Squeaking top floor
- Thread starter LoneWolf
- Start date
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,203171-3,00.html
Some interesting tips here. Sooo many houses have this issue
Some interesting tips here. Sooo many houses have this issue
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,203171-3,00.html
Some interesting tips here. Sooo many houses have this issue
Thanks Mitch, I have already purchased this kit over ebay, let's see if this can fix the problem
The reason your upper floor is squeaking is because the carpenters that put the sheet flooring down didn't use enough glue or missed joists. Also, more than likely they didn't buzz the floor joists with a planer to level them off.
Glue is used on floor joists when using sheet flooring to stop the sheet flooring separating when you walk on it. If enough isn't used or joist through a busy walk through area have been missed then they will start squeaking once the house settles.
Most of the kits out there to fix the problem are hit and miss in my opinion. The sure fire fix is a simple one and pretty cost effective.
1. Pull up the carpet in the area where it is squeaking including the underlay.
2. Use 75mm full threaded chipboard screws and screw them through the flooring into the floor joist at 2o0 ctrs.
If you have squeaking in areas where there are tiles this is gong to be pretty challenging. Apart from ripping up the tiles and underlay or taking the ceiling apart on the ground floor there isn't a whole lot you can do.
If you do decide to access the floor joists from the ground floor by going through the ceiling then use "Stud Adhesive" as your bonding glue.
1. After taking off the ceiling plaster separate the floor joist from the sheet flooring using a medium pinch bar. Do this in the areas where the floor is squeaking obviously.
2. Separate them only a few millimeters, only enough to get a flat nose spatula of stud adhesive onto the floor joist.
Once the stud adhesive drys it will shrink causing the sheet flooring to be sucked downwards onto the floor joist. Unlike some construction adhesive it won't separate from the floor joist once it has fully dried.
Hope this helps.
Glue is used on floor joists when using sheet flooring to stop the sheet flooring separating when you walk on it. If enough isn't used or joist through a busy walk through area have been missed then they will start squeaking once the house settles.
Most of the kits out there to fix the problem are hit and miss in my opinion. The sure fire fix is a simple one and pretty cost effective.
1. Pull up the carpet in the area where it is squeaking including the underlay.
2. Use 75mm full threaded chipboard screws and screw them through the flooring into the floor joist at 2o0 ctrs.
If you have squeaking in areas where there are tiles this is gong to be pretty challenging. Apart from ripping up the tiles and underlay or taking the ceiling apart on the ground floor there isn't a whole lot you can do.
If you do decide to access the floor joists from the ground floor by going through the ceiling then use "Stud Adhesive" as your bonding glue.
1. After taking off the ceiling plaster separate the floor joist from the sheet flooring using a medium pinch bar. Do this in the areas where the floor is squeaking obviously.
2. Separate them only a few millimeters, only enough to get a flat nose spatula of stud adhesive onto the floor joist.
Once the stud adhesive drys it will shrink causing the sheet flooring to be sucked downwards onto the floor joist. Unlike some construction adhesive it won't separate from the floor joist once it has fully dried.
Hope this helps.
Steve, is it difficult to pull up the carpet and fixing it from above?
Does this mean that I must replace the entire carpet? Or can I just simply put it back to its original place once I am done with it
Does this mean that I must replace the entire carpet? Or can I just simply put it back to its original place once I am done with it
No, the carpet is very easy to pull up. Just start in a corner with a flat nose pair of pliers making sure to get as close into the corner of the room as possible. Grab a decent chunk of carpet with the pliers and gently pull the carpet away from the smooth edge (timber edge strips with very sharp spikes). You may need to grab it in 2 or 3 places in the corner to work it free.
Once it is free you can usually just manhandle the rest of it off of the smooth edge.
Now, as for putting the carpet back in place, well thats another thing. You shouldn't have to replace the carpet and depending on how much you pull up you may not need a "kicker" to get it back down again. If the carpet is old, say more than 5-7 years it may not have any stretch "memory" left and will go straight back in place. If it is however, pretty new or very good quality carpet it may need to be kicked back into place by a professional. Either way you shouldn't have to replace the carpet at all. I believe you can hire the carpet kickers from a number of carpet suppliers.
You may have underlay that is just laying there or it may be stapled or glued in place. If it is stapled or glued you may damage it when you pull it up. Try and get it up in as big a pieces as possible. Don't worry about stapling or gluing it back down after you finish screwing everything off. The carpet holds it in place as long as you kick the carpet back onto the smooth edge.
Once you have removed the carpet, it will be pretty easy to see where the floor joist have been nailed. They will run in lines across the sheet flooring @ 450 ctrs.
Hope this helps.
