Squeaky chipboard floors - any experience?

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Caporegime
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Hi

The extended part of our house has chipboard floors that have been simply nailed to the joists. I don't believe ring shanks or glue were used. Accordingly the boards creak a lot and I want to fix it before we list our house for sale (would definitely put people off).

From Googling it looks like the best option is to get some decent floor-specific screws and lift the carpets, either replacing the existing nails or screwing in addition (next) to them.

It's this I'm not sure about.

- Pros of replacing nails entirely with screws seems to be that I'm less likely to hit a pipe or cable and less likely to have residual noise from the boards sliding up and down the nails.

- Pros of screwing but leaving the nails in situ seems to be a) quicker and b) cheaper as don't need to buy a nail remover @~£30.

Would anyone that has fixed such a thing be able to share their advice please? Should I try screwing next to the nails or could this be a waste of time / dangerous? Note that removing the floor and replacing it with ply etc. isn't happening until I've tried the quick / cheap fixes first.

Thanks.
 
I had exactly the same problem with our current house. I lifted the carpets and with a laser marked my joist nail lines then screwed all of my floorboards at approx 12" centres, no more squeaking EXCEPT where they had laid stud and partition walls on top of the flooring and again had nailed the base rail to the floor. On the larger joist spans these squeaked like crazy. i removed the skirting boards and screwed through the base rail into the joists (at angles) with 6" screws. I didn't bother de-naliing any of my floor. Maybe in hindsight I should have. Overall it has fixed 80%+ of the squeaks. There are still a few but i do not notice them anywhere near as much.
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Yeah, typically squeaky floors, especially if they are nailed in, are the nails moving in and out the holes in the joists that have got bigger over time.

Screwing in floorboards can not only reduce this but can actually remove a lot of the bounce in your floors as well (having done this myself and loving every aspect of it since)

Yes, you do run the risk of hitting pipes and wires.

The older method of running pipes and wires beneath floorboards would have cut notches in the top or bottom of the joist where as the newer method is to drill a hole in the middle. I imagine not only because it's stronger but to mitigate this exact issue you're talking about.

I'd personally lift floorboards to check where the pipes and wires run then screw down everywhere I can, but that's because I'm a pedantic SOAB.

If you're going to remove the nails you're just as well doing this - unless the tongue and groove boards make this too much effort.

So the things you've got to balance are:

1) If you don't remove the screws you still run the risk of them squeaking
2) If you do remove the nails can you easily lift the boards to see where things run
3) If you don't lift the boards then you're safest bet is obviously just putting screws next to existing nails
4) If you did decide to go and put screws every 12 inches you run the risk of causing a leak or hitting a wire - how much hassle are you willing to put up with....

In fact, what I'd do is just put in screws next to your nails. Leave the nails in.
Once you get to that point you'll know if you need to do anything more to stop the squeaking. You'll only have added a bunch of screws that are easy to remove in addition to the existing nails so you've not put yourself at any disadvantage.
 
I think because mine was new(ish) house and I had lifted a few boards previously, i could see that the joists hadn't been notched for pipe-runs or cables, so screwed on that basis. Although since then we have had a large extension at the rear, which involved removing the existing kitchen ceiling, where some other more dubious wiring / plumbing practices came to light. But that is another story.
 
this thread reminds of those long screws with an almost square top what r they called.?

I took a lot of these out and put them into a nice pot and used them later on lol
 
my advice is to drill some preholes with a small drill bit
otherwise the boards snap
I learned that the hard way myself as the boards still creak and I can't do anything about it now.
 
Was thinking if doing this myself, the mornings feels like I am treading around a mine field lol

All part of the fun I suppose
 
psd99 said:
my advice is to drill some preholes with a small drill bit
otherwise the boards snap
I learned that the hard way myself as the boards still creak and I can't do anything about it now.
Click to expand...
Another argument for extracting the nails then, as the pilot holes are already there for you, and the amount of time it takes to extract a nail shouldn't be much higher than measuring it all out and drilling pilot holes.
 
I've just done a load of floorboards

I personally wouldn't screw in anything without lifting so I can see underneath, I used a brick bolster to get between and lift them and I'm glad I did as there were pipes laid into the joists in more than one location that I would have hit

I then removed the old nails and drilled a pilot hole and screwed down with wood screws I got from Wilkinson, they have little grips extending from the thread and seem very good quality the boards don't move at all now

Tldr, don't risk it imo, lift the board, pipes could be plastic
 
After doing this last year, lift the boards and check where the pipes and wires run.

I found a nail had been hammered in between two copper pipes, literally a couple of millimetres on either side of the nail.
 
We used these screws throughout our upstairs.

They are quite expensive but were excellent. The torx head meant the bit never ever slipped. And the way that they have a thread at the bottom and a thread at the top meant that they grip the joist and the board but not the bit inbetween.
 
Timely thread as Im looking at doing the same over the next few weeks. The above linked screws look good thanks.
 
clubb699 said:
Was thinking if doing this myself, the mornings feels like I am treading around a mine field lol

All part of the fun I suppose
Click to expand...

Mine absolutely do my head in. Our staircase bottom three squeak and creak, then the 7th and then the top stair. Upstairs the bathroom had plywood laid over the floorboards which was then screwed into place, and it is potentially noisier than the base floorboards. My other half only weighs half my weight (i'm 15.5st) and she is like an elephant walking around upstairs, yet I am a ninja. Floors still creak either way.
 
kinobestew123 said:
We used these screws throughout our upstairs.

They are quite expensive but were excellent. The torx head meant the bit never ever slipped. And the way that they have a thread at the bottom and a thread at the top meant that they grip the joist and the board but not the bit inbetween.
Click to expand...

Also used these screws 2 weekends ago, worked perfectly, floor is nice and silent now, I did also put down some new boards mixed with old T&G boards.
 
Thanks all, I've ordered these screws:

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...and this nail puller from Amazon:

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...and will have at it this weekend. I'm going for the direct replacement of nails with screws method, to avoid having to lift boards and reduce the risk of plumbing drama.
 
RedvGreen said:
Mine absolutely do my head in. Our staircase bottom three squeak and creak, then the 7th and then the top stair. Upstairs the bathroom had plywood laid over the floorboards which was then screwed into place, and it is potentially noisier than the base floorboards. My other half only weighs half my weight (i'm 15.5st) and she is like an elephant walking around upstairs, yet I am a ninja. Floors still creak either way.
Click to expand...


Hahaha funny ain't it, I got the plywood over the top in the bathroom to that is my worst room, think we all need to get them magic screws and beat this dam noise once and for all.

Will have go once I am in the mood :)
 
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