Subfloor preparation in Sydney

Self-levelling compound is similar to concrete, but unlike concrete it flows easier and sets up much faster. It’s poured into place and spread evenly with a gauge rake. Once in place, it continues to flow evenly, creating a perfectly flat surface.

It will be completely hardened and ready for use in about 6 hours. 

We usually recommend an impermeable membrane coating on top of the compound to ensure the surface it as reliable and robust as it possibly can be.

If the existing floor has a large dip, we will often use self-levelling compound to level the floor.

Timber flooring can be installed directly over a dry concrete slab, but adding a batten frame base is often a good idea.

Lifting the flooring a little above the cold concrete helps with insulation. It also adds a little cushion to the hard surface of the concrete. The only real drawback to a batten floor can be inside rooms with low ceilings. Lifting the floor will reduce the ceiling height further.

A batten frame base can be installed over concrete, steel or even existing timber floors.

If you choose to install a batten frame base beneath your wooden floor, you can trust Know-How to do it right. We never skimp. Your batten floor will be perfectly level and structurally robust. The way it should be.

As the name suggest, acoustic underlay is a noise reducing material made from foam or rubber that sits above your concrete or timber subfloor. It cushions any impacts and blocks loud noises. In addition, the acoustic underlay is often waterproof to protect your floors from moisture.

It’s important to note that there are many different brands variants of acoustic underlay on the market with variable quality. The Australian Building Code provide a star-rating for each, ranging from one star to six stars for the thickest, most noise absorbing

If you are living in an apartment building, it may actually be a strata requirement that you use acoustic underlay. Most strata plans insist on at least a 5-star rating, although some will demand that you use a 6-star product.

At times, we’ll recommend laying a flat plywood base for the timber flooring to sit on top of. A plywood subfloor is a great way to go if the original floor is wavy. It can also be a useful technique to employ if there are some tiles, or some other structural feature, that you want to sit at exactly the same height as your new timber flooring.

We use varying thicknesses of plywood, which allows us to create an exact height for the finished timber flooring. Your rooms will be able to flow seamlessly into each other without any miniscule changes in height to trip you up.