Banging pipes and creaky floorboards.

jamie_128

Im getting new carpets laid soon, however i have a few concerns.

First of all the floor creaks in quite a few different places, it doesent bother me much but im concerned the carpet will dip in them places ( as it seems to on a few parts now, like the wood has dipped in a bit maybe), will a carpet fitter sort any holes etc out before laying a carpet? How easy are creaks to sort? Our surveyor said we will probably never be able to get rid of all the creaks (its a new home to us)

Second of all, when the hot water or heating kicks in, there is a serious of continous bangs for about 2 minutes, again it doesent bother us but is this likely a problem that could get worse and eventually cause us to have to lift our lovely new carpets to sort the pipes out? Ive been told its something to do with the pipes, the boiler is old and will be replaced when it breaks as there is no point yet, boiler is downstairs, carpets are getting laid upstairs and thats where it bangs, hot water tank is upstairs aswell so dont know if the bangs are from there or under the floorboards.

southcoastrgi

The pipes are most likely being trapped or the floorboards are resting on them, if you don't do anything the noise is likely to get worse with a new boiler

jamie_128

I dont think the 2 are related, the bangs come from random places not where the floor is creaking.

bertiewhite

jamie_128 wrote: »

will a carpet fitter sort any holes etc out before laying a carpet?

I very much doubt it - he is exactly what you say he is, not a builder. If he is capable of fixing floorboards, it would almost certainly be extra and not part of the carpet fitting price.

Slinky

We have the same. The pipes are rubbing on the joists where they pass through them as they haven't been packed out with insulation (can't think of the name of the substance, bit like glassfibre you insulate lofts with). As they warm up the pipes expand and instead of having something to slip against (the glassfibre) the pressure builds up against the wood until the pipe moves a bit which makes the noise.


No the carpet fitter isn't the slightest bit interested in sorting this out for you. He's there to lay carpets. If you want to sort it, you'll need to get somebody in, remove your old carpets, identify where the bangs are coming from, lift the boards and put something between the pipe and the joist. It's easier to do with the old fashioned tongue and groove floorboards than modern chipboard.


We managed to sort out the worst of ours before we moved in and had new carpets put down (we spent some time slumming it in the house with no furniture before moving in), but there are still others. One sounded like a gun going off at 5.30am. How the previous owners lived with that for 50 years I really don't know.

Heyyouguys

Something I wish I had done before my flooring was put down is check every single floorboard for creaks - I did 95% of them and missed one and it annoys me so much now. Get some good Spax screws and screw down the boards every time there is a creak, ensuring you remove the old nails that were there before (FYI for me, 1930's house and straight edge floorboards, not tongue and groove or chipboard).

Also wish I had insulated the heating pipes below the floorboards, especially where they go into the joists, it would have retained the heat and also decreased the radiator tapping noise (in some cases - usually will have the same issue in more inaccessible places as well). Agree with previous poster in checking where the pipes go into the joists and ensuring there is something present in between.

Any builder or handyman (even DIYer) should be able to spot check and replace the boards (buy timber to width and depth of existing boards, cut to measure and screw into joists) - replacing all the boards in order to level the floor completely is a different story.

jamie_128

Thanks for all the replies guys i appreciate it.

The banging pipes dont bother me much to be honest as long as its not dangerous?

If i do identify the noise what do i do, just pack it out with insulation? if so what insulation?

Slinky

jamie_128 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies guys i appreciate it.

The banging pipes dont bother me much to be honest as long as its not dangerous?

If i do identify the noise what do i do, just pack it out with insulation? if so what insulation?

A bit of fibreglass loft insulation will do the job OK, you don't need much per joint. I used some old underlay fibre from where we lifted the carpet (it was 1960s stuff, not the modern rubberbacked).