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Laurie C
Laurie C Roswell, GA
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Basement & Garage Flooring

Had new wood floor (unfinished...sanded, stained after installed) in our den area.

There was a creaking sound there before and 'they' said 'they' would address it. It still creaks. We're waiting for them to resolve before paying. I assume they need to go underneath to the still-unfinished basement and put in screws to tighten the floor to the subfloor? Any input is appreciated. I just want to make sure they repair it the right way and this community's input is invaluable!
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on Oct 18, 2011 | 244 Views
11 Comments
  • Yamini LEED AP at Urbanmo... Duluth, GA
    Laurie, yes you are right, they need to address it from the underside of the unfinished basement. The creak can be really annoying so make sure they fix it before you pay, in fact I would still test it for a week an dthen pay them. If they are now they will never come back no matter how many calls you make to the company. Creaky and squeaky floors have been discussed several times her on Hometalk. here is a link to all the discussions - http://www.hometalk.com/?filter=creaky+floor...
    on Oct 18, 2011 · Like 0
  • KMS Woodworks Nederland, CO
    Working from below is possible to correct the problem...but the far easier way would have been to fix the creak before they laid the floor. When every I do a flooring install ( tile or hardwood) before the flooring is installed I do a "test" or inspection to ensure the sub-floor is sound. In the case of my own home some years back. I replaced the 2 1/4" oak in the living room with 5" Bolivian Rosewood. When the old flooring was out I put in 5 pound of screws to secure the sub-floor. ...»
    I also hammered down all of the slightly raised nail heads. This is a extra "insurance" plan that I do in older homes for every flooring project. In newer homes were the sub-floor is glued and screwed to I joists this is not required.

    Your installer "missed the boat" on this and now has to back paddle to fix from below. I hope he is not charging you for this "missed step" that should have bee down on the front side.

    on Oct 18, 2011 · Like 1
  • Woodbridge Environmental ... Colonia, NJ
    I assume your installer thought that when they nailed to to the sub-floor that it would fix the noise. AS you now know as they, it did not work.

    Good job on holding back their money until they fix what they promised.

    The repair should be fairly simply. They cannot screw to the new floor to fix this noise, but they can install wood blocking with contractors adhesive to the offending spot. ...»

    They simply need to locate the movement by walking around upstairs while someone listens and looks/feels for the movement of the sub floor.

    Once that is located they take a wooden block and put adhesive on two sides and stick it to the floor joist while putting pressure up against the sub floor area. Then by screwing the block to the side of the joist and then one up into the sub floor board only this should stop the noise your hearing. If the noise or movement is between the two joists and a simple edge block does not fix it, then using a complete block across the two floor joists with adhesive holding it against the bottom of the sub floor will do the trick. Its a good thing they have access to this area or it would be an entirely different type of repair if they could not.

    on Oct 18, 2011 · Like 1
  • Bob and RodMan S Tucker, GA
    KMS is right on target. The squeak is caused by the sub-floor moving up and down on a nail. If your guys had located and screwed down the offending panel while the subfloor was exposed it would have been a quick fix. Best of all, they could have included screwing down the existing sub-floor to prempt future problems as part of the contract - they would have been paid for the additional work and you would have been saved from the chance that another squeak would develop.
    on Oct 18, 2011 · Like 0
  • HandyANDY Home Renovation... Marietta, GA
    Most flooring contractors and remodelers forget to walk the subfloor carefully before laying wood, tile or carpet. Always look for a bidder who breaks that out and spells it out in their contract. Even when I am doing my own fix & flips....I make certain to screw down the subfloor. Often a squeakless subfloor in an empty room....starts to squeak when the new floor is done and all of the furniture weight is added back into the room. Should be an easy enough fix....always hold 10% back until everything is finished.....luck!

    on Oct 18, 2011 · Like 0
  • Laurie C Roswell, GA
    Thanks, everyone, for your advice. They said they walked the subfloor and screwed places down but couldn't get rid of this squeak and then, I assume, put the floor down anyway. Guess the living and dining room will be done by someone else. I'm glad we didn't have them all done at the same time. That being said, I'm looking for a good hardwood floor installer in the Roswell area who knows all about transitions (to tile, to wood, to carpet, to a screen porch) and solving squeaks. For what ...»
    it's worth, they did a great job on 90% of the floor and the stain looks great. Still reeling from the poly fumes.

    on Oct 18, 2011 · Like 0
  • Harold M Franklin, NC
    If you have an old floor with wood bridging between the joist, it might be loose. Easy fix if thats the problem
    on Oct 18, 2011 · Like 0
  • HandyANDY Home Renovation... Marietta, GA
    It's not just walking the floor in fairness to them...but they should have screwed down A:: of the subfloor is they saw that it was nailed...adds some time to the job but that's what a quality hardwood guy does...I have an awesome floor guy who has done 100s of floors for either HandyANDY or my investment group...always good work!
    on Oct 18, 2011 · Like 1
  • Laurie C Roswell, GA
    FINALLY, our contractor got the squeak out of our floor. He did exactly what Woodbridge mentioned, it just took about 6 2x4s glued and screwed because he missed it the first time. Should protect us from future squeaks. One transition to go and they'll be done.
    on Nov 05, 2011 · Like 0
  • Woodbridge Environmental ... Colonia, NJ
    That's great news to hear. Glad it worked out for you.
    on Nov 06, 2011 · Like 0
  • Itsreally C Marietta, GA
    here's a tip that worked for us - we put humidifiers on both furnaces - top & main floors,,, this isn't zell miller's house any more !
    on Dec 11, 2011 · Like 1

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