Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - ? about new floating wood floor

I am going to be installing a glueless floating floor over tile in my living room, foyer, and kitchen, approx. 500 s.f. There are areas which slope a bit more than the recommend amount. There are also a few high spots. How bad would it be if I did not correct these things? The high spots I can always chip away, but I am not sure I can level the entire place myself. Just to let you know, the foyer is sloped the most, but I will be doing the foyer, kitchen, and living room as seperate "rooms" and using T-mold in between. Will not leveling the foyer cause much of a problem? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Following manufacturer's instructions for surface preparation is important. A flat surface is very important for a successful installation, more so than the floor being level. There are self-leveling compounds available to compensate for the dips and rises in the floor. Go to www.ardex.com to learn more about such compounds. Most home centers and floor covering dealers sell leveling compounds. Follow manufacturer's recommendations and application requirements.

High or low areas (spots) cause similar yet undesirable characteristics. A floating floor, particularly a laminate floor requires flatness for uniform support. Without this support it is possible for the joinery to fail. The floor will be alternately soft where there is no support caused by bridging a low area, or hard where there is a high area. There is a potential for the floor to settle into low areas where moisture could collect and penetrate and thus cause de-lamination. High and low areas can cause excessive noise characteristics as well. The greatest risk is the potential for joint failue of all those named above. The manufacturers warrantee may be denied for failure to maintain the required flatness tolerance stated in their installation instructions. There are products available to economically flatten a floor surface.