Squeaky Plywood Subfloor

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Bubz

New Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2021
Messages
3
Location
Montana
Trying to fix a squeaky subfloor prior to laminate install. I have fixed about 2/3rds of the squeaks by using 2in stainless steel screws. This squeak in the video I can't seem to fix. Any ideas?
 

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That’s a good squeak you got goin on. A joist that is too tight will also squeak. I would cut a hole in the subfloor big enough to see what’s going on so you can fix it otherwise you’re just guessing. If you make the cuts on the joists then you only have to block between the joists when you put the cutout back.
 
It’s about 1ft from the wall. I do have access to the crawl space where I can access the joists directly. But, I don’t know what I’m looking for if I was to go into crawl space. Nor what tools to bring to fix.
 
It’s about 1ft from the wall. I do have access to the crawl space where I can access the joists directly. But, I don’t know what I’m looking for if I was to go into crawl space. Nor what tools to bring to fix.
Drill a 1/8" hole in the floor then push through a 2 ft length of wire. Paint it white for visibility.
Go underneath the house to locate the piece of wire which should be at the squeak location.
With someone else above, and you directly below, have the person step on the floor over and over. It shouldn't take long before you detect where the sound is coming from.
I'm betting the joist is moving against the hanger or the plate that it's attached to. I just fixed one of those a week ago but I didn't have to crawl underneath the house because of its location
Sometimes adding a bunch of screws to fasten the plywood to the joist can increase the squeak level because it stiffens up the floor making the joist move more easily from locations farther away from where it initially squeaked.
If you're going to attempt that, I would take a light, a headlamp, an impact driver and some three and a quarter inch long screws.
If it is the joist making the noise, and you can locate it, you can drive in two or three screws to the joist to pull it tight to the plate. If you can do this while you're in there, it will only take one trip since you have the tools you need with you.
 
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Instead of using a wire like high said I drilled a 1/4" hole and put a flashlight over it. Then looked for the light Kind of like bugs do. Also the screws can be done from the top just by taking of the trim and cutting a small hole in the drywall and then screw the plate that way. But either way you don't want to use screws that have threads all the way to the to the head of the screw.
 
Instead of using a wire like high said I drilled a 1/4" hole and put a flashlight over it. Then looked for the light Kind of like bugs do. Also the screws can be done from the top just by taking of the trim and cutting a small hole in the drywall and then screw the plate that way. But either way you don't want to use screws that have threads all the way to the to the head of the screw.
About the only screw I use right now is a coated a deck type screw with a torx head. They have a gold coating on them but if you're busy day yesterday today I don't feel pretty good depends on if I don't sound like yellow cab I won't have any don't have any stair laps today yeah they had plenty of room there I don't know why they didn't make those stairs easily there's a lot of room down there I mean it's not like. I can't remember the last time I use a screw with a Philips head.
What Darus is saying, is don't use those sheetrock screws or even a zinc plated ones because they are a weak and will easily snap the head off.
 
About the only screw I use right now is a coated a deck type screw with a torx head. They have a gold coating on them but if you're busy day yesterday today I don't feel pretty good depends on if I don't sound like yellow cab I won't have any don't have any stair laps today yeah they had plenty of room there I don't know why they didn't make those stairs easily there's a lot of room down there I mean it's not like. I can't remember the last time I use a screw with a Philips head.
What Darus is saying, is don't use those sheetrock screws or even a zinc plated ones because they are a weak and will easily snap the head off.

but if you're busy day yesterday today I don't feel pretty good depends on if I don't sound like yellow cab I won't have any don't have any stair laps today yeah they had plenty of room there I don't know why they didn't make those stairs easily there's a lot of room down there I mean it's not like
High what are you drinking?
 
Haha, thank you all. I'll give that a try!
Sometimes it is the old nails that are rubbing on the joist. Re-screw the entire floor, then pull all the old nails. Sometimes it can be the cross bracing or ductwork, this requires pulling the sheets up.
 
High what are you drinking?
Do not start using your microphone to type on a flooring forum, and then have your brother ask you about his medical cab ride which is 20 minutes late, and at the same time have the tv on...... because while you're talking, it's recording.
It was Victor brand coffee that I was drinking this morning.
.......and that's all I remember before everything went black. 😁
 
High what are you drinking?
I just went to the doctor. He said I've got the same thing that Joe has. 😁
It's really strange that when I use the microphone instead of typing on my phone it can totally screw up an entire sentence by changing words. It has changed it enough sometimes that I can't even reword my sentence.
I watch the words as I talk and they show up just fine, but after I click the 'post' button, everything gets screwed up.
This doesn't happen when I type comments on YouTube or any other place.
 

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