Replies

1. 
   frenchy | Apr 05, 2007 11:32pm | #1

   Fairhome,

       It worked for my folks in a similar situation,  they sprinkled powder between the boards that squeeked and they remained squeek free for several years. The trick is to do it during the winter while the lack of humidity has everything dried as it's gonna be.. you've got to really flood the cracks and go underneath with a vacum cleaner to help suck the powder between the cracks and into the squeek areas..

    Once the humidity starts to climb you won't be able to get enough powder in to stop the squeeks..

2. 
   JTC1 | Apr 06, 2007 12:56am | #2

   Ditto Frenchy's reply. 

   That would be talcum powder in case you were wondering.

   Jim

   Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.

3. 
   woodguy99 | Apr 06, 2007 10:56pm | #3

   I screwed down all the squeaky 2x subflooring in my dad's house with GRK screws.  Hundreds of them.  Fixed the squeaks.

    

    

4. 
   woodroe | Apr 08, 2007 08:11am | #4

   Is putting a layer of plywood over the top an option? This may help distribute the walking loads over multiple boards, eliminating the squeaks.

5. 
   Piffin | Apr 08, 2007 01:40pm | #5

   I have a few thoughts -

   If this is 1-1/2" thick, then five feet is overspanned so that is part of the reason for the deflection that causes squeeks. So I would study the whole support structure too re the 2x12 joisting. Is there a way to add more joisting at half span from below.

   If not, you need to try to eliminate board to board rubbing movement when people walk.
   To do that, I think I wouold add a ply underlayment over this floor before carpeting and glue the snot out of it, especially along the joints, and screw it down

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   Fairholme | Apr 09, 2007 10:10pm | #6

   Hi, Piffin, unfortunately it may not be possible to add supports from below and yes the car decking is 1-1/2" and over spanned. What do you think of Woodroe's idea of plywood glued and screwed from above where there's new carpet. I've been thinking that perhaps 3/4 may not do the job for a 5' span but 5/4 or 6/4 might. Thoughts?

1. 
   Piffin | Apr 09, 2007 10:51pm | #7

   Do it. I think I said the same and make sure to use lots of glue especialy at the edges where the car-decking joins. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   woodroe | Apr 10, 2007 07:50am | #8

   What happens to your stair riser height at the top of the stairs. If that top step gets to be much more than 1/4" more than the rest it can become a tripper. 3/4" and you can sit at the top of the stairs and watch your guests trip as they come up.

1. 
   dukeofwsu | Apr 10, 2007 09:50am | #9

   That's an easy one. You shim the top tread w/ 1/8 less than the new height difference. IE you use 3/4 ply up top? then use a 5/8 on the next tread. Use a half below that, and 3/8 below that, untill you're laying luan or some such thickness material (I know, luan isn't structual, but it works just fine here.) The idea is back it down easy, and most codes give you 3/8 of fudge, take it to an 8th, and its imperceptible to a walker on the steps.

1. 
   Fairholme | Apr 10, 2007 09:32pm | #11

   Duke, your solution for riser adjustment is one to remember for other applicatins. Thanks, and by the way I'm sorry you're from WSU.

   Edited 4/10/2007 8:54 pm ET by Fairholme

2. 
   Fairholme | Apr 10, 2007 09:24pm | #10

   Thanks for giving this some thought. In the interest of brevety I didn't mention that we are doing a stairwell addition and removing the interior stairs. Thus the selection of ply thickness is only driven by structural concerns, i.e. which thickness would be best for the span and would most likely solve the problem.

1. 
   woodroe | Apr 11, 2007 02:00am | #12

   As for the thickness of the plywood, I would doubt that there is much benefit in going with more than 3/4" plywood. One thing you might explore though is whether you can get it in 10' lengths. (IIRC you said your joists were 5' on center.) It would be good if you could splice all your sheets on the joists. So, if you can find it in 10', is it cheaper than wasting 3' of every sheet. I'm sure most of your squeaking is coming from the planks moving against each other, but I would also screw the planks to to the joists before you screw and glue the plywood down.

2. 
   Fairholme | Apr 11, 2007 03:58am | #13

   Woodroe, I can get 3/4 or 1-1/8 T&G ply in 10' lengths. That's the ticket. Thanks to all for your help.

3. 
   woodroe | Apr 12, 2007 02:09am | #14

   Glad to hear you've got access to the plywood. So, how many guys does it take to carry a 10' sheet of 1-1/8" plywood?