Wobbly wooden floor

[Udest]

Don't you hate it when people go half way by doing the minimum possible and calling it a day on things that are supposed to last?

 

[dwair]

I think they are "locking" floors and they have pushed them too hard together so the pressure is forcing the planks to "bow up" if that makes sense.

Yes that makes complete sense. I've installed this type of floor multiple times. That could be from a number of things, your trim (baseboards) could be too tight on them. It could also be water damage on the floors, those types of floors will bow up HARD if they have water damage. Thats an easy fix though as long as it isn't water damage. Sounds like they just didn't leave 1/8" gap from the wall to allow for expanding boards, which your trim would cover up. Just need to take the board out from the wall and cut it down an 1/8". That would fix any Bow'ing.

 

[simonfchr]

Don't you hate it when people go half way by doing the minimum possible and calling it a day on things that are supposed to last?

Yeah that's just every landlord ever it feels like. Atleast here in Denmark...

Yes that makes complete sense. I've installed this type of floor multiple times. That could be from a number of things, your trim (baseboards) could be too tight on them. It could also be water damage on the floors, those types of floors will bow up HARD if they have water damage. Thats an easy fix though as long as it isn't water damage. Sounds like they just didn't leave 1/8" gap from the wall to allow for expanding boards, which your trim would cover up. Just need to take the board out from the wall and cut it down an 1/8". That would fix any Bow'ing.

Great I will try that. Thanks for the help!

 

[Bryknicks]

If you are truly on a concrete slab then there is nothing to worry about. The weight of the tank will slightly compress the wood and underlayment solidifying the tank which should not "wiggle". Is it a solid wood floor or laminate? By the looks it appears to be the cheap (cardboard, press board) laminate.

 

[simonfchr]

If you are truly on a concrete slab then there is nothing to worry about. The weight of the tank will slightly compress the wood and underlayment solidifying the tank which should not "wiggle". Is it a solid wood floor or laminate? By the looks it appears to be the cheap (cardboard, press board) laminate.

I think that it's real wood. It scratches much easier than the laminate we had in our old apartment atleast...
And our landlord said it was on a concrete slab atleast. Tried to go down into the basement and under the living room there is a crawl space and it looks like this? Can there really be a concrete slab above this?

 

[Udest]

That is really wierd if it was a slab I don't think it would have wooden beams under it like that would it?

 

[Bryknicks]

I think that it's real wood. It scratches much easier than the laminate we had in our old apartment atleast...
And our landlord said it was on a concrete slab atleast. Tried to go down into the basement and under the living room there is a crawl space and it looks like this? Can there really be a concrete slab above this?

No, if you have a crawl space then you are not on a concrete slab. Also judging by that photo, I don't see any cross beams on the floor joists. I believe the floor moving is more structural than just bad installation on the wood flooring. The best way to see what is truly going on would be to remove the wood flooring in that area. However seeing as you are a tenant I think that would be ill advised.

 

[dwair]

No, if you have a crawl space then you are not on a concrete slab. Also judging by that photo, I don't see any cross beams on the floor joists. I believe the floor moving is more structural than just bad installation on the wood flooring. The best way to see what is truly going on would be to remove the wood flooring in that area. However seeing as you are a tenant I think that would be ill advised.

This. You are not on a slab. I didn't realize you had a basement/crawl space. Definitely sounds structural. Which in that case you need to see where your load bearing supports are before placing a heavy tank.

 

[Bryknicks]

How big of a tank are you looking to install, including the sump? If you can see the area underneath where you want to put the tank and can see some wood structural supports, then it may be ok. But I would still put a piece of 3/4" plywood to stabilize the area that is sitting on a structural support near a load bearing wall as @dwair said.

 

[simonfchr]

Okay there might have been some things lost in translation sorry. The tank is going to weigh about 1200 pounds. The wall it's next to is a bearing wall. The landlord just said there was concrete under the wooden floor so i thought that translated to a concrete slab. My bad ;Wacky

 

[dwair]

Okay there might have been some things lost in translation sorry. The tank is going to weigh about 1200 pounds. The wall it's next to is a bearing wall. The landlord just said there was concrete under the wooden floor so i thought that translated to a concrete slab. My bad ;Wacky

All good, we got it figured out! Lol whole reason to ask questions. I would at this point look at getting a 3/4" piece of plywood like a birch/maple, I went with red oak personally. Get some water sealer for it, stain/paint it if you wish and stick that under the whole thing. It will help stablize and distribue the weight evenly. Use any shims you need to level it out.

 

[simonfchr]

Thank you i will look into that
Just took the skirting off got a look at what's under the floor... From what i can see it's a locking style of wood and then some yellow foam and under that just concrete. No idea how thick the concrete is though

 

[Bryknicks]

From what i can see it's a locking style of wood and then some yellow foam and under that just concrete. No idea how thick the concrete is though

That is most likely some type of self leveling concrete or similar. It will only be 1/4"-1/2" thick at the most. The wood floor joists would not be able to support a concrete sub floor so make sure that you do not go into this project under the impression that you have a solid concrete floor.

 

[simonfchr]

Okay that's too bad. Good thing i didn't just trust my landlord on that... i'll look into getting that 3/4" plywood piece and then find someone with more knowledge about floors than me to ensure that it can carry a 73 gal tank. Otherwise i'll just stick with my nano until we're done with our studies and can get our own house Thanks you guys for all the help.

 

[dwair]

Okay that's too bad. Good thing i didn't just trust my landlord on that... i'll look into getting that 3/4" plywood piece and then find someone with more knowledge about floors than me to ensure that it can carry a 73 gal tank. Otherwise i'll just stick with my nano until we're done with our studies and can get our own house Thanks you guys for all the help.

Now I just need to figure out where you are so I can come buy that Red Sea Max Nano off you. Lol. Want one SO bad.

 

[simonfchr]

Haha I live in Denmark sorry, think it's cheaper if you get a new one than picking up mine They are great tanks, i miss having a yellow tang though!

 

[Victor_C3]

I could try looking under the floor sure

What I did with my apartment was still a few holes in some inconspicuous spots to help determine what exactly was underneath. If the floor is built like you believe it is, then you should hit the foam underlayment and not be able to go any further.

When you’re done just use some wood putty, and a wood stain touch up marker to fix it up. The landlord will never notice.

This stuff is usually located in the paint isles at Home Depot/Lowe’s.

 

[Victor_C3]

Another thought, but when you added your nano, did the floor bounce less? A lot of times, a lot of extra weight might actually dampen the bounce that you feel in a floor.

I live in a second floor apartment, in a 150 year old building. I have a 115 gallon display with 125 gallons of water and 200 pounds of rock in my sump. I certainly notice less bounce because of the added weight.

For whatever reason, I’m a leery about rimless tanks - especially above 30 gallons. I’d go with a eurobraced display tank for anything larger, like what I did with my display. It’s certainly not as sexy as a rimless tank, but it’s a lot more sleek looking than a tank with one of those plastic rims around it.

(Ignore the shark my kids drew with sharpie on the side of the tank. They were trying to freak out the fish)

Also, maybe just contact Red Sea customer support and see what they say about a floor with a little bit of bounce.

 

[Udest]

Yeah if I had a situation like that I would throw a rim like that on the tank , that's kinda like what I'm going to do with the old skool 55 I have so I can put lighting on top of it