This would be my last resort, and it is best done before you refinish your floors. If you choose this route, I would still apply construction adhesive at the junction of the floor and joist when installing the bracket. They usually consist of some sort of metal, angled base used in conjunction with screws to pull the floor in tightly against the joist. I’ve never used them, but they do appear to require minimal skill to install. I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t learn that the hard way! That is a rookie mistake, and we’ll make you sit in the truck for the rest of the workday. Again, have someone stand over the area for downward pressure.īe careful not to use too long of a screw or penetrate so far that it breaks through the floor above. Try to get construction adhesive along the joist on both sides of the squeak before you screw in the blocking, to allow adhesive to enter the crack between the floor and the joist. If you don’t want to use blocking, install a screw on an angle through the joist and into the floor. Have someone stand on the area above while doing this to apply downward pressure.īlocking works well here, too. Screw the block to the joist first, then install a screw through the block and into the subfloor to pull it down. In this case I would install a liberal amount of construction adhesive to the top edge of my blocking and ensure a snug fit up against the subfloor before securing the block to two adjacent joists. Squeaks between the joists in the plywood seams are best silenced by installing blocking under the seam, fastened to two floor joists. If you have plywood, squeaks over a joist are best silenced with top fasteners, although a repair from underneath the floor is cosmetically more appealing. I wish I knew what type of subfloor you have, because it would dictate my approach. Have someone walk on the floor above so you can locate the squeaks. If the floor joists below are exposed, you can inspect the areas that seem to squeak the worst first. If you can stop the movement, you can stop the squeaking, but this is easier said than done. Squeaks are often caused by the movement and rubbing of wood seams, such as subflooring sheets or boards or friction in tongue-and-groove or shiplap flooring. Either the nails are loosening or were too short, or the subfloor is loose. My guess is that your floor is nailed through the tongue using a hidden fastener. These repairs are best done from below, unless you have carpet, in which case you can install fasteners from above, either by pulling back the carpet or by installing them between the carpet fibers. I’d hate to see you install face nails or fasteners in a finished oak floor. I enjoy it when my 1863 floor squeaks it alerts me that my teenagers are home. I cut 4-by-4s to fit and installed them in the middle of the slats, under them and touching the floor, as support. I had a similar problem many years ago, and I installed new slats coupled with midspan supports. Oil or clear stain? What about the bark?Ī. I know I should get it up off the ground by adding feet, but I would like to know the best way to preserve it and keep it as natural-looking as possible. Finally, a neighbor had to cut down a tree, and I took a lovely 17-inch-diameter piece to use as a side table on my brick patio. Is there a way to fix them? Do we nail or screw down those spots? For the most part, we have no nails anywhere right now.ģ. Our fairly standard oak floors seem to get more squeaky spots with time.
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