Squeaky floor - replace boards with plywood?

[diy457]

I'm having carpet fitted shortly on the stairs and landing outside bedrooms and bathroom.

The floor is squeaky and I thought instead of screwing the existing floor boards etc it might be a good idea to remove the floorboards and replace them with a big piece or 2-3 pieces of plywood 18mm.

The good idea? I thought the plywood, being new and screwed nicely into the joists, and spreading the weight of feet more evenly might be a good solution.

Is it? I plan to do it is this week. Anyone got any advice?

Thanks.

 

[diy457]

Anyone got any advice? Thanks.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Yes you can do this as long as it is the same thickness of the floor boards.

Don't screw through any pipes or cables!

Andy

 

[dazlight]

Don't see the point of the extra work or cost.
I'd take my time an check floorboards and screw where needed.

 

[ree]

I agree with the above - why remove what might be good T&G?

It could be squeaky joists or something(s) rubbing. Can you go under the floor and investigate ?

AAMOI: T&G is much less likely to squeak than ply.

 

[diy457]

Thanks for replies so far.

It's not t & g. It's just old standard square floor boards. Some cut by builder when we first moved in. Some gaps and some touching slightly. Over 20 years old. Maybe since house was built in 1950's? They look tired and old and some carpet backing stuck to it from before we lived here. I've lived here for 23 years.

I don't need to put 18mm ply down - that was just an idea. I'm happy to put down whatever will do the job. It's only about 4-5 sqm. I pulled up 2 boards to have a look. I see the pipe run. I plan to pull up the others soon but wanted buy the replacement first so I can plan it.

I was looking at Wickes t & g... But this is all new to me. I just want to renew the surface. I don't think a screw down will work... It's super squeaky all over.

I'd be more comfortable replacing it with basic new floorboards at the minimum. That's the plan before carpet fitters come on Friday or next week some time.

What's the best solution?

 

[dazlight]

I thought you were doing the whole house.

Yeah maybe worth doing then

Or screw them down and put 9mm ply ontop

 

[diy457]

I can't raise the floor level by 9mm as its STAIRCASE LANDING leading to bedrooms & bathroom so its replacement only.

I was originally thinking of putting 3mm hardboard down (got already) but id rather replace it as its only a small area. 1 days work for me maybe.

T & G? or 18mm plywood? Does it need to structural plywood? Its not a wet area obviously...

 

[ree]

Then if you remove the in-situ flooring why not simply use P5 chipboard flooring it comes in 18mm or 22mm.

 

[diy457]

P5 chipboard is an option. Ill look into it today. Although I'm thinking just to use the leftover 18mm plywood (3sqm) i have in the main area and re-use some of the existing floor boards elsewhere - all screwed down fully. And then hardboard (3mm) over the whole area to create a fully new surface on which to lay carpet.

Good enough idea?

If so, do the carpet grippers on the edge go on top of the hard board or i just hard board up to the grippers?

 

[AronSearle]

In a nutshell, Squeaky is things rubbing.

If they are old plank floorboards, it could be the nails, or boards against each other. Try extra screws.

If not, plywood screwed AND glued to the joists will be an improvement.

This assumes it is the floorboards rubbing and not something else, (for example the plasterboard on the underside of the joists can rub).

 

[diy457]

Thanks for everyones help.

I kept the old boards in the end. I replaced couple of small broken / cracked boards and 2 where the ends were dry/splitting and probably wouldn't hold a screw too well. I went to local timber merchants and got the same width boards cut for around £7.50 - bargain. Ill be supporting my local timber merchants in future!

I nail punched all the board nails i didn't remove. Boards that i did pull up i removed nails. I screwed all the boards down with Spax 60mm x 4.5mm flooring screws (£15 for 300) - brilliant - no pre drilling or counter sinking necessary (went in easy and no wood splitting. I won't use anything but Spax now. I checked under the boards when i removed a few so marked where all the wires and pipes were - most wires were below 90mm.

I then nailed 3mm hardboard down on top (smooth side up) with ring shank nails (2mm x 20mm) to provide a flat clean non gappy surface for underlay longevity. Hardboard from timber merchants - 2 sheets £11 - cut.

Carpet got fitted with most expensive underlay - worth it.

Result : 95% of the squeaking is gone.

There is just one spot where 2 boards goes into the bedroom so i couldn't get at the joist to punch the squeaky nails down - the stupid builder 20+ years ago cut a groove in the door way joist to allow wires through.... I thought the hardboard and door threshold / carpet gripper might fix it - only 50%. With hindsight i could have re-supported the boards with a block of wood underneath back on the joist - ah well.

All in all - great result.

 

[Mattatooi]

Great to hear your success.

Was going to be using them Spax floor screws soon myself. I see they got them in screwfix for that price. Seems to be a good price. Glad you rate them highly.

Also yea, local timber merchants are really well priced and will cut just about anything for you for next to nothing. And 10 times cheaper than any of the "mainstream" stores. Amazes me some of the prices in them stores!