Why does nobody talk about using a floor patch for uneven subfloor gaps

I was laying click-lock vinyl in my laundry room last weekend and hit a 3/8 inch dip near the doorway. Tried shimming it with felt paper but that just made it bumpy. Grabbed a bag of Henry's floor patch from Home Depot for like $12 and troweled it in thin, let it dry 2 hours, sanded it flat. Laid the planks over it and that spot is solid now, no flex at all. Has anyone else used this stuff for small floor leveling instead of pouring a whole bag of self leveler?

3 comments

3 Comments

emma_flores1mo ago

Honestly, I wonder if people overthink this. I've just used a little extra underlayment or some shims for gaps that size and never had an issue, but maybe I'm just lucky with my floors. Your mileage may vary, of course, but a $12 bag of patch seems like overkill for a spot you could probably fix with a couple of cheap shims and patience.

tessa_murray1mo ago

Oh man that Henry's stuff is magic for small spots. I had a similar thing in my kitchen where the old linoleum left this weird low spot near the cabinet toe kick. Tried using shingles at first but that was a disaster they just crumbled. Ended up using floor patch and it worked way better than expected. Only thing I'd warn is that if you put it on too thick it can crack later so keep it thin like you did. Also I learned the hard way that you really have to let it dry fully or the vinyl will telegraph the moisture and bubble up.

vera_robinson361mo ago

Yeah that "overthinking" thing from @emma_flores is my whole life basically. I tried shimming a floor once with some old gift cards because I didn't want to go to the store. They worked okay for about two weeks then the plastic just flattened out and I had a new dip plus a weird rustling sound when you walked on it. Never again. Henry's patch is definitely worth the $12 if you ask me. Just keep it thin like you did or you'll be patching the patch next month.