Squeaky floors repair?

[kamloops67]

Squeaks are caused by movement , I would guess that in your case you needed a plywood subfloor over your floor planks before you laid hardwood
Also your joists may be over spanned
I think getting used to and enjoying the unique character of your home is your best bet

 

[chief38]

Wooden floors nailed down are going to creek eventually. Like I stated above, it doesn't bother me, but even if it did, I would not be inclined to pull up all the carpeting to fix it. A bare wood floor would be something else - or when changing the carpeting - that's the time to fix it.

 

[taz666]

Years ago 15lb roofing felt was laid down between the subfloor and the wood flooring.

 

[2152hq]

I fixed a lot of squeeky spots in a floor a few yrs ago for a friend.
The main culprit is/was nails meant to secure the floor planks that were not securely nailed into the floor rrafters.

The nails were just barely into the rafters and then shooting out the side of the rafter.
The nails weren't really holding the planks secure. So the flooring over time has a chance to buckle a very small amt as wood does naturally from humidity.
Not being secure, the planks are loose a very tiny amt from the rafter and every time you step on those spots, you hear the nail(s) being pushed into the wood of the rafter and then being pulled back out again as the plank returns to it's slightly unsecure/flat condition.

I was able to simply see most of the offending nails that were sticking out the side of a rafter in the basement near the the top of them.
A vise grip was very handy to pull the nail completely out of the wood, plank and rafter.
The planking above is still not secured tight/down on the rafter as it isn't nailed down, but it never was anyway, thus the squeeking noises.
But w/o the nail(s) in place,,the squeeks are gone.

A couple of especially bad places where the planking was bowed upwards, we used one of the 'puller' fixtures to draw the plank back down onto the rafter.
A simple plate that screws into the plank right next to the rafter, a threaded rod w/J hook afair hooks under the rafter and the plank is pulled down into place.

I understand you can't get at all of the noise makers as some are sealed inside the attached garage roof. But some might be abel to be quieted in the basement area.

An assistant lightly jumping/bouncing on the floor above helps find the offending nails and sometimes they are the cross braces betw the rafters as well making the noises.
They are simply nailed into place and wood to wood contact, dry as it is many times is the source of the racket.
You can actually see the movement when that is done above you.

 

[LVSteve]

My house doesn't squeak or creak, it bangs and thumps, mostly in spring and fall. I think it is a function of the over-designed nature of many Vegas homes with cathedral ceilings, complex roof shapes, and mysterious voids behind knee walls that may, or may not, serve some useful purpose. I suspect this leads to multiple timbers being joined any which way the builder could with compression or tension occurring due to temperature and humidity differences between the conditioned parts of the house and the attic/void areas.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Our home was built in 1960. It has hardwood floors. They creak.

I don't mind as it is an early warning system like cans on the wire letting me know when the boys are making a late night assault on the ice box.

 

[jeffrefrig]

I got a script filled today, so they don’t bother me anymore. Okay that’s not true, kinda, but new owners can deal with it if they want. I’m going to try the talc with the tarp on it, I know I’m going to trip over the tarp and get mad and throw it away then end up on my asset with my socks on. I need cameras!

 

[Kinman]

My kid brother the multi million dollar house builder whose largest clientele are people he has already built a large house for that are now downsizing says...Screw everything together that isn't visible except molding. He got into trouble with one of his first building inspectors because everything he did was over code. His earliest work in construction was drywall, he puts more screws in than necessary and rarely has to sand after his final skim, at drywall he is a genius. When comes to subflooring flooring he uses 3/4" plywood and screws that stuff down. He was told by the inspector that 3/8" (I think) was all that was required, he told the inspector that his floors never squeak. The inspector gave him all kinds of grief about code this, code that. My brother shut him up with "Code is a set of minimums, there is nothing that says I can't build over-code." The guy said "Your making the other guys look bad." My brother said "That sounds like a personal problem."

 

[BC38]

I fixed a lot of squeeky spots in a floor a few yrs ago for a friend.
The main culprit is/was nails meant to secure the floor planks that were not securely nailed into the floor rrafters.

The nails were just barely into the rafters and then shooting out the side of the rafter.
The nails weren't really holding the planks secure. So the flooring over time has a chance to buckle a very small amt as wood does naturally from humidity.
Not being secure, the planks are loose a very tiny amt from the rafter and every time you step on those spots, you hear the nail(s) being pushed into the wood of the rafter and then being pulled back out again as the plank returns to it's slightly unsecure/flat condition.

I was able to simply see most of the offending nails that were sticking out the side of a rafter in the basement near the the top of them.
A vise grip was very handy to pull the nail completely out of the wood, plank and rafter.
The planking above is still not secured tight/down on the rafter as it isn't nailed down, but it never was anyway, thus the squeeking noises.
But w/o the nail(s) in place,,the squeeks are gone.

A couple of especially bad places where the planking was bowed upwards, we used one of the 'puller' fixtures to draw the plank back down onto the rafter.
A simple plate that screws into the plank right next to the rafter, a threaded rod w/J hook afair hooks under the rafter and the plank is pulled down into place.

I understand you can't get at all of the noise makers as some are sealed inside the attached garage roof. But some might be abel to be quieted in the basement area.

An assistant lightly jumping/bouncing on the floor above helps find the offending nails and sometimes they are the cross braces betw the rafters as well making the noises.
They are simply nailed into place and wood to wood contact, dry as it is many times is the source of the racket.
You can actually see the movement when that is done above you.

Forgive me if this seems a bit nit-picking, BUT...

Rafters are ceiling and roof members. Floors are supported by JOISTS - not rafters.

The definitions of these structural members and the differences between them are fundamental to the basics of architecture.

But other than that one minor detail, the rest of your post makes perfect sense.

 

[2152hq]

I just couldn't remember the name,,joists...so I used rafters.
Lots of things I can't remember the names of any more

They look the same when you are in the basement and look up at them so I figured people would figure it out.

I'm not an architect, but I do seal my own driveway.

Now I have to go fill some more bullets for my clips.
I do that operation in my basement where there are rafters above me.
It's a cozy place.

 

[delcrossv]

I got a script filled today, so they don’t bother me anymore. Okay that’s not true, kinda, but new owners can deal with it if they want. I’m going to try the talc with the tarp on it, I know I’m going to trip over the tarp and get mad and throw it away then end up on my asset with my socks on. I need cameras!

Note: the talc will work if it's the floor planks having movement against each other. If your subfloor is loose from the joists, then wedges are the way to go.

Go in the basement and have someone walk the floor. If it's loose subfloor you can sometimes see movement.

Different fixes for different problems.

 

[toad67]

I'd just leave it alone. Unless you actually fix the problem, using talc powder would only be putting a band-aid over it, and it will eventually come back, possibly irritating the new buyers that you tried to hide something.
It's a 70 y/o house, it's gonna have a few issues. It's not structural, or something that would eventually cause damage to the home (like a temp fix on a leaky roof) so, I'd think that people who are looking at homes that age would expect things like that.

 

[Golddollar]

Flooring is on slab, over crawl space or basement? Can't help you with slab, but if either of the latter two, wedges between flooring and floor joists.

Are these wedges available commercially, or do you have to make them yourself?

 

[Rustyt1953]

It is a simple matter of weight ratios.

Ruthie glides quietly across the floor as if she we're on a bowling lane.

I, on the other hand, sound like a windjammer in high seas.

 

[ladder13]

Are these wedges available commercially, or do you have to make them yourself?

I’ve used shims that you can find in any store that sells building supplies. If they are too thin double up on them.

 

[wood714]

I just couldn't remember the name,,joists...so I used rafters.

They look the same when you are in the basement and look up at them so I figured people would figure it out.

We knew what you were talking about.

 

[oldbrownhat]

... He got into trouble with one of his first building inspectors because everything he did was over code... He was told by the inspector that 3/8" (I think) was all that was required, he told the inspector that his floors never squeak. The inspector gave him all kinds of grief about code this, code that. My brother shut him up with "Code is a set of minimums, there is nothing that says I can't build over-code." The guy said "Your making the other guys look bad." My brother said "That sounds like a personal problem."

Good grief- some of those little rule-bound rectal voids just have to have SOMETHING to whine about. And of course they're never responsible if anything gpes wrong after they've put their all (self-) important signature on it!

 

[toad67]

I’ve used shims that you can find in any store that sells building supplies. If they are too thin double up on them.

When you're done, throw a few into your camp stove box, it's nice to have a level stove to cook eggs on....

 

[BC38]

I just couldn't remember the name,,joists...so I used rafters.
Lots of things I can't remember the names of any more

They look the same when you are in the basement and look up at them so I figured people would figure it out.

I'm not an architect, but I do seal my own driveway.

Now I have to go fill some more bullets for my clips.
I do that operation in my basement where there are rafters above me.
It's a cozy place.

S'all good man.
Like I said, it was kind of nit-picky of me to even point it out.
But, as an engineer who took 3 years of mechanical/architectural drawing, I'm a little OCD about esoteric things like correct terminology.
My apologies - sometimes I just can't help myself.
It's a character fault common to some of us engineering types.
No offense intended.