Not so New Build Floorboards questions

Twilightargent

Hi

Been a lurker on MSE for years but this is the first time i've joined up to post

So we're a small family, moved in the last year because schools/work etc, found a lovely 2 bed house new built ten year ago, one careful owner etc. It is Timber framed which was not exactly what we wanted and knew it would come with issues, but we could afford it.
Apparently it was "immaculate":rotfl: our loo broke, then the other loo broke, under the sink in the kitchen sprung a leak, the oven door exploded on Xmas eve, etc you get the picture At least it didnt all happen on the same day I suppose.
Anyway to the gripe:the floorboards are as creaky as my knees are.
They are of course, that lovely quality floorboard material MFI quality MDF boards, which my builder has told me have been nailgunned to the floor not screwed. So he came and screwed some of them down and it worked a treat however, it hasn't fixed one of my annoyances:
We replaced our bed and when anyone lies on it there is a very annoying popping creak, can't tell if it's a floorboard or if it's a pipe that runs under cooling down. It doesnt stop at one, it then creaks intermittently say even 2-5 minutes, i havent counted, not quite that level of crazy yet, lol. I am using earplugs/sleeping downstairs, my OH snores like gatwick airport so hears nothing, in fact I am surprised I can hear anything over him! So anyway:

Surely shoving a massive bed on it should stop the creak not make it worse right?

Maybe I should be getting another Handyman to move the bed and screw the bedroom floor down with as many nails as is possible?

Actually I have called another builder that specialises in floorboards as mine has now hurt his back (Nothing to do with me and his workload! honest) and he said it won't work it all needs to be cut up and replaced with actual floorboards, oh and that'll be £3,000 please for the top floor and the stairs...
I was thinking he could just do one room, but then if we have the MDF cut just in front of the walls and other floorboards put down won't that cause more creaking/probs in the future? Not sure about Timber houses and how the weight of other floorboards would affect it in comparison...creaking/subsidence etc

So does anyone know what to do now/had any similar experiences? I need to do something that's for sure, hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg/require moving house...cos that's not gonna happen for a few years _pale_

After reading my words back I sound like a right paranoid worrywart, lololol Anyway any help/advice appreciated. Thanks

ProDave

This has NOTHING to do with the house being timber framed. Even masonry built houses for the last 20 odd years have mostly used chipboard floor panels. Nails don't work, they work loose in their holes. As you have identified screws work better.

The creaking every 2-5 minutes sounds like a pipe cooling down. Does it coincide with the heating turning on or off, or just afte you have used a got tap?

Twilightargent

Hi thanks for your reply, sorry it's taken me a while to check the post, we've had a lot of things going on

Ah so the thing the builder told us about chipboard was incorrect then, noted. I'm still learning an awful lot about owning a house.

Sometimes it starts after the water goes on/off, but other times we've had the water/heating off from about 8-9pm and can hear the noise after midnight. Do you think it could still be that cooling down?
I've not had any experience of heating systems to be honest, my parents house
had no central heating only an immersion and electric radiators. And when I moved out, my flat had one of those wood chip burning eco systems and the boiler was in the buildings basement somewhere. We didn't really hear anything from the pipes only when the radiators came on and they made a soft clunk - that was it. If I sound like I'm just out of my teens, I'm actually 40 - I've just not lived in too many places.

We've got one of those boilermate switch water boilers in the bedroom, never had one before so I was wondering if it could be the pipes. They do run either next to, or under the bed (my side of course )

The boiler has in the last week started to make a banging sound, the noise started long before that but could be related, I expect. Good old British Gas are coming round to check it out, but not until the 8th

ToasterScheme

Just a thought - might not be relevant at all.

We had a 2001 new build which was very creaky until we screwed down all the chip panels. But, for example, if you have any stud walls (e.g. en-suite or any other room dividers) it's possible that they were put up AFTER the floor was nailed down. In our case there were some original nail fixings which we obviously couldn't replace with screws because they were underneath the stud wall.

DSmiffy

We used to have an intermittent noise every night, found out it was just after the hot tap had been running while everyone brushed their teeth before bed etc. It was the pipes cooling down. I have found that if you run the cold tap for a while to cool the pipes down after everyone has finished in the bathroom, it stops the clicking noise.

barbiedoll

Ask neighbours, friends and family for the name of a boiler engineer, preferably someone that doesn’t work for British Gas.

There could be several reasons for a “banging” noise in your boiler* but you can bet your life that a BG engineer will immediately declare that you need a new one!

*We once woke up to a horrible clanging sound coming from our boiler. We called our trusty plumber who came round within the hour. He managed to diagnose the fault. Our (quite large) cat had apparently been jumping on top of the boiler and had dislodged the top cover, which had fallen onto the fan, causing the rattle!

AndyTails

ToasterScheme wrote: »

Just a thought - might not be relevant at all.

We had a 2001 new build which was very creaky until we screwed down all the chip panels. But, for example, if you have any stud walls (e.g. en-suite or any other room dividers) it's possible that they were put up AFTER the floor was nailed down. In our case there were some original nail fixings which we obviously couldn't replace with screws because they were underneath the stud wall.

I had that problem too. I fixed it:

Take off skirting. Screw down at 45 degrees, behind the skirting, going through the base of the stud wall and into the floorboard. Replace skirting and make good. Job's a good 'un.

Twilightargent

ToasterScheme wrote: »

Just a thought - might not be relevant at all.

We had a 2001 new build which was very creaky until we screwed down all the chip panels. But, for example, if you have any stud walls (e.g. en-suite or any other room dividers) it's possible that they were put up AFTER the floor was nailed down. In our case there were some original nail fixings which we obviously couldn't replace with screws because they were underneath the stud wall.

@Toasterscheme Yes that is a thought actually, I think they did do that when they built the house.
But it shouldn't make the noise all the time, right? It would only make the noise if you walked on it. The walls do pop a bit
Even though it can't be fixed without tearing the house down - maybe if you had enough heavy furniture, it would help the situation - I know the people before had a massive bed, and we have a dinky ikea one

Twilightargent

DSmiffy wrote: »

We used to have an intermittent noise every night, found out it was just after the hot tap had been running while everyone brushed their teeth before bed etc. It was the pipes cooling down. I have found that if you run the cold tap for a while to cool the pipes down after everyone has finished in the bathroom, it stops the clicking noise.

Yes! I think it is this, now I've driven the family mad with turning the boiler on/off, thermostat up/down, etc.

I run the water for a couple of seconds and then there is a massive clunk and it seems to settle down!

Funny how it can go all night - we find turning the boiler down to low and thermostat down and then running the cold water seems to have made it a lot better. I can live with most of the other bumps and cracks!

Twilightargent

barbiedoll wrote: »

Ask neighbours, friends and family for the name of a boiler engineer, preferably someone that doesn’t work for British Gas.

There could be several reasons for a “banging” noise in your boiler* but you can bet your life that a BG engineer will immediately declare that you need a new one!

*We once woke up to a horrible clanging sound coming from our boiler. We called our trusty plumber who came round within the hour. He managed to diagnose the fault. Our (quite large) cat had apparently been jumping on top of the boiler and had dislodged the top cover, which had fallen onto the fan, causing the rattle!

Haha this post made me laugh - it's so true. Unfortunately we're signed up to that homeserve thing and booked in for June, might be the last time though.
Just to make it worse at least 3 of the neighbours have had their boilermate switch unit changed in the last year, so we will probably be next!
The last guy we had was pretty good to be honest, but i bet we don't get him again!
I love that your cat had been jumping on the boiler - i guess it's kind of warm up there and they sit on anything like that - laptops, radiators etc.

Twilightargent

AndyTails wrote: »

I had that problem too. I fixed it:

Take off skirting. Screw down at 45 degrees, behind the skirting, going through the base of the stud wall and into the floorboard. Replace skirting and make good. Job's a good 'un.

@Andytails Oh my gosh I replied to Toasterscheme before I read your reply - that sounds doable!

Thanks, we'll try that too, we're having the carpets done soon so may be a good time to get that sorted at the same time. It does make a huge popping sound when we walk through the room and the window makes a cracking sound too, it doesn't normally do it when we're in the bed. It gives you an unnerving feeling the house will fall down!

I think the noise might be the water pipes - d smiffy's response is what we've been doing the last week and it seems to work - and I now use earplugs too.

Really appreciate your reply!