Home Inspector in Clarksville TN

Squeaky Floors

Richard Tramill wrote:
I bought a new house in 2004 and have had trouble with the floors creaking and
popping. The builder came no less than 4 times during the 1st year to make
repairs. 4yrs later i’m still having the same trouble only worse. I know this
can’t be normal. What do I need to do?
Richard, As long as I can remember pops & squeaks have been a problem with wood framed floors. If the builder came that many times there have probably been a combination of repairs made consisting of blocking, screws, nails & shims. The majority of the pops & squeaks have always seemed to be where the screws or nails either missed or only partially made it into the joist. Other causes of pops & squeaks can can be uneven girder intersections, the bottom wall plate on top of the sub-floor, & the bridging. In your case I would recommend going back to square one, meaning, remove the previous attempts at repair (chances are they have become another source of squeaks) If you house is only 4 years old the vinyl installed was most likely a loose lay that can be laid over one side at a time to get to those areas of the floor & where there is carpet it will need to be pulled back so that you can go through & screw down the entire floor. A huge back & time saver are the drive systems that are about 3 ft long & drill powered & make sure you have a professional cut & seam the carpet back together. I know it’s a lot of work, but it sounds like it has come to that point & hopefully you are not going to tell me you have wood & tile floors.

Leave a Reply