Replies

1. 
   calvin | Jan 28, 2014 09:46am | #1

   bski

   Going back to the beginning.

   What type of subfloor did you have?  Did you screw down the subfloor prior to installing the HW?

   What was the moisture content of the subfloor?  What kind of slip sheet did you use between the sub and finished floor?

   I assume the ends were T&G'd also on your HW.

   any heat runs under the locations that are making noise?

   How far away were preceeding coarses end joints?

   Try putting some talcom powder on and in the joints in question-brush it in the joint.  Quiet it down?

   Thanks.

1. 
   bski | Jan 28, 2014 10:24am | #2

   5/8" underlayment ply over

   5/8" underlayment ply over 1/2 ply ring shank nails every 6" glued together.  tar paper.  Don't remeber exact moisture content, but I know it was close to the flooring.  Flooring was end matched and the squeeks are spred out throughout the room.  Not necesarilly over the heat runs.  

   
1. 
   calvin | Jan 28, 2014 10:49am | #3

   bski

   Whelp, beats me.

   The only future advice I would give is lap the joints with a longer pc.

   There's a couple places there that the lap is only as wide as your foot..............however wide that would be.

   I like to get at least 9" or so-more than just one nail away.

   Very well could be a bogus staple (bent up rather than going deep into the sub.

   or

   I screw down everywhere-ring shanks hold well for those that I've tried to pull out, but a screw draws up/done the two layers.

   (by ring shank-gun nails or those larger hand drive "underlay" ringshanks?  Bigger heads than those we used to hand drive for thin underlay under lino?  Not much ring on those shanks)

2. 
   DanH | Jan 28, 2014 07:03pm | #4

   Yep, talcum powder.

   And you should have made an effort to keep joints in adjacent boards a bit farther apart.

2. 
   bski | Jan 28, 2014 07:26pm | #5

   And you should make an effort to be less condescending.  I said it was millrun flooring.  Did the best I could with what I had.

1. 
   DanH | Jan 28, 2014 08:28pm | #8

   Especially with millrun flooring, don't always blindly take the next piece.  In addition to sorting out culls, you need to consider the length of the piece relative to others already in place, and pick a longer/shorter piece if it will help prevent adjacent joints from being "too close" to each other.  Sometimes it's a good idea to put in place maybe 3 rows by 5 feet, to get the spacings right,  then separate to do the nailing.

3. 
   jimmiem | Jan 28, 2014 07:54pm | #6

   squeaks

   What is the humidity in the house?  Where is the house located?  Did the flooring manufacturer recommend staples?

1. 
   bski | Jan 28, 2014 08:01pm | #7

   I dont know what the humidity in the house is, but I think its high because the windows freeze shut. I tested the floor moisture and it has dropped to around 6% now. I am located in North Dakota. It really seems like it could just be because its cheap flooring. The movement causing the squeeks is coming from the groove side of the end joints. The flooring doesn't move along the stapled tounge. Or maybe I am just trying to make myself feel better about a poor install. I just don't want to make the same mistake in the future.

1. 
   jimmiem | Jan 28, 2014 09:40pm | #9

   If the flooring mc has gone down the house relative humidity has probably gone down and maybe the floor has dried and shrunk enough to squeak.  Isn't this what happens in the dry winter months?  No squeaks 3 months ago?  Get a humidistat and see if it's lower than it should be for a happy floor. Did your manufacturer's instructions indicate the relative humidity range that the house should be kept at?

4. 
   spclark | Jan 30, 2014 09:03am | #10

   Acclimation?

   Cheap HW flooring huh? I've been tempted too....

   I'm curious how long you let the flooring get acclimated to the install environment before starting installation?

   Even with a high-quality moisture meter, stuff that reads "OK" may need more time to 'relax' in it's new quarters before being permanently fastened. It's been thru a lot going from bole to plank, every step adds stress that takes time to stabilize... if in fact it ever does.

1. 
   bski | Jan 30, 2014 09:17am | #11

   It acclimated for over a month.  Truthfully, though, I never unpacked the boxes.  I did set them on spacers, but that was it.  It could be because it has dried down more, but it hasn't dried enough to leave gaps.  I live in a weird house.  As I said earlier, the windows freeze shut when it gets really cold, and they are all new windows, and not cheap ones at that.  Even the previous windows did the same thing, so I wouldn't think that its too dry in my house.  I guess next time I will dry it down a little more before I install.  Is it possible the price point of the flooring would pay a role?  

2. 
   calvin | Jan 30, 2014 06:40pm | #12

    Even with a high-quality moisture meter, stuff that reads "OK" may need more time to 'relax' in it's new quarters before being permanently fastened. It's been thru a lot going from bole to plank, every step adds stress that takes time to stabilize... if in fact it ever does.

   Are you suggesting that there's little valuable use in measuring the  difference in the MC of the subfloor and the finish flooring?  They should be close to each other, no?

1. 
   spclark | Jan 31, 2014 05:04am | #13

   Yes they should be close in MC, closer the better.

   Of course there's value in any information one might have available about the materials one intends to put into service. It's important too how one makes use of such information.

   In this instance MC may not be as significant as the overall quality of the product.

   There's reasons why suppliers charge more and collect it for higher-end material if it's proven such stuff performs better once installed. Less costly flooring may be cut from wood that's got internal stresses that won't be evident immediately.

   (Remember the Chinese drywall debacle from a few years ago?)

   Too, if cost is a major concern there may have been insufficient quantity of flooring available to complete the job without some pieces going in that would have been better off being tossed into the trash.

   Inescapable fact of life: you get what you pay for... unless it involves government.

1. 
   calvin | Jan 31, 2014 05:54am | #14

   sp

   Inescapable fact of life: you get what you pay for... unless it involves government.

   You were doing pretty good until you laid down this statement.

5. 
   oldhand | Jan 31, 2014 09:16am | #15

   seems to me....

   the fact that the squeaks are at the end joints suggests that it is more likely funky milling or the butt joints being a little too close in adjoining rows.  Some times the latter is really hard to avoid.

   I'm a big fan of construction staples in a lot of situations but not for flooring. My very unscientific tests of L cleats vs. staples  favored the cleats. For what it's worth I'm on my third hardwood floor in the last year, all using radically different sourced/milled wood.