If you want to fix squeaky wood floors, this article is for you. We will explain you the easiest way to do it and how to do it properly.
First thing is you got to find out wheter theres any pipes underneath. If you have made sure that there is no pipe underneath, glue along the top of the joist. Then, you glue all those sheets together and you screw them down. The important thing is not to walk on it. Try to leave it for 12 hours if you can. Because obviously that glue needs to set.
Now, let’s go into each process step by step.
#1 What You Should Not Do
So, if you look on YouTube, there’s actually a surprising number of videos which say the way you fix this. You drive a screw through the carpet. Believe it or not. It’s not good for just doing it that way. You should never ever do that.
Drivers screw can pass through the carpet and damage your plumbing system. And if you don’t know what’s underneath there, you don’t want to be driving screws or nails in there. You really need to know what you’re doing
So, first thing is, don’t go through the carpet. Instead, take the carpet up. It’s not as horrendous as you might imagine because most carpet these days is on gripper road. It’s not stuck down or anything. So if you get a pair of pliers, you can get started.
#2 Take The carpet Up
So, we pull the carpet off. It’s on the gripper. And we’ve got some underlay underneath which unfortunately a lot of the time is stapled down. It’s nice underlay and is moisture resistant. It says should be glued if I’ve used any glue in there, this is absolutely minimal.
When you walk over you can see something where the squeaky sound comes from. There is a movement the tongue and groove on the chip board.
#3 Find Out If There is Pipe Underneath
First thing is you got to find out whether there’s any pipes anything underneath. Hopefully, being a modern house if our pipes they should be going through the center of the joists. So, these Joists are around eight inches deep (I know this because I have been doing the shower room). I know that because I’ve been doing the shower room. Therefore, if we don’t go any deeper than four inches, it’s safe. So, let’s say three inches will be a maximum to screw down. If we keep on the joists all the way through nobody’s marked up any.
So, the reason I think there are no pipes here is because there’s an eaves cupboard here. And the pipes go out the back of the air and cupboard along the eaves cupboard and then they drop down into the bathrooms below.
And the only other place that there may be pipes if we look in here. We’ve got a shower. Therefore, those pipes are fed. Therefore, if we took this piece up here, we would find its marks and there were pipes going through here. But even then, it may be the choice to run running back front so that the pipes are gone between the Joists.
#4 Glue Along the Top of The Joist
Speaker 1: Are around this area here. So. This being the worst of it. So, what’s happened is that the house was built the timbers were probably got a bit wet they swelled up they put their boards. Now they didn’t bother gluing the boards and they put a few screws they put a few nails in actually which seem worse because they will lift so as the timbers shrunk. It’s created that gap. Now if you’re doing it properly and if you’re doing it by the standards that they recommend you put glue along the top of the joist. Then, you glue all those sheets together and then you screw down. If you do that has three ways you’re stopping that squeaking. And I don’t recommend any of them.
So, I’m going to put some screws in here and to go very carefully with it. And what I’m also going to do is get some PVI glue which is very cheap PVI, Water it down! That’s very important. Don’t try putting it in then neat because it goes nowhere. What we need to do is we need to mix it maybe about three parts water to one-part PVI brush that into those joints.
Walk up and down arm so that we work PVH into the joints that PVH will then swell the chip board slightly and tighten the joint up. And then as it dries has the PBA dries overnight. That will lock those joints in place and. It doesn’t matter that the wet because it’s done the swelling and it’s there then. So, I’ve done it many times before it works and and hopefully it means that they’re not going to be suffer in that creaky foot on the stairs at night. To. Do that. Perfect. So, I to work my way out towards the stairs so that I don’t have to keep walking over it because it is a bit messy but there’s no point in cleaning up. Just let the.
#5 Finishing
Let the glue do the work and don’t be tempted to use this glue too neat. You might think “oh I use a stronger solution it would be better”. It won’t work because unless this gets down into the joints, it needs to be. This case it needs to be of free flow. Otherwise it will never find its way through.
You also need a few screws and a brush. So. What’s it going to cost you 15 pounds of money I mentioned. So, when you get the PBA and you’re brushing it, you can see it start to flow down into those joints but just give it a little bit of encouragement by going on the balls. The vibration and the movement will draw it down into the Joints.
Anything you can do to try and get it to flow and you can see it’s going if we fill those joints out with PBA. We’ve achieved most of what we’re going to do. Without even bothering about screws. But there are a couple of places you can see these balls to be nailed down which is another reason that they’re not staying where they put it.
If we can just put a few screws in there draw them down into place stop some of that movement it’s going to be silent nights. Once this is done, the important thing is not to walk on it. Try and leave it for 12 hours if you can. Because obviously that glue needs to set. It’ll probably set in about three or four hours. You most of its job but to allow it to get to full strength.
I think you should leave it for 24 hours if you can. If not, then just treat it carefully. So much for that it was squirting bottle.
They’re just putting the rest of the glue into the joints you just keep feeding and until he’s run out I’m just going to go along and fix the boards down and fix him down too soon. Because if you’re putting glue in you need the boards to keep moving flexing so that that glue works its way in. But once that’s done.
#6 You Can Put Some Screws in
You can put some screws in. Now what I do. There’s the nail. So, if I go in beside the nail, pull them down using the nails as our guideline. I’m kind of tempted now to leave it. For that, Jeff the householder the owner or leave him for carry on put in the PVI into the joints.
Until he gets fed up which I think would probably be about half an hour. And if you’re worried about taking up the carpet and getting it to go down don’t worry too much take up the carpet do the job properly and then get a carpet loan. He will stretch it out put the thing back. It’ll probably cost you 30 quid or whatever but you know it’ll go back and look as good as new.
Conclusion
Fixing the squeaky floor is easy. The key is you need to get the right tools and do not just screw over the floor. Remember, there might be pipe underneath and you really want to make sure what you are doing is not damaging your plumbing system. If possible, you can actually just apply the glue to fix it. You can of course, use a few screws to fix it up but you must be careful at last.
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