REPAIRING SQUEAKY FLOORS

Special tools needed to fix carpeted floor

Q: How can I repair squeaking carpeted floors that have no access from below — the ceilings underneath are covered with drywall. The noise is coming from the plywood subfloor under the carpet, which needs to be fastened more securely. It is also difficult to find the joists under the carpet. Any ideas on fixing without removing the carpet?

A: A special screw can be used in this situation. These screws are driven through the carpet, using a power drill and a small tool that stops the screw after it has reached the proper depth.

Another small tool is then used to break off the head of the screw so that it is hidden. The screws must be driven into floor joists, so locating the joists is essential.

There are a couple of ways to find the hidden joists. If you plan to do a lot of floors, you might want to invest in an electronic stud-joist finder. A low-tech method that often works is to thump on the floor with a hammer until you get a solid sound. This indicates the presence of a joist.

Note the spot and drill down with a small drill bit — a one-sixteenth-inch bit works and will not damage the carpet.

If the drill goes into solid wood after passing through the carpet and subfloor, you have verified the presence of a joist. After that, you need only measure 16 inches from the first joist location to find another joist, and so on. If you don’t know the direction of the joists, you will need to drill a few more tiny holes to verify that. It can take a lot of screws to fix a very squeaky floor.

Some contractors stretch strings across the floor at each joist location to make the screw installation faster. Spacing the screws depends on how badly the floor squeaks; a screw every nine to 12 inches along the joist might be needed.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service