How to Level Concrete Slab for Wood Floor Installation

By Mark J. Donovan

When planning to install a wood floor over a concrete slab, some will tell you to just apply a self leveling compound to the concrete slab and then glue down the wood flooring. This is a mistake!! Instead, build a network of sleepers (pressure treated 2x4s or 2x3’s over a layer of plastic). The plastic acts as a moisture barrier, and the sleepers act as support for both a wood subfloor and the eventual hard wood floor.

You may also want to add rigid foam insulation in-between the sleepers to add additional warmth to the flooring.