How to Quiet Squeaky Carpeted Floors | Ask This Old House
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- Опубликовано: 10 окт 2015
- This Old House general contractor Tom Silva shows a homeowner how to silence squeaks in a carpeted room. (See the shopping list, tools, and steps below.)
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Shopping List for How to Quiet Squeaky Carpeted Floors:
- Floor-squeak repair kit [amzn.to/2Fd12UW]
Tools for How to Quiet Squeaky Carpeted Floors:
- Hammer [amzn.to/2KhAu95]
- Cordless drill [amzn.to/2F8TH8M]
- Tape measure [amzn.to/2F4n8ZF]
- Screws [amzn.to/2KR8M2g], to mark joist locations
- Nylon string [amzn.to/2KVd88V], used to indicate floor joists
Steps for How to Quiet Squeaky Carpeted Floors:
1. Tap the carpeted floor with a hammer and listen for a dull thud sound, which indicates the location of a floor joist.
2. Drive a long screw from the kit through the carpeting and subfloor to confirm that there’s a joist below.
3. If the screw misses a joist, back it out and try again until you hit a joist. Leave the screwhead sticking up an inch or so.
4. Once you’ve located the first joist, measure over every 16 inches to find the other floor joists along one wall.
5. Drive one screw into the floor every 16 inches across the room to mark the joist locations. Again, be sure to leave the screwheads protruding a little.
6. Transfer the location of the screws across to the other side of the room.
7. Repeat Steps 2 through 5 to pinpoint the joists along the opposite wall.
8. Tie a nylon string to the first screwhead and stretch it across the carpet and around the screwhead protruding from the floor at the opposite side of the room.
9. Loop the string around and stretch it along the next joist. Continue in this manner until you’ve stretched the string back and forth across the room, indicating the position of each joist.
10. Remove the special screw-driving bit from the floor-squeak repair kit and chuck it into a cordless drill.
11. Stand the kit’s depth-control fixture over the string and directly over a floor joist.
12. Insert a scored screw from the kit into the center hole in the fixture.
13. Push down on the fixture, then use the drill to drive in the screw until it bottoms out.
14. Slip the protruding screwhead into the slot in the fixture. Then rock the fixture side to side to snap off the screw.
15. Move down the string 12 to 16 inches and drive in another screw. Use the fixture to snap off the screw.
16. Continue in this manner along each joist, spacing the screws 12 to 16 inches apart.
17. Pick up and discard all the snapped-off screwheads.
About Ask This Old House TV:
Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we're ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers-and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook.
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How to Quiet Squeaky Carpeted Floors | Ask This Old House
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Tommy didn't mention it in this video but in a similar video (of the same solution) he advised installing screws every 8 inches along the length of the joist.
Tom is great! A true professional! Thanks to "The old House" team for providing these useful videos!
I wish the young couple to use this room and house for many years to come and be healthy!
Looked a number of Videos about how to use this product and this is the best one I’ve seen. Very clear and concise. Thank you...
My rental property floor was squeaky in the kitchen, living room and hallway. This product fixed the kitchen and living room. Now I have another property I am working on and viewed this video as a refresher.
This guy can fix anything apart from a broken heart, that will be next weeks episode
I've seen this same thing 3 times now, 3 different seasons. Must work, the screws and the tool don't change, just the home owners and the thickness of Toms hair...
This video very helpful. We fixed it and it was not expensive at all to do it yourself. That annoying squeaking floor noise gone. Thank you for taking time to show us how to repair it. I am a happy homeowner 😅
squeaky floors are part of my security system.
You're funny..but I prefer a dog over squeaky floors as my security system.
New i have both 🤷🏻♂️
So true. Nothing beats knowing someone is in your house than a squeaky floor.
My brand new home was built with missing screws and lots of squeaks and pops. This girl appreciates this video and will be fixing the floor over the weekend. ❤
Excellent showcase of the most expensive screw, and most expensive drill on the market....gotta love T.O.H.
What a nice floor to keep clean. And what a great floor for a baby room...
This is a great video and a ingenious way to fix a squeaky floor
I don't know why our room builder didn't fix my squeaky floor. I am so glad to see that this can be fixed. I figure the squeaks kind of act like as security alert if anyone tries to come into the house. LOL!
This kit works amazing, I bought it at Home Depot for $20 and fixed my squeeky floor wit no problem.Great tool and great advice from This old house guys. Thanks a lot.
Ado Filth 666 what's the kit called
Do you realize there's an A in squeak?
Ado Filth 666 did it actually work
@@alfonsogavina7688 Squeeeek No More is the kit I use. It works great.
I have no problem with my floors, I have no Idea how I got here and I don't know why that video was so satisfying.
This video been so long in my recomendations that i finnaly come to watch it
awesome i like them screws! love this old house as always
I'm so happy that I saw this video because I was going crazy at my house that terrible noise after squishy noise
I have that kit bought off amazon. It works long as you hit the sub floor lol
Plot twist, the floor was not squeaky even before.
lol
plot twist..if there is any ever damage to the subfloor..good luck getting it off with all thoese broken screw heads
mine too
Plot twist... "Can't see or feel" the broken screw head until you step on one barefoot
plot twist. the floor keeps creaking because there's no heads on the screws...
best video ever made. my floor drives me crazy
0:41 when your not working and the boss comes in
Thank you - useful video 👍
i need to do this in my house.. its my first one so ill learn 1 trick at a time till i fix everything... thanks for this trick..
Gill Mccuddy don't do it...
I've never seen a tool like that. Genius!
Pete Brown I have, I saw one in this video.
Now we are gonna put holes in customers carpet, maybe pull carpet back, there has to be a tool from the future (2031) that will help put carpet back down
That's what she said
LOVE this!
Thanks, Tom!
Need to do this in my bedroom. Thanks!
This is amazing
Then you go downstairs and it's all flooded because you've gone through the water pipes laid on the joists and under the floor boards. And then a massive job to rip up because there is no heads on the screws to remove...
Swift do you think they lay pipe inbetween lol?
MegaMetinMetin yes! Of course they do!
I'm a joiner, I've laid hundreds of floors, normally we draw on the boards 'pipes' or 'cables' so you know where they are but you should never just screw anywhere.
I bet you think there is nothing in the walls either lol
Swift In Canada any utilities, whether it be electrical plumbing or anything else that is running in the floor is mounted in the center of the joist and anything going through the joist is drilled in the center for two reasons the first being it's the furthest away from both sides where you might put fasteners to attach plywood subfloor or drywall to a ceiling unless you use a stupid long screw you're not going to hit the utility, the second reason is structural a hole in the center of the joist is alot stronger than a hole near the edge.
Yes, Its common practice to cut a notch in joists to fit copper pipe in. Electrical cables can be passed through a hole cut deeper in to the joist, Copper pipe however is not flexible enough to do this with. You would need to know the width of the floorboards as well as the distance between joists to do this even remotely safely.
copper is a thing of the past, every new construction in Canada(I cannot speak for the rest of the world) uses pex which is flexible enough to pass through holes in the center of joists with that being said the tool in the video is geared more towards older homes in which case copper is still likely used, and again every house I have seen fitted with copper plumbing the pipes were mounted underneath the joists not notched out which would compromise structural integrity the ceiling below was either furred out or a drop ceiling installed.
Wow that is awesome
I love this guy
Wow !!! he really screws the Joist without screwing the carpet.
Thats a cool tool. Never seen that tripod thing before.
There's another brand out there at Home Depot, "Squeeeek No More", a knock off, of this tool. However, the tool used to break off the head of the screw is made of plastic and does not work. Don't buy the one with the plastic break off tool - it won't work because the plastic is not strong enough to break the screwhead off. You need a metal break off tool.
nice show.
This carpenter exudes skill and experience [I looked up the word 'exudes' cause I wasnt sure if it was a word, but turns out it is so stuff it grammar police]
Mike Ditka's so helpful
Unfortunately I found out the reason some of my house's flooring was squeaking, and it was some of the nails were not nailed at the center of joist, they were OFF center missing the joist entirely.
OH MY GOSH! IVE SEEN THIS YEAR'S AGO AND NOW I NOTICE I HAVE THE SAME BABY ROOM SET! haha. It comes with a wall clock, crib bumper/liner, and rocking chair decor.... That's too cool. :P
ا عز دمج
woah that's fantastic
If you don't know what you are talking about, DON'T comment. pipes and wire. Great video. Solved my problem nicely.
How did I get here...
lmao. same
RazeMute
"By letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground…
but you have been here the whole time my friend
Kachow
DESMON THE MOON BEAR
very clever
What year were regulations started when joists had to be 16" apart? My place was built in 1930, were the joist still measured at that length? Thanks!
Should be using a stud finder with the ability to check for electric wires. My stud finder wasn't very expensive, but it lights up within about half of a foot to a foot of an electrical wire because it "feels" the electricity somehow. Drill through an electric wire or a pipe and you're screwed...erm...well, in more ways than one.
Tommy the legend!
Very cool
good job
It pisses me off that nails are used instead of screws in the first place.
screws where very expensive those days, like nontoxic materials (color, glue, etc.) these days ;)
spydermunkie I agree, although nails are faster and cheaper, they're also old school. we have screws now, and whenever I'm building a room addition or remodeling, I always go with screws. .
screws are usually made of a harder steel than nails. nails will for the most part flex with the house where a screw would break
subfloors are still nailed today, but they are also glued.
yes, a tongue and groove veneer (sometimes o.s.b. on cheaper projects) is glued to the joists. no problem to use nails in that case. for a 2nd layer of plywood (when tiling) it's different. glueing is not necessary and use a lot of screws. (every 6" of the sheet and 3" on the perimeter of each sheet
Nice boots, Tawmy.
like to see u do this on a loop carpet as u will pull lines of thread out when screwing
Thanks. Now I know how to fix my floor.
James King no way, I can't believe I spotted you here! I watch your videos haha
LOL Squeeky floors are ...Thanks for watching!
James King Do NOT do this without checking for electrical wires, pipes etc. Very dangerous..
The parts used should be in list to buy
this video is sheer madness for an ammeter to see they may go and do this! many year ago i had a UK trades man do this and the screw pulled a couple of threads in the carpet right across the room by the time the drill stopped screwing the nearly a new carpet that was total ruined, not to mention that he went right through a pipe underneath.
Richard Smith Did you get compensated?
I love squeaky floors.
thats cool
I need these sooooo bad
Try it on Berber. Infact, make a vid on it using this product.
I would be amazed if it doesn't make the carpet run.
Like that little tool.... but please if ya thinking of doing this use a cable/ pipe detector before. Most good ones also detect wood joists as well so no need to measure.... Where can you buy that kit?
this house was built in 1972. Glued down plywood is the answer, but they used nails and no glue. Squeaks in every room and hall. But they DID glue down the plywood to the back sundeck joists, so when the plywood rotted, what a PITA to pull it off !
DO NOT do this if you live in the UK. It was/is common practice to lay cables,heating pipes and gas pipes in notches just below the underside of the floorboard. I do not do this because I know this weakens the joist and should not be done but the fact is it is widespread. Never ever nail or screw a joist unless you are 100% sure you are clear.
If you cut the head of the screw off what is to keep the floor from lossening again if the future?
what about cables or pipes running under the floor un-likley to hit them but a possibility plus any major problems under the floor later big expense raisng the boards
I love the squeaks in my floors. I was home alone a couple years ago, and my computer is directly under the squeaks, the floor above me squeaked so I called the police, they came out and caught the scumbag exiting the window he broke (quietly) to get in. If I wasn't watching TV in the basement and had fixed those squeaks years ago, I could have been shot. Yes, the scumbag had a gun on him.
When Japanese building pagodas in ancient times made the floors squeak -they call them "singing floors" .It was a warning system . They would put bent wood with a nail that goes to other part in the joist and when step on it it makes squealing sound. That is why Ninjas had to learn to walk (step) on such floors without making a sound but it is almost impossible and the guards will be alarmed the moment you make a mistake.
Huh, they should really invent something to help with intruders. Some type of security thing... With a camera, maybe? A camera security? No no... Back to the drawing board....
A so pro came to my apt and secured my floor with screws.
2-3 later some parts are starting to squeak again!
Perhaps, he didn’t hit the studs is my guess.
😎. Honey, I'm running to the hardware store. I need another cool tool.
Cannot for the life of me find the joists. The test bit stick into everything, it doesn't matter where I drill.
Am I doing something wrong or could there be an extra layer of subfloor that's causing the issue?
Great Idea. I know the screw are mad to go a certen depth so they don't go threw any cross cable or piping but unless you built the house your damn self you cant be sure. but 90% of the time your in the clear you wont hit anything as long as you not in that 10%
What about heating pipes in the floor and wires???? Leave your water pipes like a tin whistle
pipes and wires aren't located in floor joists.
I have to do this a lot at work and it doesn't work very often you have to find the joists which isn't easy
Please tell me the name of the tools and where can I get it?
Thanks
About that 16 inch on centers thing. I was attaching something to a wall in my house. I located the first stud and then aligned a tape measure as shown and put a mark every 16 inches. I found three more and then nothing was there. No stud. The stud was only 10 inches from the last one found. The next stud was only 14 inches from this one. I had to carefully drill two new holes into a barn door rod to match the studs in the wall. The house is 11 years old. I have no idea why it was like this.
I've heard other contractors warn "16 inches on center" isn't always 100% accurate. Builders sometimes make mistakes.
Tommy nails it again lol
try that on berber and enjoy the home owners expression.
Neat
I'm trying to find joist through carpet on 2nd floor and I am hitting something when the screw just barely gets in. It just starts grinding and doesn't go any further. Please help
I know this is old but it could help the next guy. If the screw is just grinding then it seems like you hit a metal strap/hardware. These can be randomly found if screwing into the floors close to walls as many different kinds of framing hardware are used for eathquake and structural support.
How does this solve a squeak? The screw has a few threads that are buried in the joist. That leaves an unthreaded shaft with no head on it. Isn't that essentially what the lose nail is?
There are two different nails used the first long one is used to find the joist the second one has more threads on it to secure the nail
WOW!!! What can't you guys do?!?
Haha gotta love these 'murican cardboard houses
Utilities under the floor? Do they run a different route in the states?
al t nope! They're just being risky
al t if the owner did anything after it was built then maybe, but most houses have the utilities running through the wall not in the floor. Each wall is capped with studs and have the joists perpendicular to support walls so there is little risk of hitting one
Could easily go through a pipe. Unless they run their pipes differently over there?
brrrrrrr, BANG!!! (ooops),,,,,,,, up goes the carpet ;]]]
What's that tool called and where do I get it?
Anybody can explain what bearing wall is? I know all the parallel wood supporting underneath carpet. But how to find them?
"Bearing wall" means "load-bearing wall". It means that wall is supporting the weight of the structure.
Some walls can be removed without affecting structural integrity. Load-bearing walls cannot be.
One way to discover floor joists is to measure from HVAC ducts, if you have them.
HVAC ducts are located between floor joists. Since joists are about 16 inches apart, you can start by measuring 8" from the center of the duct and drilling a test hole.
The joist should be right around there, though you might need to drill a few test holes.
If you don't have HVAC ducts just follow the recommendation Tommy provides in the video.
Honest question , I don’t get how if he is pulling the nail back out it would be able to attach the sub floor to the joist.
I am a novice- so pardon my question. That seems simple enough.
However, I was told never to do it that way because you may hit electrical, water pipes, etc. Is that true?
It is indeed a long screw. If it is dimension lumber then the electrician/plumber typically drill through the joists low. There is a chance you could potential hit something but it would out of the norm for trades to run high in a dimension lumber home. Another solution would be to pull up the carpeting and do it with standard subfloor screws. That requires removing furniture and pulling up the carpet/underlay.
Would it be a good idea to use a Kreg tool against the joist from the basement side having no ceiling? Flip flopping each side of the joist. What length of screw would you use and would they hold?
tri pod driver..... silver tool used......got it
roll carpet back and re-fix avoid pipes cables etc! reason being if someone's had ago at running pipes I'm pretty sure they would of notched out the joist! so this fella comes round and sticks a screw through it ha ha! clever tool but I wouldn't risk it!
I,m a joiner and the proper way is roll up part of carpet , cut out chipboard floor section half on joist wedge & screw joist ends as most likely badly cut replace flooring roll back carpet no squeak job done did this on new builds all the time on maintenance squad Never drill through carpet unprofessional and untidy .
What is that drill bit with thread called?
Who makes that tool and where can I get one?
Derek W The Chinese of course.
Can I just pull the carpet up and use a stud finder to find the joists and put a screw in there instead of possibly drilling through a pipe?
I don't think stud finders work too well when scanning through wood subflooring.
Tried it,but seems I did not get it right. Wish I can get someone to come fix sqeaky noise for me
I like that guy
Don't use long screws...you could hit wires or plumbing. All you need is 1-5/8" screws.
Can we do this on concrete? There are air pockets in my carpet.
Time for a new carpet!
Where to buy the kit? What's the name of the kit? Thx
How do you know you aren’t going to hit cables or a pipe?
Is a $600 dollar impact driver needed for this job?
What if there is a cable or ducting or something makes a hole