# Screwing down squeaky floors



## artinall (Aug 14, 2007)

There is OSB that has separated from the floor joists (metal cross bracing). So a 12 x 14 room squeaks throughout mainly.

Can't see but I'm guessing they didn't use shank nails when the structure was built.

What's recommended?: 2" coarse thread/fine thread drywall screws. I'm a little weary of driving too many deep holes in the joists. Maybe about every six-to-eight inches/as needed?

_- Would rather not do "blocking" underneath_


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## SLSTech (Sep 13, 2008)

No drywall screws, they just don't have the strength - just how much does this floor deflect as you may need some bracing or another layer
2" deck screws should suffice though most will simply renail though as mentioned above if there is a lot of deflection you are asking for issues again
Best practice when installing originally is to also glue as nails don't have the pull out resistance


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## artinall (Aug 14, 2007)

SLSTech said:


> No drywall screws, they just don't have the strength - just how much does this floor deflect as you may need some bracing or another layer
> 2" deck screws should suffice though most will simply renail though as mentioned above if there is a lot of deflection you are asking for issues again
> Best practice when installing originally is to also glue as nails don't have the pull out resistance


Would you predrill?


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

No need to pre-drill; deck screws will suck right in.


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## MarkJames (Nov 25, 2012)

What's the finished floor? Carpet, hardwood?

Has anyone here tried the "squeek no more" product (the screws that break off the heads below the surface)? What's your verdict?


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## artinall (Aug 14, 2007)

MarkJames said:


> What's the finished floor? Carpet, hardwood?
> 
> Has anyone here tried the "squeek no more" product (the screws that break off the heads below the surface)? What's your verdict?


Carpet.


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## MarkJames (Nov 25, 2012)

artinall said:


> Carpet.


An easy one. Pull back the carpet, screw it all down with deck screws, reinstall the carpet (bring along a carpet stretching tool).


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## artinall (Aug 14, 2007)

MarkJames said:


> An easy one. Pull back the carpet, screw it all down with deck screws, reinstall the carpet (bring along a carpet stretching tool).


 Carpet stretching - that's something I've never done. Is it that tough to get it right? It has already been stretched of course for the install. Just lightly use a knee kicker and a wedge to put it back?


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## MarkJames (Nov 25, 2012)

artinall said:


> Carpet stretching - that's something I've never done. Is it that tough to get it right?


I call a carpet guy, but it seems easy enough. It's one tool I have zero interest it getting. Hire a guy at least once. Very quick work for them.


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## B.Johnson (Sep 17, 2016)

You can use sub floor adhesive and caulk both sides of the joist to the sub floor from underneath. Then you need to stay off the floor until the adhesive sets (24hrs?). The object is to stop the stop the sub flooring from moving. If it doesn't move, it won't squeak.


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## artinall (Aug 14, 2007)

B.Johnson said:


> You can use sub floor adhesive and caulk both sides of the joist to the sub floor from underneath. Then you need to stay off the floor until the adhesive sets (24hrs?). The object is to stop the stop the sub flooring from moving. If it doesn't move, it won't squeak.


 You saying adhesive combined with screws?


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

Adhesive along the edges won't do much--you'd need to get it between the sheathing and the joists.

You could do as suggested above, remove the carpet, do all the screwing and then rent a stretcher for reinstallation. And beat yourself up.

Or go for the "Squeeek-No-More" product, sold at most of the big box stores.


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## Windycity (Oct 3, 2015)

Make sure you use a screw with a smooth shank (deck screw) like this as opposed to a screw with full threads ..it will pull the wood tight to the floor joists. I did it on my old house and my floors are rock solid. I cant stand squeaking floors. 

Remove the carpet and goto town










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## B.Johnson (Sep 17, 2016)

artinall said:


> You saying adhesive combined with screws?


No screws. It has worked for me in the past. I would give it a try before I would take the carpet out of the room. You really don't have anything to lose.


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## Unger.const (Jun 3, 2012)

Food for thought do you know it's the floor for sure?

Several times now I have come across a squeak when stepping on the floor. However it was coming from the wall near it.

Stepping down on the plywood between joists would also make the plywood deflect under the wall. The framing nail that went down through the bottom plate(2x4) of the wall to keep it in place would cause the squeak. If wall is suspected I have taken a flat bar drove between the carpet and basemolding to drive the gap wide and hold it underneath the wall. Walk back and forth. If squeak is gone or way quieter then it's the nail in wall to floor. The quick fix there was to go underneath and drive a couple screws up through the plywood and into the bottom plate of the wall. Or cut the nail with long Sawzall or multi tool saw. 

Possibly a little tubing extension on a tube of liquid nails. Pump some adhesive near the nail. Pull the crowd bar out and let it glue the wall plate to the subfloor.


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## rselectric1 (Sep 20, 2009)

MarkJames said:


> What's the finished floor? Carpet, hardwood?
> 
> Has anyone here tried the "squeek no more" product (the screws that break off the heads below the surface)? What's your verdict?


VERY good results when I have had to use them.:thumbsup:


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## Peter_C (Nov 26, 2014)

My friend used to live in an apartment with squeaky floors. I "might" have just driven a bunch of screws thru the carpet into the joists to shut up the floor....errr complaining neighbors. Worked just fine and it wasn't hard to locate the joists by jumping on the floor and listening to the squeaks. Kinda risky in that you can pull the thread of the carpet. If I missed the joist, I left the screw sticking up in place and keep driving until I located a joist. Then we used string to figure out the pattern. Safest way of course is to pull the carpet and padding, but depending on how many staples they used, it could be a huge job.


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## A&E Exteriors (Aug 14, 2009)

Depends on how many screws you need. If you are easy about it and only need a few you can go through the carpet.


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## A&E Exteriors (Aug 14, 2009)

A comb is your friend


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## MarkJames (Nov 25, 2012)

The last time I put a screw through a carpet (under bypass door guide), the screw grabbed the carpet pile and pulled a runner into it, or whatever you call that. There was no "fix" for it, either. Thankfully it was in a basement and acceptable for the home sale.


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