[mama who remodels]

I have cork floating floors over a second story subfloor. There is an underlayment (hushstep) that is stapled to the subfloor. I know the flooring is not rubbing the wall because I removed the base molding to check. I believe I have identified the cause as follows: It is at the spot where the former tiled entry joined the former carpet. My "handyman" apparently did not level the floor at this transition, so now the floor sinks about a quarter inch in this spot and squeaks. I paid a lot to have a commercial grade sealant professionally applied to the flooring, so I really don't want to pull it out to fix the floor itself. Also, it would be extremely difficult to lift the flooring as a whole unit to get under there to place shims. I have no idea where the joists are.
I picture some kind of product that can be sprayed under there, although how I'd get it under there evenly escapes me. It would have to be compatible with the hushstep. Ugh! Help!
This site saved my butt several times in the past, and I'm hoping one of the great minds here can offer a solution once again!

 

[Gary in WA]

Possibly cut access from ceiling below, drive shims between joist/sub floor, construction glue into gaps, replace ceiling.

Be safe, GBAR

 

[hawaii]

repair hardwood floor

It is usually bigger project tofix the hardwood floor then it looks.
There is no magic way to just fix the sqeak maybe you can get under the subfloor somehow id fix the squick. Are you shure this is the subfloor that creates the problem?
Maybe the floating floor is sqeaking?
If this is a click floating floor I would just take it off and then installed back.
http://davincifloors.com/

 

[mama who remodels]

Oh, I think I may have been unclear. I'm almost 100% positive that it's the cork that's squeaking and not the subfloor below it. The subfloor is that poured concrete stuff. I used Fix-It-All to float the low spots in the kitchen, and that turned out great. (I wasn't aware of the low spots in the entry, as someone else took care of the rest of the house.) It's only a quarter inch low in an area of about a square foot. When I step on that spot, the floating floor sinks just enough to make the squeak. Someone on Yahoo Answers had a similar question and one person said to drill a small hole right in the floor and sqeeze in some baby powder! :huh: I don't know about all that, so that's why I'm here for some real flooring knowledge!

BTW, I've got downstairs neighbors, so opening the ceiling below is out of the question.

 

[Gary in WA]

And the boards run the long way? Maybe drill a small hole, insert a hypo with glue you can buy at hardware stores, fill the void created because you have taped the low piece up to a straight edge beforehand? Leave it set for 2 days, or more. Be safe, GBAR

 

[mama who remodels]

The entry hall is 48" wide and about 10' long with the door at one end and the boards run across the short way, parallel with the threshold.

fill the void created because you have taped the low piece up to a straight edge beforehand
I think I almost understand what you mean here. I could work some tape under the boards where they meet the wall (I do have a 1/4" gap) and pull it up over the straightedge. The low area is adjacent to a wall but extends out a foot from it. Or do you mean right smack in the middle of the low spot? What kind of tape, duct tape for strength or would it leave a residue? I have an 8' rigid straightedge and a 2' level, so would you use the big boy or would the little one suffice?
Also, should I assume the flooring dept at the store would know what type of glue I should use?
Sorry for all the questions! Thank you so much!

 

[Gary in WA]

Hi, again. I meant tape on top of the low spot, lift it up tight to the straight-edge and tape it, hypo some glue into the pinholes you drilled in the center of the low spot. Box stores sell the glue, tape ---foil tape with a backing of packaging tape on it. Or, try just packaging tape alone. I'm grasping at straws here, never done this one before.

Have any ideas - Flooring Installers? Chime in now! Be safe, GBAR

 

[Ron6519]

You need to remove the floor and level the area and reinstall the floor. There is no alternative given your neighbors below.
Ron

 

[Wood Floor Guy]

Squeaky Floor

Ouch! That's a difficult one Momma! The best solution is to remove the area with the low spot and bring the subfloor up to "near flat" and reinstall the floor.

But before you do that, try lightly sweeping a SMALL amount of baby powder between the cork panels in the area where the squeak is coming from. Sweep it in and vacuum it back off the surface. It may do the trick!

Wood Floor Guy
www.woodfloorsforyou.com :laughing:

 

[gdbassett]

floating floor repair

I have the same problem with a floating floor, but it is approx 3 ft into the doorway...is it possible to slide more of the padding into the low spot from the doorway? Maybe use a staight edge to lift and slide pad under the floating floor until your reach low area?

 

[Ron6519]

I have the same problem with a floating floor, but it is approx 3 ft into the doorway...is it possible to slide more of the padding into the low spot from the doorway? Maybe use a staight edge to lift and slide pad under the floating floor until your reach low area?

The odds of this working are very small. I would think there's a greater chance of bunching up the padding already there and making the situation worse.
Being so close to the edge, why not disassemble it and do it correctly?
Ron