Loose uneven flooring

[bonzo]

Hi realized that my new home as loose laminate flooring, and though I am carpeting it wall to wall, the floorboards don't make the floor even. So if I place the rack down, it rocks back and forth, and a carpet on it won't change that. What's an easy option? Will a marble slab below the rack cure that.

 

[InterMechanico]

Jello Floor

Are you able to secure your rack to the wall? The only alternatives are removal of the laminate, or add a screwed down (to the structural floor) platform over the carpet in the rack final position. If you're not worried about putting a few holes in the laminate, and you have a wooden subfloor, you could screw down the laminate planks (under your rack) before you lay the carpet over top.

 

[bonzo]

Also, what about the speakers? If I put plinths or so below them, each plinth might be at a slightly uneven level w.r.t. each other. How bad is that, or is it ok as long as the Summits are stable on top of the plinth

 

[InterMechanico]

I think that the stablility of a loudspeaker is very important. I your case, the only way to really address the problem is to repair the issue with the laminate floor. If you own the apartment, I'd recommend removing the laminate altogether before installing the carpet. That way you can install the best possible underlay to reduce noise transfer to the apartment below yours, and have a fairly firm and stable surface upon which to place your components.
If you need to keep the laminate because you're renting, look at getting a flooring contractor in to repair the issue. I'd reckon that the laminate has absorbed some moisture and swollen, or it was installed without proper clearance between it and the wall, forcing it up in places. You'll probably need to removing one baseboard running the same direction as the laminate, remove the last planks, cut 1-2 cm from the wall edge of them then reinstall them. Actually not that big of a job. If you know someone with a table saw you could probably handle it yourself.

 

[bonzo]

Thanks, yes, I just got ownership of the apt. I think the issue is that the underlay under the laminate is thick and soft and moves, one solution will be to rip it and reinstall the underlay and keep the laminate. I want to put a carpet on top, so as much as possible want to avoid putting in wood flooring as it will be a waste