Home Forums Chat Forum Is it reasonable to ask a builder to ensure a floor he's built doesn't creak?

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  • Is it reasonable to ask a builder to ensure a floor he's built doesn't creak?
  • Markie
    Free Member

    Hey.

    Work is finally coming to end on our house. One concern of mine (raised months ago) is that the (carpeted) floor of one upstairs room creaks as you walk across it. Is this just something I need to learn to live with, or should the builder sort it?

    In a similar vein, as you walk across the floor of another room, it makes that room’s door rattle in its frame. Is this reasonable?

    Thanks for any help. I’ll be so glad when they’re finished – am hoping that I’ll move beyond feeling sorry we ever began!

    Thanks!

    CharlieMungus
    Free Member

    Sounds like you need to iDave

    ernie_lynch
    Free Member

    Is this just something I need to learn to live with, or should the builder sort it?

    Ask them to sort it out with screws, glue, whatever, no floor should be creaky.

    Is this reasonable?

    No. Ask them to adjust the stops or keep so that the door doesn’t rattle.

    julianwilson
    Free Member

    My dad has just sold his 10 year old ‘poshest on the estate’ Barratt house, which is literally twice the square footage of my 30’s 3 bed semi and has a double garage and three loos. But it still has squeaky floors which we discovered are down to the joins in the flooring upstairs rubbing together, being wherever one board stops and the next one starts as opposed to trimming and fixing both edges to a floor/ceiling joist. I can only imagine that this is what happens when you are building dozens of similar or identical houses at once and you want to save a fifty quid per house on materials by fewer offcuts/fewer boards used. Please tell me this is not how to properly lay a floor! I wouldn’t even do my loft like that.

    ernie_lynch
    Free Member

    rubbing together, being wherever one board stops and the next one starts

    It’ll be T&G joints, which should be glued. Creaky floors are such an issue that it has now become the norm to glue them to the joists and well as screwing them down.

    Edit : polyurethane glue is best due to its gap filling qualities.

    jim25
    Full Member

    Glueing down to the joists in my opinion is a stupid idea. I never do, properly fitted t and g boards screwed down shouldn’t creak.
    So what happens if you need to get the floorboards up when they’ve been glued to the joists? When inevitably something leaks or as most normally the client changes their mind about electric/plumbing locations?

    ernie_lynch
    Free Member

    Glueing down to the joists in my opinion is a stupid idea.

    I totally agree, however it is generally in the specifications these days as when it’s done with polyurethane glue it pretty much guarantees that the flooring won’t creak.

    But removing flooring with has been glued to joists is nightmare as you end up having to chisel wood and glue off the joists. You can also split away chunks of joists,.

    Decent screws and in sufficient quantities will do the job.

    ohnohesback
    Free Member

    Have you tried sprinkling talcum powder down the cracks of a creaky floor? It might stop it.

    ernie_lynch
    Free Member

    And if it doesn’t stop it at least his floor will smell like a baby’s clean bottom – which is a smell that everyone loves.

    Markie
    Free Member

    Thanks all, much appreciated.

    project
    Free Member

    From experience of others bodge jobs, dont glue down boards especilly if chipboard, dont randomly screw floor down, you have no idea where pipes and cables are, and youre more likely to hit a pipe of cable than win the lottery.

    tymbian
    Free Member

    Get your builder to sort it at his cost cause it’s his fault. Simples. ..

    What’s the spacing of your floor joists and what thickness t&g ( chipboard ?? ) did the builder use?

    squirrelking
    Free Member

    If it is screwed down, make sure the holes for the screws in the boards are bigger than the screw body, apparantly not doing this is another cause of squeaky floors.

    nealglover
    Free Member

    If it is screwed down, make sure the holes for the screws in the boards are bigger than the screw body, apparantly not doing this is another cause of squeaky floors.

    You won’t find many builders drilling pilot holes for screws when laying a floor.

    I very much doubt this is the cause if many squeaky floors.

    footflaps
    Full Member

    From experience of others bodge jobs, dont glue down boards especilly if chipboard, dont randomly screw floor down, you have no idea where pipes and cables are, and youre more likely to hit a pipe of cable than win the lottery.

    I managed to do this (screw through pipe) laying a new floor! Was the last board, I was tired and rushed it. Total arse, was the main CH ring pipe as well. On a bend as well, so had to cut a whole section out and replace the bend….

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