Expert: Martin Meyer - 5/13/2009

Question
We have a 40 yr old Grandmother Clock. It has set level on carpet all these years, we recently installed floating laminate floors and we have been unable to level it front to back or side ways. If the front is level then the sides are not level. Any advice?
Thank you for your time.  
Pam

Answer
Hi Pam,

I'm not a construction expert, but I don't see any reason why floating laminate flooring would be less stable than carpeting, which is ordinarily the most difficult surface to install a clock on. If the floor is unstable, which could be due to the location of the joists underneath the floor rather than the flooring, you will never be able to make your clock stable, and will have to move the clock to a different, more stable, location.

You can level the clock in both directions if you do it in the correct sequence. First, does your clock have leveling feet? Many times, clocks have leveling feet that are screwed all the way in, and the owner is not aware that they are there. They will be round plastic disks with grooved edges, and may be hard to unscrew at first. If you have them, get all four screwed almost all the way in to start. One person should raise a side of the clock while another person screws or unscrews the leveling feet as needed. Always do this operation with TWO people for safety. If you don't have leveling feet, you will need to use thin shims instead.

Put a short level on a horizontal surface on the front of the clock, and determine which side needs to go up. One person should then tilt the clock up on the side that needs to be higher, so the other person can unscrew the leveling feet until the clock is level side-to-side. Be sure to unscrew both feet (front and back) the same amount; count the turns you give the feet to be sure. If using shims, make sure you have the same thickness of shims both front and back.

Now the clock is level side-to-side. Put the level on a horizontal surface on either side of the clock, and determine if the clock needs to be raised on the front or on the back. Tilt the clock front or back, using two people as above, and raise the two front or two back leveling feet the same amount. Make sure you count the turns to do this accurately. The clock should now be level both side-to-side and front-to-back.

If the floor is very uneven, you will have an additional problem. For example, when you raise the two side feet the same amount, the clock may be wobbly. If this happens, rock the clock to the forward position in the range of wobble, then to the back position, while watching the level. Now hold the clock in whichever position makes the clock level side-to-side, then unscrew the foot which is NOT in contact with the floor until the leveling foot is in contact with the floor, and therefore the wobble is gone. The clock will now be level side-to-side and you can proceed to level it front-to-back, as above. Again, turn the leveling feet the same number of turns. If there is a wobble after this front-to-back adjustment, correct it the same way as you did for the side-to-side adjustment. Your clock should now be level in both directions even if the floor is uneven.  http://www.clockmasteronline.com