Fixing a squeaky floor

[Ydobon]

I plan on fixing one of our squeaky bedroom floors this weekend (70s house, regular floorboards (i.e. not tongue and groove or chipboard)). Would appreciate a sanity check as I'm not an accomplished DIYer.

Current plan is:

1) Remove carpet!
2) Screw down floorboards using these (link) screwed into the joists, next to the existing nails
3) Use a pipe/wire detector as I go, lifting floorboards where there's any ambiguity to avoid costly punctures

Sound sensible?

[Ego]

If the cause is two floorboards squeaking when they rub together, you can spray a little graphite lubricant in the gap. I used the stuff we normally use to lubricate the tumblers of sticky locks and it worked wonders.

[Ydobon]

Sounds sane to me. It may not eliminate every squeak (due to the type of flooring your have), but it will still drastically cut down on the noise.

Cheers! Hoping that this + decent underlay and carpet will make the room a lot quieter for our baby

If the cause is two floorboards squeaking when they rub together, you can spray a little graphite lubricant in the gap. I used the stuff we normally use to lubricate the tumblers of sticky locks and it worked wonders.

Any particular reason for graphite lubricant? I'd heard of talcum powder, is one superior to the other?

[Ego]

Any particular reason for graphite lubricant? I'd heard of talcum powder, is one superior to the other?

I don't know. I researched it one morning after our squeaky floor woke Mrs. Ego and found a website that said graphite. I just happened to have some so I gave it a try.

[jacob]

How about just using finish nails, say 4d, and sinking them. Presumably they'd bend around conduits if they go that deep? Sane?

[jennypenny]

I find this thread fascinating. My floors squeak and it never occurred to me that I should fix them.

[Ydobon]

Any particular reason for graphite lubricant? I'd heard of talcum powder, is one superior to the other?

I don't know. I researched it one morning after our squeaky floor woke Mrs. Ego and found a website that said graphite. I just happened to have some so I gave it a try.

Ah ok, thanks. Think I'll opt for talc then, as it costs pennies and I won't have to order it.

I find this thread fascinating. My floors squeak and it never occurred to me that I should fix them.

In our last house (a c. 1900 flat), a bit of squeak added character. In our new house (semi-detatched shoebox in a good school area), it's a pain in the backside If I do *anything* it wakes the baby (including, but not limited to zany things like lying down when I go to bed)!

[jennypenny]

@Ydobon--I wasn't criticizing. It was more of a comment on how low my standards are. I never realized how much I overlooked in life until I joined this forum.

[FBeyer]

@jacob

The screws would be far superior than the finish nails. The nails will loosen over time.

The primary reason for squeaking floors, is floor boards rubbing against nails that have come slightly loose.

One trick to fix this for hardwood floors is to find a large, flat block of oak, place it on the floor and BEAT THE SHIT OUT IT! In some cases you'll press the floor down hard enough against the battens and take the nails with you, such that the floor stops squeaking without any cosmetic changes to it.

The more (socially) acceptable way (few customers like to watch the carpenter go Ape-shit on their floors with the biggest mallet he can find), is to fasten the floor with screws like these:

where the thread does not go all the way up.

Our floors creaked in front of every doorway when we moved in. I simply screwed them fast in-line with the existing row of nails. Hasn't started creaking again in 6 years now.

If your floors are somewhat new(ish) I'd consider countersinking and plugging it. I'm lazy, I rarely plug, but others with more sense of finesse might feel compelled.

[FBeyer]

@Ydobon--I wasn't criticizing. It was more of a comment on how low my standards are. I never realized how much I overlooked in life until I joined this forum.

Name the two non-directly ERE-related things that changed the most in your life after joining this forum.

[jennypenny]

@FBeyer--I've learned how to micromanage my microbiome and I've learned the difference between fixing something and bodging something. I was definitely a honey bodger before.

[Ydobon]

@jennypenny - don't worry - it wasn't taken that way!

[Ydobon]

Mission successful for £16.99 in materials + a pipe detector that set me back £39.99 and will be resold once the house is 'finished'. A saving of £100 vs. using a contractor

[FBeyer]

As a matter of curiosity: how many times would you reckon you would have hit a pipe without your pipe detector?

[Ydobon]

Jings - 10+?

I think whoever plumbed this house was building a zany steampunk engine of some sort, not functioning hot water and heating!