Timber floorboards, particleboard or plywood squeaking

Causes

Timber floor structure and flooring have dried and shrunk

Inadequate nailing of particleboard sheets 

Deflection – the span is too great for flooring thickness

Listed under: Interior, floor coverings, floorboards, timber and wood-based, particleboard, plywood, timber, Subfloor, floors, framing, fixings and hardware, fixings

Cause

Timber floor structure and flooring have dried and shrunk

Repair

  • squeaking is usually caused by movement, so the solution is to add more fixings, using screws or nails as recommended by the flooring manufacturer or supplier. Fixings should generally be a maximum 150 mm apart around the perimeter and 200 mm at intermediate points. Fixings should be no less than 10 mm from the edge with particleboard, 7 mm with ply. Fixings should go at least 20 mm into the joist below
  • identifying where the joists run under the floor may require one person under the house while another person stands on the floor, identifying where the fixings need to go. Using a stud finder from above the floor may also help to find the joists in some circumstances
  • particleboard manufacturers frequently require pilot holes to be drilled before using screws. Not using pilot holes can actually make movement and noise worse if the screws push fibre to the top of the joist
  • ply manufacturers also recommend predrilling pilot holes for screw fixing

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Cause

Inadequate nailing of particleboard sheets 

Repair

  • as for the first repair above

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Cause

Deflection – the span is too great for flooring thickness

Repair

  • adding additional joists under the floor to support the flooring is one option. You need to work out the actual subfloor framing required, including span dimensions and timber sizes. If you can’t do this yourself, engage an architect, designer or chartered professional engineer to calculate what is required
  • where the joist is sheltered from the weather but exposed to the ground atmosphere, it must be treated to a minimum H1.2
  • you should only carry out structural repairs such as this yourself if you have the skills, knowledge, experience and tools to complete the job properly

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