squeaky floors **UPDATE**
Does anyone have any tips for fixing squeaky floors? I have a 35 year old house with hardwood on the 1st and 2nd floors. Almost every part of every floor on both levels sqeaks when you walk on it. Most of the second floor has wall to wall carpet covering the floor. Is there any way to fix this easily without ripping down all the ceilings? I am very close to ripping all the floors out and having them all replaced ($$$). Either that or taking my nail gun and blasting nails through the carpet with finishing nails.
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Don't use nails.
Thats why they squeek right now. Use finish head screws and go slow through the carpet.0 -
...where/if you can get to the wood floor...you can use small wood shims. Driven under the offending board just enough to fill the void that is moving...or, just screw it!...[;)] 
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...Oops, if you don't want to use screws, or if you don't mind the holes in the wood floor...you can use ring shank nails, they wont back out...[;)] 0 -
can you get to the underside of the floors?
can the carpet be pulled up at all?
are you worried about fasteners showing through the flooring?
are the areas between the floor insulated?0 -
quote:Originally posted by MVP
Don't use nails.
Thats why they squeek right now. Use finish head screws and go slow through the carpet.
MVP has it right. We just got done with this exact issue on our three-year old house. The builder used nails (retards) instead of screws. We had to go in and rescrew all the floors.
FWIW, it got so bad we just wound up pulling the carpet, but the advice given is still good especially if you don't want to pull the carpet, it can be done, it'll just take longer (you should use a stud finder to see where the joists are before you start dropping screws all over the place).0 -
There is actually a tool out there for this exact purpose. It can be used on carpet. Has a base thing that has a set height for the screws that the base is used with. You screw through the base thing and then it breaks the screws off flush with the underlayment. You can use masking tape to mark off the area that you want to do to find the joist, don't use chalk! Let me go find out what the name of the item I am talking about. 0 -
Don't know how true this actually is but it sounds logical. Over the years, several new home builders told me that nails are used instead of screws because of the stress and strain of settling. Nails will yield a bit and give where screws will hold tight and either snap off or cause the wood to split. I always thought that ring nails were used on sheathing, underlayment and plywood floors and that cut flooring nails were used on hardwood floors and planks. 0 -
when you are building a house, before you put down the plywood that makes the floor, you put glue on the joists. glue? glue! ever heard of that? some notzos haven't. that's what causes squeaks.
without glue, when the nail (or screw or peg or whatever they used) finally doesn't hold the plywood firmly on the joist, the plywood tweaks up and down when you walk on it and rubs on the nail. no nail, no squeak. therefore, you use glue to a) keep the plywood always stuck to the joist, and b) fill the space wherever the joist warps down away from the plywood- even if the glue and nail both fail, it won't squeak because it's flat.
don't rip out the ceiling so you can stick a shim between the plywood and the joist. that's a waste of time. it's easier (and cheaper) to peel up the carpet and nail the (*&*(& out of the plywood to hold it down. yes you can use screws if you want to, use a countersink so the heads are flush.
builders don't use screws not because the heads will bust off, because they won't unless you use 3 screws for every sheet of plywood like a bonehead. they use nails instead because they're way way faster and you don't have to buy seperate materials just to nail down a floor. you use the same nail gun and nails as you do for all the rest of the framing.
kapeesh?0 -
2 1/2 or 3" course thread srew through the sub floor and into the floor joist. Leave a 3/8" or so of the screw head above the carpet, grab it with vice grips and move side to side to break off the srcew flush with the sub floor below the pad. Make sure to divide the carpet fibers or loops and set the screw through a small hole in the mesh of the carpet backing. 0 -
My floors are 80 year old oak strips nailed onto the sub-floor. No T&G.
I removed the assortment of nails previous generations had set [to remedy loose/squeaks]
then drilled, counter-bore, and installed brass screws. The drilling was to prevent splits in an already weakened & fractured planking.
The screws are visible; that's why I used brass.
On a new floor, one would want to install tar or felt paper first. Let the flooring sit in the house for a few weeks to acclimate to the local humidity.
You could roll up the carpet first; renting the tool to re-install/stretch the carpet can't cost all that much.0 -
I appreciate all the advice. My house is all oak hardwood over subfloor. It is probably a combination of the oak floors and the subfloors rubbing on nails or each other. The only two rooms that do not have oak over subfloor is the kitchen and family room, which also squeak (not as bad).
I like the idea of drilling a hole and using brass screws. I would probably do that but countersink and use a nice plug to cover the screw head. Maybe I'll start where it is easy, downstairs with no rugs and see if it works.
I'm assuming with a 4" wide oak plank that if I put a 2 1/2" screw maybe every 3ft over the entire length of each plank that I'd screw the oak into the subfloor and the subfloor into studs where they run over the stud. Seems like a lot of work but it would cost a lot more to have all the floors replaced.
I can't see ripping up the wall to wall carpet so I am not sure what to do on the second floor. I don't want to ruin the oak floors under the rugs if I can avoid it. I know it looks almost new under there.
It's impossible to walk around without making a lot of noise but I guess it also acts as a burgler alarm too.0 -
Home Depot sells the kit that shoff14 is talking about . I bought it and it's here somewhere ( my wife puts things places I don't understand ) .
Saw it on This Old House TV show . Looks like it works pretty slick . Breaks off below the wood surface and you can buy a crayon the color of your floor to fill the small hole . Ask someone in the flooring area , they should know .
Think the kit was around $30
SxS0 -
This must be it...
http://www.squeaky-floors.com/index.htm0 -
Yes , that's the kit I bought .
To my amazement , there is no subfloor upstairs . Tongue and groove oak boards , just nailed down to floor joists . Wife was playing with the dog and jumped on the corner of the bed . Caster was on the edge of a board and punched right through .
Still remember the sheepish call from her , " Honey ....ummm....could you come here a minute [:I].
Always something....
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quote:Originally posted by slipgate
This must be it...
http://www.squeaky-floors.com/index.htm
Slipgate, that is IT!
I looked around on the lowes and ace website and couldn't find it.0 -
finishing nails will work if done properly, put two in at an angle, one \ next to it /, cheap and easy, never had any problems 0 -
I love this board. I ALWAYS learn something. Need to LEARN to keep my mouth shut more. Thanks to all who replied to this topic. 0 -
quote:Need to LEARN to keep my mouth shut more.
Where's the fun in that?[:D] I too am amazed what one can learn here.0 -
OK so I went out to HD and got the floor squeak system. I started on a really bad 3'x3' section of floor. 33 screws later, the squeak is about 98% gone. So the product does work but can require a lot of screws. It's possible I could have arranged them better and used less.
The product is not designed for use through carpet when the carpet is over hardwood. Hardwood would tend to split if no pilot hole is drilled and it would be somewhat hard to drill a pilot hole through carpet and then "find" that hole with the screw. So my 1st level will be no problem but the second level is going to be somewhat of a challenge.
I still need to fill all the holes with matching wood putty since it looks like someone took a machine gun to the floor.
Hey 1911 - I am tempted to use your angled nail idea on the 2nd floor through the carpet. Do you think my Craftsman air nailer will drive finish nails through the carpet (thick pile, padding)) and under the wood floor surface? The screw thing works, but is somewhat tedious. An air-nailer would be a LOT quicker if it works.0 -
(don't want to hijack 1911's reply but...) I wouldn't try it with a nailer through carpet, most of them won't get set all the way. you're lible to have nail heads sticking out but still in the carpet pile, snag a hole in your foot someday. you can whack it with a hammer to smash it flat but no guarantees. if you want to try regular finish nails hand nailed, get a nail set to make sure they go below the carpet pad. 0 -
Ive never tried this product but it works from underneath and holds the floor from dropping at the squeak site
http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/SR-1000/Squeak-Relief-2-Bracket-Repair-Pak0 -
never tried it through carpet, but on bare wood floors, i always used a punch to countersink them, i would imagine you could do that if you used a punch, but it may just put a bigger hole in the carpet, i guess it is something to try, and play it by ear 0 -
slipgate
It really is not that bad to pull the carpet up and have it stretched back in.
Just start in a corner and pull it up along a wall and roll it up to the opposite wall. Fix the floor and rol the carpet back out and have a carpet guy stop in and stretch it. A carpet guy should ba able to restretch it in under an hour.0
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