Creaking floorboards

markc1184

Over the last few weeks I've been having a lot of plastering work on walls and ceilings done in my house. With having radiators off walls for about 3 weeks and no heat on it seems a couple of floorboards upstairs on the landing have warped and have an awful loud creak when walked on. The worst one is directly outside the bathroom so everyone gets woke when its walked on. I've not had a close look yet until the carpets come up later in the week but as far as I can see they are a chipboard floorboard. I'm wondering what is the best way to go about repairing them? Is it a simple case of screwing into the beam beneath? The board between the bedroom and bathroom seems to have a bit more movement when walked on than others and may need replacing. If this is the case, how should I go about that?

Thanks
Mark

FortySeven

You really need to lift the entire board to check underneath for pipes or wiring before you screw it back down. Don't just fire screws into the beam.

markc1184

FortySeven wrote: »

You really need to lift the entire board to check underneath for pipes or wiring before you screw it back down. Don't just fire screws into the beam.

I would be lifting them before doing anything else. I've lifted plank type floorboards before but are the chipboard as easy to lift? I could be wrong but the ones I have look to be larger and look as though they run into the rooms.

Sleeper12

markc1184 wrote:

I would be lifting them before doing anything else. I've lifted plank type floorboards before but are the chipboard as easy to lift? I could be wrong but the ones I have look to be larger and look as though they run into the rooms.

If it were me I'd dump the chipboard & put down t&g. If it's just the landing it wouldn't cost much. It's a simple job. Few lengths of t&g, screws, screw gun and jigsaw is all you need

FortySeven

If the chipboard is under the stud wall it's a bit of a bigger job. I've never dealt with that.

I guess you would have to snap it somehow to lift it. You couldn't risk cutting it.

Maybe take a chance with a detector and throw in a few screws. Dodgy around a bathroom though. Have you copper or plastic plumbing?

Might risk plaster cracking trying to lift it if it does go under the stud.

markc1184

I'll know for definite when I pull up the carpets but from what I can see some do run under the walls. The plumbing is copper. When I get the floors up I'll see how things look and go from there.

Sleeper12

markc1184 wrote:

I'll know for definite when I pull up the carpets but from what I can see some do run under the walls. The plumbing is copper. When I get the floors up I'll see how things look and go from there.

You might find that some of it has been cut out & put back down by a plumber or electrician over the years. It might come up easily. If your home is old then the central heating system was most likely retro fitted.

FortySeven

markc1184 wrote: »

I'll know for definite when I pull up the carpets but from what I can see some do run under the walls. The plumbing is copper. When I get the floors up I'll see how things look and go from there.

Be careful of flexing the boards and putting pressure on the base of the wall. I'd be afraid of the skimcoat cracking/skirting coming loose.

bonzodog2

IMHO, it would seem very short-sighted thinking to run a complete length of flooring under where a stud wall has yet to be built, possibly by the same carpenter. I'm sure the lads have to do what they're told, and its probably cheaper for the builder employing them, but it doesn't take into account the possible need for refit in a decade or two.

whizbang

lot of plastering work

Its the extra moisture that has caused this. Just wait, it will settle back to the way it was.

Admldj

bonzodog2 wrote: »

IMHO, it would seem very short-sighted thinking to run a complete length of flooring under where a stud wall has yet to be built, possibly by the same carpenter. I'm sure the lads have to do what they're told, and its probably cheaper for the builder employing them, but it doesn't take into account the possible need for refit in a decade or two.

When most houses are built the first floor is completely floored before the stud walls are built (to allow the trades work on first floor) usually with t&g sheets of chipboard nailed to the joists.What has happened here is the moisture has swelled the chipboard and released the grip the nails have ,after you pull up the carpet you can screw the sheets back down with some decent screws, 5x50mm would be perfect ,as mentioned watch for services but you cant really go wrong if you place your screws next to the original nails

markc1184

I pulled up the rest of the carpet today and the area that is creaking luckily was cut out before for other works. I presume this is the reason it is creaking in this area and not in others. My question now is, is there any reason why I can't cut some spare chipboard t&g loft boards to the size needed and replace the warped piece with it? The only issue is the boards that are down are 22mm and the loft board I have is 20mm. Would 2mm be noticeable with brand new underlay and carpet on top?

Odelay

markc1184 wrote: »

I pulled up the rest of the carpet today and the area that is creaking luckily was cut out before for other works. I presume this is the reason it is creaking in this area and not in others. My question now is, is there any reason why I can't cut some spare chipboard t&g loft boards to the size needed and replace the warped piece with it? The only issue is the boards that are down are 22mm and the loft board I have is 20mm. Would 2mm be noticeable with brand new underlay and carpet on top?

The 2mm will be noticed, you will feel it under your feet and eventually a line will appear in the carpet.

Admldj

You could put 2mm packers on the joists to bring the patch up to the level of the existing subfloor