# Creaky floors, even after screwing down subfloor



## konradsa (Sep 14, 2011)

Hi,

I tried to fix a creaky area of a second floor carpeted room we had with the squeek no more system. The house is about 30 years old, the subfloor under the carpet seems to the 1/2 in plywood. However, it really didn't seem to help much. Ran screws every 6 inches or so into floor joists following the directions, but the floor still creaks just like it did before.  And I am pretty sure I actually hit the floor joists, even pulled up some of the carpeting to check and make sure. It's really annoying, since the room with the creak is on the second floor right above the family room, and every time somebody steps into that creaky area of the room it creates a loud creaking that drives me nuts.

Anyways, what other causes could the creak have? I am suspecting something else is rubbing against the floor joists, and maybe even the floor joist is lose. However, I don't see any movement in the plaster ceiling below, which I would expect to see with a loose floor joist. Or I just don't have enough weight to get the floor joist and floor board to come close together. The house overall is structurally in pretty good shape, and there is no water or mold damage anywhere. No other floor in the house seems to have this problem. The problem room was designed by the builder to look like an attachment to the top of the house, and seems to be framed totally differently from the rest of the house, not sure if that has anything to do with that. For instance, while the rest of the house has 16 in spaced floor joist running from the front of the back of the house, this creaky room has 12 inch spacing, and the floor joists run perpendicular to the other floor joists in the house.

How much do you think would it cost me to get handy man to repair this issue? The area of the floor that is affected is not that large, maybe 2-3 floor sheets. The carpet can easily be pulled back in the area to get access, but there is no access from below without opening up the ceiling in the family room. The only thing that concerns me is that I may have just made it harder to remove the floor boards with the screws from the squeek no more system I placed every 6 in, and I am also not sure problems lie beneath the floor and how they can be addressed.

Any input is greatly appreciated. (Man, how I wish I had concrete slab floors. The house of my parents in Europe has concrete floors, and you can have an elephant on the second floor and you won't hear a beep below.)


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## titanoman (Nov 27, 2011)

Sorry, I didn't read all that.
It could be wood rubbing together.
Hard to fix.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

I agree, it could be the ends of the plywood are just tight enough to each other to squeak with movement. The way to fix that, if that is the problem, is to set the saw blade just deep enough to cut through the plywood and cut the seams where the squeak is.


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## gerardswork (Dec 16, 2011)

Had a similar problem. Ended up being INSIDE a closet frame. I tore a hole in the back of the closet and the first screw did its job. Verify the sound isn't coming up through the wall. If it is, you've for an easy fix.


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## gerardswork (Dec 16, 2011)

I'm not sure how to copy and paste my thread on this, but search "split floor joist" and you'll see how my squeak got resolved...good luck.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Here is your link
http://www.diychatroom.com/f2/split-floor-joist-128258/


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## MNsawyergp (Jan 30, 2012)

Sometimes when a screw is driven in it will actually separate the 2 layers if it isn't drawn down tight. I'm only guessing. Like other repliers are saying, it could be the joists. I am guessing it is between edges of subflooring, whether it is plywood or boards. If they are tight against each other they will squeek like crickets chirping when rubbing their wings. You would have to find the culprit and force construction glue between the edges and screw the edges down better.


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## konradsa (Sep 14, 2011)

Thanks, it's actually more of a creaking/crackling sound than a high pitched squeak. So I am thinking more and more that there may be a split joist, so I may have to get someone to pull up the floorboard for me and investigate.


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## thetalkingmule (Apr 6, 2012)

I have this exact issue in my new construction rowhome. Was it ever resolved? I get a ton of popping type noises and there is a definite dip in the middle of the bedroom floor, I mean I can't take one tiny step without loud cracking/popping. Funny thing is, the problem doesn't exist in the first 6 or so feet from the front of the wall, then there's an 8ft problem area, then it's fine again. My house was built in late 2006, so I suspect it's joist shrinkage. Similar but much less prominent problem in several other areas of the house, but nothing nearly as bad. I suspect that is because of the hardwood floors everywhere else providing a second layer of support. I've put an entire box of 3" screws into the subfloor and before that tried this thing and nothing.


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