Tried to fix a wobbly table with a folded napkin, ended up leveling the whole floor

Last month my kitchen table was rocking so bad any drink would spill. I shoved a napkin under one leg thinking that would fix it. Instead the wobble just moved to the other side and dumped my coffee. After 15 minutes of chasing the problem I realized the floor was sloped about half an inch. Grabbed a stack of cardboard shims from the garage and spent 20 minutes leveling the whole table from the bottom. Now it's rock solid and I learned to check the floor first before messing with the legs. Anyone else ever fight a leveling problem that wasn't what it seemed?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_david23d ago

Yeah man, I feel you on that one... I had a similar thing with my dresser for years. Kept shoving matchbooks under one corner and it would just shift over to the other side. Drove me nuts every time I opened a drawer. Finally got down on my hands and knees with a level and realized the floor had settled something crazy near the wall. Ended up pulling the whole thing out and putting tapered shims under the baseboard trim. Now it's solid as a rock and I don't have to chase wobbles all across the room. It's funny how a little thing like a floor slope can make you feel like you're losing your mind.

stellafisher23d ago

My grandmother had the same problem with her china cabinet and we fixed it with a stack of old business cards under one corner. Worked like a charm for years until we finally leveled the floor.