Fixing squeaky floorboards without lifting carpets

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Kickinbac

427 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1719502 13-Feb-2017 16:50

ubergeeknz:

Can you get at the floor from underneath? If you can get someone to walk around and make the squeaks you could probably spot them and add shims or fasteners from underneath to stop the squeaking boards... just a thought

edit: or just whack a bead of construction adhesive along the sides of the joists

I was going to suggest this as thisd is what I did. I crawled under my house and got the wife to squeak the boards. I then squirted in some glue (liquid nails) between the joist and floorboard and then fixed an L bracket to the under side of the floorboard and to the side of the joist with screws to hold it in place. It did the trick! Maybe you could call in a favour from a skinny friend (or hire a handyman) to crawl under while you do the squeaking.

tieke

674 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#1719515 13-Feb-2017 17:21

Lizard1977:

Has anyone used it and can vouch for its value?

I've used them - our upstairs floor had several very squeaky areas, and although I will screw down the floor panels when I get around to replacing the carpet, this was a good interim measure.

Pretty easy to use, and I probably sorted out about 70% of the problem - there's still a few slight squeaks, but nowhere as bad as it used to be. If I had underfloor access to it I would have used that method instead, but in my case the improvement was definitely worth it.

Our carpet isn't particularly plush, and you definitely can't tell where I put the screws - as to locating the joists, it's pretty much trial and error - you are given a special screw which you use to drill a number of test holes, and once you've found some joists hopefully the other ones are at consistent distances. I basically found the joists first and used painter's tape to mark out their location before starting to screw down the floor.

mdf

3512 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1719725 13-Feb-2017 21:51

It depends what is causing the noise. I am almost sure I remember Tim the Toolman Taylor calling it creaks, squeaks and groans. This breakoff screw solution is mainly designed to address the issue where the floorboard is rubbing against it's fastening (probably a nail) at the joist. This is the most common source of noise. Shims and glue can help with this problem too.

But if the noise is coming from between joists, it's probably two floorboards rubbing up against each other. Ideally you want to squirt some talcum powder up between the join to solve that one.

If the joist itself has moved/is moving (if the floor moves as well as making a noise, or if there is a lot of movement) you need to re-brace the joist. Just screwing a floorboard into a joist that has dropped may just put a dip in your floor.

tdgeek

29740 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#1719730 13-Feb-2017 22:05

Wheelbarrow01:

MikeAqua:

Wheelbarrow01:

I ALWAYS wake her up before I even reach the bedroom door.

So "Are you awake babe?" would be redundant phrase in your household then!

Indeed....

I reckon you got a builder in to make them squeaky... "Your already awake, babe...." NSFC

MikeAqua

7773 posts

Uber Geek

#1719854 14-Feb-2017 09:41

Lizard1977:

Is there likely to be any issue with hitting pipes or electrical cables when using the joist-finding screw, or are they nowhere near the floor joists?

You could have issues depending on where your pipes and cables are run. Usually they are on the bottoms of the joist but you can't be certain.

If you don't know I wouldn't drill blind - Murphy's law.

Do you have enough access to check for cables pipes etc?

Mike

Spirax

57 posts

Master Geek

#1719888 14-Feb-2017 11:21

Re: finding the joists. I use a studfinder that has a deep-scan facility. Available from M10 for about $50. It's called a Zircon edge finding StudSensor L40. Then just whack a jolt head nail in and follow up with a nail punch. The StudSensor also has a warning light that comes on if it senses a live wire.

neb

11294 posts

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#1720008 14-Feb-2017 13:35

jimbob79:
Mitre10 Mega sells a US product ($44~) which you drill a small hole into the carpet using very long special screws and using a tool breaks the the top half of the screw off. Thus leaving very minimal evidence of a hole.

You don't necessarily need special equipment and tools, you can do it with standard tools, there's quite a few Youtube videos that walk you through it, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9rzcumpPM0. It's the same as what the Squeek No More does (which I assume is the Mitre10 tool you're referring to).

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MattR

224 posts

Master Geek

#1721057 16-Feb-2017 10:35

I bought the squeak no more kit from Mitre10 to fix a couple of squeaks under carpet. Works well as long as you make sure you put the screw in far enough - I can feel one screw where I broke it off without realising it wasn't in far enough, the rest are not visible at all.

Lizard1977

2060 posts

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#1724332 22-Feb-2017 11:33

I went with the Squeak No More kit from Mitre 10 last week. After a bit (a lot) of trial and error locating the joists, I managed to get some screws in a section of our hallway. I found the supplied screws a bit hit and miss. Some broke off too early and left a small part of the shaft sticking up out of the carpet. Others broke off during driving and located accurately beneath the floorboard, but it meant that my plan to "map" the joists with string from screw to screw was foiled. In the end I drove in about 20 screws over 3-4 joists, but sadly it didn't seem to fix any of the squeaks in that area - it's still just as squeaky as before.

This experience led me to examine the location of the squeaks more closely. Seeing where the joists are, I discovered that many (but not all) squeaks are coming from between the joists. I suspect that there are multiple noise causes here, for which the screw solution may not be appropriate.

So I've decided to get someone who knows what they're doing to have a look and propose a comprehensive solution. Anyone care to recommend someone in the Palmerston North area who would be good at fixing this kind of problem? I've tried Builderscrack but the tradies who responded so far haven't filled me with confidence. And am I looking at a proper "builder" or just a competent handyman? I'm getting central heating ducting installed underfloor sometime in the next month, so I'd like to get this work done ASAP before then, so they don't mess up the ducting if they have to get at the floorboards from underneath (I'd prefer not to have to pull up the carpet).

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