Laying floors that won’t make a sound
There are some homes that are impossible to sneak in and out of. Not because of the latest in high-tech security or an ironclad exterior. These homes have squeaky sub-floors and noisy stairs loud enough to wake the dead. And it’s a growing nuisance in more and more homes.
Some new homeowners think that squeaky floors or stairs are older home issues. Not the case. In fact, if your home is built to minimum code, it might not squeak yet — but it will in time. And go and stand in the middle of a room and start jumping. The floors are going to bounce.
It’s classic minimum code. When homes are built to minimum safety requirements — because that’s what minimum code is — that’s all you’re getting. It will be safe but it might not be built to last more than 10 years.
Squeaky floors are usually a sub-floor issue. Minimum code says that sub-floors need to be built using two-by-eights, 16 inches on centre, with a minimum of 5/8 inches of oriented strand board, or OSB, sheathing on top. Not to mention that most builders use a nail gun to install sub-floors. Together, it’s the perfect recipe for squeaky floors.
If you don’t want your floors and stairs to squeak you want plywood — the real kind — for the sub-floor. There’s a lot of debate around plywood, OSB and other types of sheathing for sub-floors. Are they comparable? Which one is better? Which one is no good? OSB is even called the “modern version” of plywood. Some kinds are more expensive than plywood.
But bottom line: When I pull up flooring and I see something like particleboard, low-grade OSB or aspenite, I’m not happy. Go back 60 years and sub-floors didn’t even have plywood! They were built with heavy planks. Plywood might be above code, but if you want to solve squeaky floors for good, it’s part of the package.
Second, you want to make sure your sub-floor is properly glued and screwed to the floor joists underneath. If it’s not, there will be squeaking and creaking.
When you use a nail gun to attach sub-floor sheathing to the floor joists underneath, the nail sometimes misses the floor joist. If your basement isn’t finished, take a look at the ceiling. You can see how many nails from the floor above missed the floor joists underneath. That means there are fewer nails holding down the sub-floor.
When people walk on a floor where the sub-floor hasn’t been properly secured, the sheathing moves up and down. This motion will eventually cause the nails that did hit the floor joist to pull away. The squeaking will only get worse.
That’s why I always glue and screw my sub-floors. The glue secures that connection and the screw locks it in place. Remember nails can pull up — screws don’t. This gives us stronger floors that will not move or squeak.
Hardwood flooring also might squeak over time — it expands and contracts depending on the humidity in the home. Wood treads and risers in stairs also shrink with age. Hardwood usually shrinks in the winter because there’s less moisture in the air due to heating. That can cause gaps in between the hardwood and lead to creaking. Plus, hardwood is nailed to the sub-floor. When it shrinks it can pull the nails out and let the squeaking begin.
If the problem has to do with the sub-floor — either it’s not plywood or not properly secured to the floor joists with glue and screws — the best option is ripping up the finished floor and making the appropriate repairs. That could mean pulling up the sub-floor too and replacing it with better materials, using better products to secure it. It’s not a quick fix, or the cheapest.
Another option is blocking, also known as strapping or bridging. It’s a good option if the creaking is caused because the floor joists are too far apart. There are different ways of blocking — it depends on materials and installation. It also depends if there’s wiring or duct runs in the way. But the way I like to do it, and the way I tell my guys to do it whenever possible, is to get a piece of wood and screw it in between the two joists.
Blocking adds rigidity and stiffness in between floor joists, so they won’t move or shift. If you have access to the floor from underneath, like an unfinished basement without any drywall on the ceiling, the bonus is you can help solve the problem upstairs without having your finished floors ripped up. But if the problem is in the sub-floor, you’re out of luck. Those floors have to come up or you’ll have to live with the squeaks. Catch Mike Holmes in his new series, Holmes Makes It Right Tuesdays on HGTV. For more
information, visit hgtv.ca.