every framer and remodeler knows you should always stagger your seams for subfloor and it always runs underneath your bottom plate on your studs he just put lipstick on a pig instead of doing things properly

[@mistersniffer6838]

@@ching574 - You want him to lift the hole house to place subfloor under the wall? Are you nuts????

[@ching574]

@@mistersniffer6838 no I'm not I've done it so many times it's not that hard you can use a high lift jack and do each side of the house at different times

[@demmertp]

I think it is always instructive to see any type of home repair. Never know what will go wrong with my house and I may need fix it myself, so watching you do the work will potentially be a big help.

[@franksitas2051]

Along with vehicles

[@nicoleolena2342]

Helpful video! Also that is very nice of you to help your daughter with the reno. She is lucky to have you as a dad!

[@kensheets5189]

Looks good, although I would have staggered joints using tongue and groove, 24" centers is a long distance to span and not have support in between sheets. Also putting a bead of liquid nails on top of each joist is a good idea to eliminate any possible squeaking. Just my 2 cents.

[@littlecupofjoe1201]

Could have put far less screws in it that way haha

[@thomasshannon2876]

Exactly my thinking, too. Also, common practice is 6" fasteners on edges (which he did), but 12" in the field is sufficient. Of course, there's no harm in the additional fasteners!

[@richardwilliams7020]

Nice video. I used a nail puller to remove the nails from my master bedroom floor when I replaced it with French pine. This enabled me to reuse the T&G to board a large section of my loft and avoid wasting perfectly good timber.

[@Mark-8587]

I would've glued the new joist to the old and glued the plywood floor to the top of the joists. Helps keep it tight, and future squeaks eliminated.

[@Mach34i]

Great repair. Just as long as the basement and first floor is level. Thanks for sharing

[@patrik5123]

I like watching reno projects. I've done two apartments myself and will probably do a house soon so I find it interesting.

[@davidpotter3777]

I always like any kind of Renovation videos God-bless you and your family Amen and Aloha

[@DJust_Me]

Great video, well done, my respect to you. I also used liquid nail between the joists and the subfloor , makes it more solid. You can jump and jump , and it won't move or make sound.

[@riotgear6891]

Haven't seen your other content, but love this renovation work content. More of this please. Very useful to a lot of folks in similar situations.

[@eenix0]

Agreed! I just moved into a 1925 build that has this exact floor structure, same materials and everything. This is so helpful.

[@pouet4608]

Yes! Rea woodworking for the house is the real thing! Thank you for thos video!

[@lukiss01]

Good job man. This gives me alot of direction. I recently bought an old cottage with an uneven floor. In every room. I'll be doing alot of cutting and sistering. Thanks for the video.

[@Lutzboater]

Enjoyed this change of pace for you. I would like to see the future renovations you have planned for your daughter's house.

[@rla1000]

If a corner of the room dropped due to a failed footer of some kind, what happened to the walls, roof, windows, etc.? The room would obviously be torqued all out of proportion. Seems like you went to a lot of trouble and work without rectifying the initial problem. Why didn't you fix that to begin with, or are we missing something you didn't report? And what's to say the room won't continue to settle? Sorry, I don't get this at all.

[@Woodumakeit]

This settling happened before 1980 and I don't think it's moving anymore. Fixing the foundation would have cost way more than I wanted to spend. This is the end unit of a row of townhouses build between 1910 and 1920. If I were to fix the foundation and raise that side up, I wouldn't want to be liable for any potential damage to the neighboring unit, so I chose this method to rectify the sloping floor.

[@carlscalise4880]

What a jerryrig job get a professional house leveler and do the job right you are just putting lipstick on a pig

[@matthewmcclure3467]

Well you hope it won’t settle more it will be someone else’s problem in the future I had kinda the same problem but I fixed mine from ground up redid the foundation an sealed the old craw space now entire house is leveled an will my kids will never have to deal with the issue in the future

[@Skakel2012]

@@matthewmcclure3467cool story bro

[@patrujo]

Kicking the can down the road as they say

[@richs5422]

Another vote for both kinds of videos. I enjoy both kinds.

[@johnriff85]

When doing this kind of work I find it's a lot easier to plan out where my subfloor is going to land on the joists, and then instead of having to make cuts to fit the plywood on one joist I just sister up an extra length of 2x. I personally feel more confident with having those screws going into the full meat of a board instead of sharing one joist.

[@jeffthewhiff]

Mr. McCrory, I was very impressed by the quality of work that you do and what directed me to this video is that I have been doing some remodeling in my home of my laundry room floor. I live in an older house as well and have removed some of the original joists because they were "twisted". After having worked on this project on and off, I decided to get some quotes to have a contractor complete the project. I sure would get a quote from you if you lived near me.

[@michaelglatzel6136]

Thank you for this video! I am in the process of this same project at my old house.

[@logiboy123]

It’s nice to see you doing more stuff and would be fun to see your progress and the final result.

[@mrmillersmontana]

Thank you for the sloping floor video! Now I feel empowered to level my floor when I get to that part of my renovation. I hope all is well.

[@leeengelsman1855]

That should be the first part.

[@markbongers9641]

Like the restoration video's so the combination of both your styles is fine with me.

[@patrujo]

I have a 110 year old row house and my joists sagged 2.5” in the middle. I had a few carpenter friendsand structural engineers look at it before i began. I ended up doing a a sleeper subfloor. Worked very well but lots of tedious ripping of 2x4s. Instalked rift cut red oak on top. Came out so well my wife is making me do the living room now!!!

[@citticat2]

I have the same thing going on in my office. I actuality had a corner of my house lifted and the lift still left the corner of my office slop. So it looks like you removed the hardwood as well and the subfloor and added wood to the joist to level the floor. Some people want to come in and add a leveling product to the subfloor. I like how you repaired the slop much better.

[@CraigShawcross]

Recently bought a house built in 1890 and the second floor has sloping floors. This is a brilliant solution, thanks so much for sharing.

[@Woodumakeit]

Thanks! I checked out your channel and saw a video from Kitchener. I grew up in Simcoe, just one hour south of there, but I live in Virginia now.

[@ttb1513]

A question I had is, if the whole house settled, will the floor no longer be perpendicular to the walls, because only the floor has been fixed? 3.5" over 10’ is a big slope. At least the floor is leveled.

[@ChimobiHD]

Just came across this video based on a search and it has a lot of good information, thanks!

[@alexnelson-bj6eg]

I love this video. I am doing the same with my 94 year old house I have to replace my floor joists as well so I will have new joists, subfloor and floor 🎉

[@discolapy]

Hi, you did quite massive intervention to level the floor. Thanks for sharing it!

[@allisonwoods6161]

I would love to see more of these videos from you, you explain things well and show what you're doing. Yes you did make something - you made it better 😀

[@bernieinsaudi]

I like that Marita cordless saw!

[@OhCheez]

Wow you've made this process look so easy. Time to rip into my floors now

[@forbiddenfilmz2747]

This is what “I see what your saying” turns into. Shouts out to you!!

[@not-on-pizza]

It's nice to see the more practical side of woodworking. Part of what makes it interesting for me to watch is "making things to make life better", and "making a living space better" sounds a lot like that.

[@georgejetson4378]

I’ve done what you’ve done except in my case I had a sloping 1st floor and ceiling (kitchen) and directly above it, a sloping 2nd floor and ceiling (bedroom). All floors were t&g 3/4 in oak hardwood. Subfloor was 3/4 in t&g run on a 45 degree angle relative to finished floor. Had to remove 1st floor and ceiling and 2nd floor and ceiling to the joists and sistered to level. Plaster and wood lath. Man was that a lot of work. Demoing plaster walls/ceilings makes a boat load of heavy, hazardous debris!

[@Woodumakeit]

That sounds like a lot of work, but hopefully it'll make a difference. I'm still removing plaster and lath from this house. One room left to go and then it's all gone.

[@NMcCauley]

Love this type of content! Thank you for sharing!

[@patrickboulay14]

Yes, I will do it. I have a sloping kitchen bump out -- 1.25" over 8 feet. I was going to cheat and use self leveling compound. Sistering the joists is a better solution. Thanks.

[@jaydegelder2964]

Just a question , but why didn't you fix this problem from what caused the floor to be so uneven by raising it up where it was sinking.? Note, I'm not critisizing , just curious.

[@chase6119]

If it’s a foundational issue, it could be very arduous and expensive to fix

[@cclarry]

This is exactly how I'm going to do it. Thanks

[@MikeSaturN500OMG]

I've just done exactly the same as subsidence had caused the floor to slope 2.5inch.I ran extra joists and glued and screwed them with new flooring.

[@drochon6672]

I am looking forward to the bathroom renovation since I have a similar situation where my floor drops about 3/4” from the hallway into the bathroom.

[@Woodumakeit]

Yeah, my bathroom is higher because they put a plywood subfloor on top of the existing subfloor when they added tile. This will be partly eliminated when I put down thicker hardwood in the hallway, but I will try to get them more or less even in height when we redo the bathroom.

[@mskwared11]

Looking forward to following the progress of this project. Why not glue subfloor to joists and use tongue and groove subfloor panels to ensure a solid base for the hardwood finished floor?

[@Woodumakeit]

Gluing and tongue and groove would be more important if I had nailed the floor down. I'm glad I screwed it in place because when my daughter called me that evening to tell me that she had no power in her living room, I had to lift up those first to sheets of plywood to run a new cable back to the panel. I would have had a real mess on my hands if I had glued those down!

[@mskwared11]

@@Woodumakeit I'm sorry, but that is a strange answer. You don't build a house with the idea that you can take it apart easily to fix a problem that should have been identified before closing it in. As for the failed foundation - I hope for your sake that it has finished settling, or those subfloor joints will open with very little house movement.

[@MV-wb2cz]

@@mskwared11 this is highly doubtful seeing as how many screws he had put in each sheet. If your house is settling that much to open those then you have a more serious issue than worrying about subfloor shifting. Every 8 inches a Screw not Nails. Sorry to tell you but this is plenty strong especially for the area this channel is from. Your region might be different.

[@Hey-Moe]

Love it…keep up the great work.

[@MrStuffdude]

Well done!

[@RoyD2]

Dad of the year award right there

[@domward8352]

I really enjoyed this

[@mikemcginnis2888]

this was very helpful and informative. thanks

[@byronlaw6724]

Thanks for reminding me why I am paying through the nose for new construction with our upcoming house.

[@JimmyLee0757]

Would be cool to watch the progress. My Bride and I are in the middle of serious renovation on our home.

[@locobotics]

I really like the reno content alongside the chess boards. Keep them coming please!

[@daviddreier8178]

Yes, I would like to see more of this home remodeling/DIY video. Thanks for posting this video.

[@user-id8ng9eq9h]

oh the joy of old houses.

[@lurklingX]

Thank you for making this. I think it's exactly what I need to fix my issue. I like the way you fixed the one 2 x 4 in order to create a guide for the sisters to butt up against.

[@goldblueberries326]

Great content... keep them coming. Watching from NC

[@mr.crapper7197]

I've done it. Nice work 👍

[@jkrug7088]

My wife and I enjoyed this video and look forward to following along with your progress.

[@ricardogarcia-eb4op]

Nice detail and explanation. Thanks I like it 👍🙂

[@abdolabdollah1783]

Great job. I'm wondering if you could find that why is not level. Or may be to lift the one side of the floor up.

[@majen66]

Absolutely love this content! Speaking as one with a 100 plus year old home with.... character lol. Your approach and follow through is excellent to watch!

[@williamellis8045]

Great job! Would have been a good time to insulate between the floors for sound deadening, would love to be able to do that on our current house, given the kids rooms are above ours.

[@toneyeye]

I would have used the opportunity to insulate too. Makes a huge difference in how warm the floor feels in winter.

[@johnkim1656]

Interesting demo techniques..

[@gemechannel2899]

A lot of easy way to fix the problem!

[@kerrykrishna]

What did you do to the foundation is the question for me. . Thanks.

[@trailsloth6956]

So I yanked carpet out and found out i have plank style subflooring. I want to install lvp, so should I put 1/2 inch plywood down first?

[@indoorlittlegirl9408]

I love this video. I want to see more

[@mayajohnson7481]

If there was an issue with the foundation causing the sloping floor what was done to repair the foundation?

[@trufflebuddy4705]

Good video but i would recommend using some subfloor glue to guarantee it wont squeak

[@HeathenHammer123]

any content is good content, even if it's not to our liking, you do a great job.

[@creativzero]

I have a slopping floor on the 3rd floor on side only towards the middle of the building. I thought about unscrewing the plywood subfloor and placing wood pieces on the beam and then screw the plywood back on top. Would that work and be quicker/cheaper or am I mistaken?

[@Friedbrain11]

I wantto see the renovation and the work you have to do to get it done. So my vote is for more of these:) I have one concern...why did you just level the floor which is band-aiding it instead of fixing what caused the problem? Just curious as this will happen again I bet.

[@toneyeye]

It is reasonable to assume that the house foundation is done settling. Moreover, lifting the foundation would be a lot more involved, expensive and might just create a new opportunity for further settling in the future.

[@gvaldezcurrie]

Nice work.

[@jamessalth2ocowboybane496]

Great video.

[@jaydegelder2964]

I like to see this type of fixings as compared to just building. If anything goes wrong in my house , I'll be able to fix it myself. Thanks for posting. !!

[@ts.nathan7786]

In this similar manner you can lay chronic tiles in a taper area like living room, so that the rooms can be washed with water.

[@stavroslask1292]

Should have used cement caulking when laying subfloor and then the screws

[@HeathenHammer123]

this is better than watching This Old House

[@internallyinteral]

I love old homes. Thank you for sharing this.

[@hp7093]

Solid floor. Looks like you have a very small crawl space

[@arkansasaviation5299]

Heck yeah based on the video. I helped knock the walls out of a 1800s two story home after a tornado so it could be twisted back to the original shape. I can't wait to try this project on a few flips in Arkansas.

[@vinnypinatelli221]

Awesome work! Thanks for sharing this with us! I really enjoyed it and appreciate it!!

[@acseattle1975]

Really neat, my bedroom is slanted by prob an eighth of an inch. Chair slides back sometimes and can tell the monitor is kinda slanted. Hate that slanted floors is something that's not regulated

[@duendex5]

Awesome job. Curious whether you had the foundation assesed by an ingeneer before commiting to the floor leveling or just got hands on straight away?

[@truthalonetriumphs6572]

Sssh

[@gman8132]

Was the foundation not accessible to jack out the slope? It looks good but I've would had kept the original t&g subfloor and just either padded the 3 1/4" difference on top or removed just the sloped section of t&g to make the repair.

[@ronaldtreitner1460]

interesting, but when ours had a problem we rejacked the floor up and fixed the supports, not covered it up.

[@-iIIiiiiiIiiiiIIIiiIi-]

Dis dude is JACKED.

[@melvincalderon6459]

Thank you so very much for this video, I’ll need to level my dining room floor in order to install vinyl flooring and this video will be of so much help. Keep posting, you got a new follower!

[@alwayssearching1882]

Anyway to have jacked up the low end to the room?

[@drochon6672]

I look forward to your bathroom renovation. I have a similar situation, where my bar

[@philrivera1413]

Great build…likely a bit overbuilt which is what I would do too 😊. Why did you choose not to insulate first? Pls do add more videos for us DIYers.!

[@kalvheps5973]

Just watched the whole renovation!!!You are an absolute genius!Bravo!👏👏👏👏Very entertaining and interesting and also the chess boards are just awesome.Brilliant!Well done.

[@Woodumakeit]

Thank you so much!!

[@levstein]

Your chessboards are outstanding, but I really l like this content also. It's nice to see a project progress over time and to watch the problem solving as issues arise.

[@rtkevans]

great job restoring the subfloor, but wouldn't the ceiling also have been dropped to the same slope? Would it have been better to jack up the floor joists instead?

[@Jon-G]

Another vote for more renovation videos. The fine woodworking is very cool too but the chess board videos all start to look alike after a few of them. I'm not saying I won't watch them. I will every time. I'll watch anything you put out. I really like the ones where you have helpers like your daughter or Leo. Keep up the good work.

[@rickramirez8332]

Continue to show more home renovation. This video will help me fix the kitchen floor slope .. thanks this video gave me guidance to a method to fix a slope floor.

[@vierdoesit]

Bro, you are jacked

[@1437112]

Looks good, except you didn't block each end, or use glue on joists?

[@NewOldStock369]

Great work! I’ve done a lot of these! It’s quite fulfilling when you put that brand new wood in next to the old. Hard transitions sometimes. My only critique would be you could’ve saved a lot of trouble if you just brought your skill saw. That’s really all you need. Other than the sawzaw of course. But man use that skill saw for cutting your plywood. No need for the jigsaw. It’s quick and you’ll get straighter lines.Cant wait to see more

[@Murphy326]

Nice work and what a great thing to be able to do for your daughter. Also dude’s ripped lol!

[@T.E.P..]

I'm remodeling a 1911 balloon building right now and all the floors need this .... glad to have discovered your channel. Any reason you didn't use construction adhesive on the joist before putting the subfloor down?

[@stevechipchase7219]

Balloon framing is tricky. If you don’t tie the walls together they could blow out