Squeaky Floorboards

Petitehele

Hello all

We have been trying to resolve some very squeaky floorboards in our newly bought house, in particular the Study room upstairs. We hired a carpenter who promised after screwing down the floorboards instead of the original nails would help, failed, put some arsenic containing glue down with the hope of it will then stop the squeakyness but despite all that it's still very noisy and doesn't seem to help. Have been looking online and there seem to only be 2 company that specialised in fixing squeaky floorboards? one is squeakystairsrepairs.co.uk and the other is fantastichandyman.co.uk has anyone used them before or have any reviews/suggestions of how to tackle the issue?

With the first tradesman we hired we have already been burnt (half a cowboy as will only do screws along the original nails and nth more, hubby and father in law had to go round with a proper machine to do way more screws + a new doorway and door that doesnt hung well, with a massive gap at the bottom :mad:

Thanks x

Furts

My floors are typical chipboard as used over the last 30+ years. I used a bottle of pva wood glue and methodically squeezed a bead into the gaps between the tongues and grooves. This gradually sank down - sometimes over night. I topped up where necessary. It worked in many places. Some areas are beyond redemption - a simple reflection on how poor the original building was, plus movement over the years.

Your big gap at the base of the door - how much bearing in mind it needs to clear the carpet or floor covering?

Davesnave

Petitehele wrote: »

With the first tradesman we hired we have already been burnt (half a cowboy as will only do screws along the original nails and nth more, hubby and father in law had to go round with a proper machine to do way more screws....

If I were doing a quick job of screwing down some chipboard flooring in a strange house, I wouldn't go beyond the existing nail holes either.

Anyone with common sense would expect to be unlucky and hit a pipe or an electric cable sooner or later.

Aylesbury_Duck

You can try using talcum powder, although if the squeaking is severe it may not be enough. Sprinkle copious amounts of it onto the floor and with a soft brush, work it into the gaps. After a few days' normal use of the floor, if the squeaking persists, repeat. It worked on our landing floorboards.

Petitehele

Furts wrote: »

My floors are typical chipboard as used over the last 30+ years. I used a bottle of pva wood glue and methodically squeezed a bead into the gaps between the tongues and grooves. This gradually sank down - sometimes over night. I topped up where necessary. It worked in many places. Some areas are beyond redemption - a simple reflection on how poor the original building was, plus movement over the years.

Your big gap at the base of the door - how much bearing in mind it needs to clear the carpet or floor covering?

The glue was left for a good 2 days although it hasn't made much difference at all, our engineered floor has already been destroyed in the process of getting to the chipboard underneath as the previous owner decided that the engineered floor should be glued instead of just slotting in...

with regards to the gap we have carpet on the other side of the doorway and when i lay my hands on the carpet i can almost slip my hand through so it definitely isnt done properly, plus i can't even close my door properly need a bit of a push to close it.... otherwise i wouldnt have said it's a cowboy job.

Furts

Petitehele wrote: »

The glue was left for a good 2 days although it hasn't made much difference at all,

You say "arsenic containing glue" was used. I do not know what this is, but did it run through the joints? Was it the right product to use? Where the pva has run away through my floor joints I may add in some foaming glue - it may do the trick. If you decide on this then the 5 minute set version is likely to be the one to use.

In fairness to your handy man he may have undershot the door to give ventilation, or it could be the lining is set too high so that a standard door gives a gap at the bottom.

Petitehele

Furts wrote: »

You say "arsenic containing glue" was used. I do not know what this is, but did it run through the joints? Was it the right product to use? Where the pva has run away through my floor joints I may add in some foaming glue - it may do the trick. If you decide on this then the 5 minute set version is likely to be the one to use.

In fairness to your handy man he may have undershot the door to give ventilation, or it could be the lining is set too high so that a standard door gives a gap at the bottom.

The glue is Gorilla glue (was told by the carpenter not to touch it until it's dry as it contains arsenic) but it did run along all the joints, that's a foaming glue isnt it? He said there;s no point trying wood glue as it's a waste of time?

Furts

Petitehele wrote: »

The glue is Gorilla glue (was told by the carpenter not to touch it until it's dry as it contains arsenic) but it did run along all the joints, that's a foaming glue isnt it? He said there;s no point trying wood glue as it's a waste of time?

OK but the problem with glue is the dirt, dust and debris that can be in the joints. My T&G joints will have decades of this lodged in them, and the glue has not been perfect. Perfection with glue only can occur with a new, clean, vacuumed floor.

But all round it seems a strange idea to destroy a glued layer of engineered floor in order to cure squeaks said to come from under this. Destroying the engineered floor is likely to have caused squeaks.