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Just had a 3 hour fight with a single plank of engineered wood
It was the last piece in a 400 square foot living room in a 1920s house, and the subfloor had a hidden dip right at the wall. Getting that final board to lock in without a visible gap took me from 4 PM to almost 7 PM with shims, a mallet, and a lot of creative language. What's your go-to trick for dealing with an uneven subfloor at the very end of a run?
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victorw955mo ago
Man, that last board is always the worst. For a hidden dip like that, I've had to pull the baseboard off to get more room. You can slide a long, thin shim under the board from the wall side before you try to lock it in. Sometimes you need to pre-bend the board a little by putting weight on it away from the wall. It's a huge pain, but that extra space from removing the trim can save your sanity.
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joel_brown195mo ago
Used to think pulling trim was a waste of time until a job last year broke me. Now I see exactly what @victorw95 means, that extra inch from taking off the baseboard is a total game changer. Pre-bending the board like you said is the only way to fight that spring back when the floor dips. Saves so much cussing and damaged edges.
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victorross5mo ago
Honestly, pulling trim feels like making more work most days. A good pry bar and some patience at the wall gets that last board in without all the extra steps. Had a job with original 100 year old trim, no way was I risking it. Just tapped in a slim wedge from the top to guide the board down over the hump.
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