Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Will roofing paper odor linger?

Situation: My subfloor is level, except towards one end of the room. From the next to last joist to the last joist the floor has an incline of almost 3/8". The two joists are not level (settling I presume). I leveled the subfloor out with #30 and #15 roofing paper. I feathered the paper, so the transition is smooth. Many thanks to this forum for that neat little trick!

My question: The roofing paper is emitting a faint asphalt odor. Will this odor dissipate by next weekend, when I FINALLY get to lay down my Pergo flooring? If not, can I seal the paper with something to contain the smell? Or will the Pergo contain the odor? There is quite a bit of roofing paper down and I don't want this to be an issue after the install.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Was the last joist or last two joists not Level or not Flat? Not level is NOT necessary. Flat IS necessary. Less roofing paper is better when installing laminate. The roofing paper is a favorite of hardwood installers and works well for them but has a risk of noise or a crinkle sound under floating floors. I don't think the oder will prevail.

The two joists are not level with each other. They run level across their respective spans.

Are there any other solutions to leveling out the subfloor across the joists? Should I use subfloor leveler to build up to the 3/8" depth? (That stuff is mad expensive) I don’t think the floor will float properly over this area if the issue is not addressed in some way. Can I try to make sure the roofing felt is flatly secured to the subfloor? Right now it’s stapled down pretty good, but there are small bumps that run through it between the stapled areas.

Thanks,
chris

p.s. does this ever get any easier?

DoIt; I'm confused, are we talking Level or are we talking Flat? There is a difference. If you have a 3/8" depression between the joists, that should be made Flat or filled and I understand the term leveled can apply to the function. If the floor drops 3/8" to its terminus, possibly at the wall, but is Flat its not a problem that needs to be addressed, necessarily. The "bumps between staples are one reason I'm not a fan of building felt. In answer to "it's" getting easier heh,heh,heh, not really, but when you're finished and the work is satisfying, then, you will agree it was worth the effort.

I am not quite sure I under all the issues you are addressing, but felt is not a recommended material for leveling subfloors.

AzFred, you are confused because my description is confused!
Let me summarize my problem, so I don't confuse anyone else.

There is a 3/8" downward incline across a 16" span of my subfloor. The incline occurs between 2 joists. After the incline the floor is still level but 3/8" lower than the rest of the floor. Before the incline starts, the floor is level too.

From what I have read, the subfloor needs to be level within 1/4" over 10'. My subfloor violates this rule, so I must correct it.

Thank you both for your responses regarding my use of roofing felt in this situation. Given your responses, I am going to rip it up. I will lay down some thin plywood after the slope, to make that portion of the subfloor level with the rest of the subfloor and level the sloped area out with a portland cement leveler.

Do you see any issues with that?

Before I can offer a response to your question Do'er, I would like to see you use the word FLAT in a sentence discribing your floor surface. ("not flat" is acceptable and demonstrates use of the word) Installation instructions do not address level. Installation instructions address flatness, within an area such as: 1/8" (tolerance) in 6' or 8'(area). :) Flatness is observed in relation to a straight edge. (no bubble required)

Thank you for the clarification on how you are using the word flat. It helps. Given it, my subfloor is not flat.

I can trace my misuse of terminology back to the following WebPages on this site, which discusses subfloor prep:

http://doityourself.com/woodfloors/stripfloorprep.htm
http://doityourself.com/woodfloors/parqfloorprep.htm

I understood from these pages that both level and flat are necessary conditions for a succesful install.

Sorry for the confusion - Chris

Chris, with that explaination, Yes, you should correct your sub floor. The SLC is expensive but is also the best solution. Because you are using Pergo for your floor, I might suggest that you check out their Whisperwalk as a filler for your depression. a layer or two and feather that then a good foam may work. Unfortunately I can't see the exact condition so I can't be positive in my response.