How to Repair a Hump in the Floor

Take up the flooring over the humped area. If you have carpet, use a carpet puller or a pair of pliers to pull the carpet off its tacks or glue and roll it back out of the way. For wood floors, use a pry bar to pry the boards off of that section. If the flooring is vinyl, find the edge seam and pull the vinyl back. Keep in mind you cannot just put vinyl back, you will need to replace that entire section.

Inspect the damage to the subfloor. If the hump is slight and the subflooring is at least a 1/2-inch thick, you can fix the hump without replacing the subfloor. If not, that section will need to be cut away and replaced.

Plane the hump out of the subfloor with a hand planer. Run a hand planer over the humped area and shave off the wood until it is level with the rest of the subfloor.

Replace the section of subflooring if necessary. Most subfloors are made of plywood. Pry off the affected area with a pry bar. Insert the end of the bar in between the seams on the subfloor. Pry up. Continue until the subfloor has popped free of the floor joists. Cut a new piece of plywood to fit the area. Place it in the hole and nail it into place over the floor joists.

Replace the flooring. Wood floor boards can be nailed back into place. Carpet can be rolled back out and tacked down on the corner after stretching it back out. If adhesive was used, you will need to reapply adhesive to the back of the carpeting and the subfloor, stretch it into place and press down firmly to get a good seal. Vinyl can be cut and fit into place, or the entire floor can be replaced with new flooring.