Floor Sleepers

Before putting down plywood as a subfloor, we needed to provide a level nailing surface that was high enough off the concrete slab so that water (which seems to inevitably get into basements) could move around underneath without destroying the finish floor.

	The first of the secret weapons was a "rotary laser" that painted a continuous red line around the room exactly where I wanted the floor to go. This was therefore the "cut line" for any sleeper on the floor. This is more clear in the photos below. Here's the actual rotary laser, mounted conveniently into the drainage basin so that the perfectly level laser line that it painted around the room was at the subfloor level. you can click on this image to enlarge it.
	As seen from another angle, each of the wood blocks was cut at the same level by noting the line where the rotary laser beam crossed, cutting the wood on that line and then replacing the wood to the exact position for fastening to the concrete slab.
	Here I am marking one of the sleepers prior to cutting. This was one of my favorite photographs because in the original you can clearly see the red laser line across my left hand fingers. Lucky timing.
	This kind of tricky cut (each one custom tapered) could only be accomplished safely and quickly with some kind of jig. In this case, the jig is mounted to a sliding table that runs across the top of a table saw. The jig accurately shows exactly where the blade will cut and also holds the sleeper securely during cutting. To see a close up of this insanely simple jig, click the image at left.
	All of the sleepers were installed with construction adhesive directly to the slab, but then a pretty healthy majority needed to be nailed into the slab later after the subfloor pulled some of them up.
	Here's the finished product. To the extreme left is bathroom and all the way on the right in the background is the bar area. (outlets halfway up the walls.)
	Here's a view of the stairs from the other side of the diagonal wall.