Reducing squeaks from above before carpeting

[WT21]

We have solid oak 2.25" strip flooring in our upstairs in our early 1970s house (3/4" thick, tongue and groove).

We are putting wall to wall carpeting down in the bedrooms because we prefer W2W over HW in bedrooms. But in the master, the floors squeak a lot.

The oak flooring is laid over a sub floor of wide pine boards laid at a 45 degree angle to the joists, with gaps between the sub floor boards. Those boards are nailed into joists, and are somewhat brittle (I replaced much of these boards in the bath when that was renovated).

The oak flooring is perpendicular to the joists, and also runs under some interior walls that were added later (e.g. closet walls). There is no access from below.


I'm trying to figure out what I want to do here.

1. ignore it, and assume the new W2W will help reduce the noise (though not eliminate of course)

2. nail/screw down from above. But there are so many oak boards, and I'd have to make sure I hit the joists, as the sub flooring is pretty poor.

3. remove the HW and put down 3/4" plywood. OR cut out the hardwood AND the sub and do a double layer? But the room is very large (400 square feet -- we combined 2 rooms to make the master, which will also have an office in it), we are living in the room currently, and I'm on a tight budget. Should I do just the portion that squeaks the most (basically between the bed and bathroom) or do #s 1 or 2?

 

[JIMMIEM]

Hard to believe that the entire subfloor is shot...bathroom area may have gotten some water damage. I would start by adding screws in the areas where the squeaks are. This would be the easiest and least expensive way to start. Get some self tapping screws to eliminate having to predrill. If you have second thoughts and want to stay with the hardwood instead of W2W then use trim head screws to stop the squeaks.....this would mean predrilling/countersinking, filling, etc.

 

[WT21]

Hard to believe that the entire subfloor is shot...bathroom area may have gotten some water damage. I would start by adding screws in the areas where the squeaks are. This would be the easiest and least expensive way to start. Get some self tapping screws to eliminate having to predrill.

Thanks for the reply.

Good point on the subfloor -- how the bathroom was likely different.

When I Google "oak floor squeaks" most links point to a product called "squeak no more" which is a special screw that is scored to snap below the floor level.

Anyone have any experience with these? If not, what type of screw to use, and do you go into the joists, or just the sub floor is OK?

And in either case, what's the screw schedule across the floor area I need to tighten down?

(Last question/comment -- hate to be the guys who have to rip up this floor later down the road!)

 

[JIMMIEM]

Thanks for the reply.

Good point on the subfloor -- how the bathroom was likely different.

When I Google "oak floor squeaks" most links point to a product called "squeak no more" which is a special screw that is scored to snap below the floor level.

Anyone have any experience with these? If not, what type of screw to use, and do you go into the joists, or just the sub floor is OK?

And in either case, what's the screw schedule across the floor area I need to tighten down?

(Last question/comment -- hate to be the guys who have to rip up this floor later down the road!)

Never used them....seems they'd work better on carpeted floors....not sure what type of hold there would be on hardwood if the head was snapped off. Use flat head screws. You can use trim head screws, SPAX, or GRK screws which will cut their own countersink for the head. No specific schedule.....put them where the squeaks are. The squeaks could be from the subfloor rubbing on nails, hardwood joint rubs....

 

[rugaddict]

it depends on the cause of the squeaks----squeaks mean movement but with hardwood there can be more than one cause----if the original layer of subfloor was attached with common nails and has since come loose---then screws into the floor joist should eliminate them----but i have had cases where the tounges of t&g flooring have broken off---screws wont fix that---also i have had cases where cross members between the joists are the culprit---screws dont fix that either

 

[DarisMulkin]

By chance have you tried sprinkling the floor with tac powder and sweeping it into the hardwood joints to see if that helps. Might sound strange but sometimes it works.

Daris