Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [level]

102 questions
30
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3 answers

Why do Contractor Levels have two vials with the same orientation?

It seems to me that having multiple vials in the same orientation is redundant, but many levels seems to include this feature. What am I missing? There has to be some reason.
DaggerOfMesogrecia
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5 answers

Precision in Home Improvement, or: How to Trust a Laser Level?

Even though I enjoy DIY, I also suffer from a certain amount of anxiety about it, especially when tolerances have to be tight. If the Internet's advice is that a certain thing needs to be square, or level, or plumb, I am never confident that I have…
GogTheGuilder
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11
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1 answer

How can I level a sloped floor?

I have a 10x13 first-floor room which used to be a porch but at some point was closed in by the previous owners, and sheet linoleum was glued down to the plywood subfloor. Unfortunately they didn't correct for the built in slope of the original…
Jay Lance Photography
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7
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3 answers

How do I level a basement floor but not the slab underneath?

I'd like to install laminate floor on top of Delta FL in my basement. The basement slab is not level, it slopes (from all directions) towards a floor drain (that, via a pipe, leads to a sump pump) near the exterior door. I wouldn't like to level…
Peter Q
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7
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5 answers

How do I use 'surface shims' to level out a sloping floor?

Asked a question about leveling my floor here earlier this week, and one of the options suggested sounded appealing, but didn't contain enough detail for me (a not-too-handy, not-very-experienced-with-home-repair guy) to move forward on: Assuming…
Jay Lance Photography
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7
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1 answer

How do I know when concrete needs replacing rather than just mud-jacking?

I have a concrete driveway and path to my front door. Much of it has become unlevel and I'm contemplating having it mud-jacked. However, before I do, I wanted to know how I could easily tell when a piece of concrete was too far gone to mud-jack and…
Jeff Yates
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6
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4 answers

How should I level (flatten) ceiling joists for drywall?

My kitchen ceiling joists are old and at varying heights. I'm trying to make it level, or at least flat, in preparation for drywall installation. Would you suggest installing strips of wood to the side of the joists or stacked to the bottom of the…
jlpp
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1 answer

What should I do to level an uneven floor with a potential load bearing wall above?

I'm trying to level the first floor in my 90 year old house. The floor joists are held up by a wooden beam composed of 5 2x8s, which is held up by two steel columns. In the middle of the wooden beam is a wall that I think is a load bearing wall. …
Grittathh
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2 answers

How can I level this concrete floor so I can install laminate?

I did a rough sketch up of what I'm working with in Google Sketchup. I'm laying laminate flooring in my basement living room and have all of the necessary preparations (Plastic layer and padding) My question is on the leveling of the flooring. The…
jon3laze
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5
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Do I have to check if my floor is level before installing new linoleum (from a roll, not tiles)?

I just tore up my old linoleum flooring and will be installing new linoleum in the next few days. Some internet research has revealed that I need to make sure the floor is level and, if it is not perfectly level, pour leveler over it. Let's assume…
oscilatingcretin
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How can I level my bed?

I have a very uneven floor in my bedroom, and a metal bed frame (non-leveling feet), soon to be a wooden bed frame. I'd like to level my bed. What are some good ways to do this? One approach is to just get some shims and stack them up. If this is my…
John Bachir
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2 answers

How to level a section of raised concrete floor?

I had a plumber move a toilet drain on cement slab. The new concrete he poured is about 1/8" higher than the rest of the floor. I need the floor to be level for tile installation. The new concrete is only about 5% of the bathroom sqft, so I need…
Andrew
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1 answer

How do I cut grooves in self-leveling concrete to incorporate an existing drain?

This is a follow up question to my previous question about leveling a basement floor without losing the drainage. After the feedback I decided to use self-leveling concrete and cut (or form it in advance) grooves (canals?) that lead to the existing…
Peter Q
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2 answers

Can I sink existing concrete?

We got a house where it has a one foot strip of concrete that is 20 feet long besides a patio that is in good condition. On this 1'x20' strip there are two spots where the concrete has risen about an inch. This has produced two humps and a lip…
DMoore
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How can I permanently fix a sagging floor?

I have a home I purchased roughly 18 months ago. The house is a traditional 2 story cape code (3BR 1BA) and is structurally very sound and extremely stable. However, on the primary floor of the house, near where the flu/chimney rises from the…
BrownRedHawk
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