Squeeky Floorboards

27col

If you are having CH installed then why not leave it to the installer. He faces this problem with every installation that he does.
If the boards are T&G then you can cut the tongue with a Stanley knife. If you just want stop the boards squeaking, then punching the nails down will work just fine. Except for the possibility of causing damage to the ceiling below. I did this myself and a small circle of plaster fell from the ceiling below. It didn't matter in my case as it was my house. Might be a problem if a stranger lives below you. If you screw the boards down it will seriously reduce the creaking. Alternatively, just punching the nails a bit might well acheive the desired result.

waynehayes

Screwing down the boards in situ will not always stop a squeak, as I found out in the past week. Before laying my bathroom floor I wanted to get rid of a couple of squeaks so I went mad with the old Dewalt and a handful of screws. All was fine except one squeak which I could not silence as it seemed to come from midway between the joists. I pulled up that board and fitted a new one and now the squeak has gone.

paddy.maguire

Be careful, if they are tongue and groove boards then use a flooring chisel to break off the tongue and then you can lever one board out, then lever out the one next to it and stick your head under with a torch to map out where the pipes and cables are, then screw them all down safely, use good branded 5x60mm screws, Spax/reisser/turbogold and you wont need to pilot them apart from the ones at the ends of boards. Dont bother pulling out all the nails as its just a waste of time. Dont punch nails through the floorboards as you are working blind and stand a good chance of hitting a pipe or cable. Squeaky boards under stud walls can be solved by knocking slivers of timber under the studwork. Also dont rely upon a heating engineer/plumber to replace the floor squeak free as they are not joiners. A good joiner should solve the average sized (4000mm x3000mm) rooms squeaks in around half a day for around £80 plus perhaps £20 materials (decent screws and a bit of battening if needed) as long as the room is clear,carpet-free and the tea keeps coming every hour on the hour and biscuits(choc digestive or hobnobs) every two hours. Chipboard floors are different and take longer and require more materials to solve