Making it level

So perhaps its the case with any older house but there's much that isn't level. Verticals seem to stay vertical much better than the horizontal surfaces stay level. Places with water seem to suffer more than those without and sadly any place that was remodeled seems to have been a place for a shortcut. While I was redoing the electric in the upstairs I noticed flex in the bathroom floor. Judiaann and I had gone to pick out tile last week and miraculously we found something we agreed on - I nice light natural limestone. Since I want to put in the tile myself I knew my life would be easier if the base was bombproof and level and I wasn't interested in taking a shortcut like self leveling compound.

So it starts with a laser level to get the gist of the situation and then you start pulling things until you find the problem(s) and all along the way you check it with the bubble level. I spent a lot of time running up and down the stairs to the chop saw to cut bridges between joists and so I didn't shoot too many photos but this will give you an idea.

This is after pulling the underlayment - the layer of plywood that the goes on top of the base or subfloor. The original remodel used two different widths of plywood and then strips of laminate to shim it. 

The laser level is great for trying to get an overall feel for where your problems are. Interestingly the middle joists were level but the bedroom side was pretty low and the original remodel compounded it by raising the new subfloor too high on the plumbing side.

My trick to get the laser low enough to skim the floor is to drop it into the heating vent and use the magnet to hold it to a pry bar. 

Much like restoring a bike it's better and easier to pull it down to the frame. This also allowed me to lay the level all over to find the problem areas and then address them.

This floor is bombproof. All the edges have sistered joists (a second one next to the original) and the new 3/4 plywood is now glued down with construction adhesive to eliminate any chance of squeaks or movement. 

This is what we're looking for. Next is a new underlayment and then the tub and Hardibacker cement board, thin-set and tile. We're practically done!