Fixing squeaks where there's no joists

wfischer

I recently replaced my kitchen floor with self adhesive vinyl tile. I noticed there were a lot of squeaks in the floor before I started, so after I ripped up the old laminate, I put some 3" screws through the subfloor into the joists below. My problem is that there's a couple of small squeaks left in between joists, and now that I've laid down the new tile, putting in more screws isn't exactly an option. I have super easy access to this floor from underneath... is there anything I can do at this point about these minor squeaks?

ron schenker

You can shim between the floor joist and the subfloor, or you could do some blocking between the floor joists. Or you could do both. This should take care of your minor squeeks. If the squeeks are near a wall it may be the subfloor rubbing on the bottom plate.

Bondo

Ayuh,........

I'd try toe-nailing some small Screws into the joints, from below......
Keep a Good Angle on them, so you don't interfere with the flooring above.........

davefoc

Is the problem is floor boards rubbing against each other? I take it that they weren't tongue and groove or plywood. I work on an 80 year old building and loose boards are common but I've never heard any squeaks from the tongue and groove subfloor.

If the problem is floor boards squeaking against each other then what about screwing boards to the bottom of the floor? Obviously you would need to be careful to use screws that weren't too long. 1 1/4 inch dry wall through 3/4 inch stock would work. You could put some construction adhesive on the board and that would make this a very permanent fix.

RTRCon

Some times it the joist end squeaking in the joist hanger. Another trick weve used is thin tapered shims with construcion adhesive on it and insert them between the joist and subfloor.