can I add 1/4" plywood over squeaky hardwoods before laying vinyl planks?

[Sam Baker]

Hello. If I added 1/4" plywood over an old hardwood floor that squeaks in spots, then put down adhesive and a lot of screws before putting down vinyl planks, would that stop the squeaks? Im putting vinyl planks down in my kitchen and living room. Im working on the kitchen now, once I start on the living room, I was originally planning to remove all the old hardwood floors, then adding a thick sheet of plywood to make the vinyl planks even with the kitchen, but I realized a 1/4" piece of plywood over the hardwoods would be perfect. BTW. I've been trying to stop the squeaks for 30 years, Its time to just go with a new floor

 

[C.J.]

If you’ve been fighting squeaks for 30 years, what makes you think capping the floor with 1/4” then screwing the bejesus out of it will stop them now. I say screw the hell out of it before you cap it cus if you can’t stop the squeaks before you cap it then you’ll just end up with a capped floor that squeaks. So I say give it the ol college try and do what you can to remedy the squeaks before you proceed to the next step. If that doesn’t work you might be better off to just bite the bullet and rip it all out and go back with some fresh plywood.

 

[rugaddict]

If it was squeaky plywood you would only need to rescrew at the joists before the new ply——this might not work for hardwoods—- it can squeak for other reasons—— a broken tounge for instance—- no amount of screws or glue are sure to remove all squeaks—-rescrew at the joists and hope for the best

 

[DarisMulkin]

Like CJ says repair the squeaks before covering. then if you still have a sqeak or 2 dust the floor with talcum powder and brush it in. The talc will act as a lube but is temporary. Also if walking across the floor and you see a cloud from one of the joints it could possibly be where one of the squeaks could be.

 

[Sam Baker]

Thanks for the replies! I was just walking around the floor and theres really just a couple spots that squeak. I think I may try fixing the squeaks first. I actually did screw a lot of screws down about 15 years ago and there wasn't any squeaks for probably 7 years. I was hoping that the plywood and new vinyl plank flooring would help since the weight would be more distributed, and not just a a foot on a single board, it is a gamble but the thought of pulling up all the hardwoods sounds like a lot of work. preparing the kitchen floor turned out to be a bigger job then I expected. LOL

 

[highup]

Solid wood floor expands and contracts. Wood does what it wants to.
My own thoughts are to drill and countersink holes in the center of each plank and like was mentioned hit the joists if you can.
My own logic says if you screw in the center of the boards then it still allows the rest of the board to expand or contract a little bit.... because thats what wood does.
There's a sharp fellow that used to hang out on these forums and he showed us a trick a couple of times using magnets. Not the gray kind referred to as refrigerator magnets but the shiny Chrome ones known as super magnets.
You can slide those along the seams in the boards and the magnets will show you where the fasteners are. Maybe they were just too far apart.
..... Or maybe where you live the humidity from Summer to Winter changes a lot. If that's the case then your floor probably is more squeaky during certain parts of the year.
Something that may not apply so much to a wood floor but it does with plywood is that if you have a squeak and you put a couple of screws in it then it will squeak somewhere else because you just put tension in one area and in reality, all the fasteners are slightly loose, so tightening up just one spot has a good possibility of making the floor squeak somewhere else nearby.
Like I said, this can happen with a plywood floor but maybe it doesn't apply to a solid wood tongue and groove floor.

 

[highup]

I would definitely pre-drill all the holes and then use a countersink bit.

 

[Sam Baker]

yeah I lived in Maryland, it can be hot one day them freezing the next, that probably does have a lot to do with it. I know some days it does seem a lot worse. I just finished my kitchen, that room hardly had any squeaks and there are still some squeaks after lying 1/4" plywood, soft and sound, then planks, so I think Im definitely going to remove all the hardwoods, then lay thicker plywood, I think theres a good chance I would regret leaving the hardwood down

 

[highup]

The 1/4" plywood adds about zero structural integrity. All it does, is give a new smoother surface over another relatively smooth surface.
It's like a sandable primer coat, not like the structural integrity of the Bondo beneath the surface.