# Forum Home Renovation Flooring  Creaky floorboards

## finger

I currently have polished pine floorboards covered with underlay and carpet. 
Certain sections of the floorboards creak. The odd thing is that its not consistent. Some days there is no creaking  and other days its shocking. Also the bath tub creaks when you walk on the tiled floor in the bathroom. This too is totally random.  
I have had 4 of the steel posts replaced that were showing signs of rust and relevelled on the side of the house that it is happening but the symptoms persist. 
Any ideas what it could be?

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## SLUGGO33X

i'd say that the randomness of the noise is due to the timber expanding/contracting at different rates due to each day's different weather conditions.

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## Bloss

Variability can be caused by the changing moisture content of the boards which is directly related to temperature and humidity and exacerbated by having boards insulated on ones side - the top and exposed to the air underneath. Most common problem is rubbing of the tongues inside the grooves or simply the board edges as the timber expands or contracts - or move slightly as weight is applied away from where they are supported on the joists. 
Not easy to fix. Sometimes gluing and screwing timber strips long the centre of the floor boards between the joists (from underneath of course) can stop noise from movement. Not a pleasant job as access is often tight. If you have a couple of really bad spots it can be worth a try in just those areas and only between the joists where the noise seems to be. Often you can isolate the noises by having a solid person walking around up top while you are underneath listening for the creaks. Take a permanent marker with you and mark where you reckon noise is so you can fix with boards later as I said above. :2thumbsup:

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## finger

Thanks Bloss that makes sense. We are in a highset and underneath is a massive open space. Its walled in all around with a concrete slab but no built in rooms. 
When it rains the creaking stops, we have had about a week without rain and the noise is at its worst. When the boards are walked on above you can see the boards flex underneath were the creaking occurs. I thought of bracing the boards underneath but not too keen because of the cosmetic side of things although I may have to bite the bullet. 
The bathroom on the other hand is a different story, you can't pin point the loose boards due to the tiles and whatever it is they are laid on. 
I'm told these are pine floorboards but any idea what type?

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## Emmyjay

For what its worth here is my experience with squeaking floors. Ours are yellow tongue particleboard. Covered with tiles, vinyl or carpet. The floor started squeaking within weeks of moving in to the new house. After a couple of years I couldn't stand it and Victoria's (now defunct) Housing Guarantee Fund paid for the carpet and underlay to be taken up in the lounge/dining (where the squeaks were worst) and the particleboard was screwed to the joists. The builder had used green joists and they were all warping and the nails were pulling out. Now 15 years later they are squeaking again - in every room of the house. The 12 year drought probably doesn't help. Like you when it rains the squeaks mostly go away. This time hubby crawled under the house with a sack full of plastic wedges (avail Bunnings). As I walked around and found the squeaks, he hammered in a few wedges between the particleboard and the joist. One on either side. It's not the best remedy but it worked. Squeaks all gone (for the moment).  :Smilie:

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## bugsy

i used liquid nails and a corking gun 
got under the house and put the glue where the boards meet the joists and any other place where i could see gaps along the tongue and groove
seemed to have worked so far

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## pawnhead

> I'm told these are pine floorboards but any idea what type?

  They look like Douglas-fir _Pseudotsuga menziesii_, commonly called 'Oregon' pine (the state tree of Oregon USA).  Oregon Floorboards from Alpine Floors. 
The floor joists look like cypress pine.

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## Bloss

> They look like Douglas-fir _Pseudotsuga menziesii_, commonly called 'Oregon' pine (the state tree of Oregon USA).  Oregon Floorboards from Alpine Floors. 
> The floor joists look like cypress pine.

  Nah - my bet would be plain old radiata pine - it sure isn't oregon. Wrong grain work and wrong colour.  :2thumbsup:

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## pawnhead

You could be right. They look a bit too orange but that could be the lacquer. I've seen light bits of Oregon that look like Crapiarta, and dark bits of Crapiarta that look like Oregon, so I wouldn't put money either way.
Although I reckon that picture I posted would sure look the same with a clear coat on the timber.

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## finger

Thanks guys. 
That shot is from under the boards so its all bare timber. They seem to dent very easierly. 
The joists have been confirmed as cypress pine, actually the whole house is made out of it except the floorboards.

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## Larry McCully

Its radiata pine. To stop the squeek...... Firstly check to see if you have sufficient sub floor vents. If your floor is rapidly excecpting moisture as fast as it disposes it then the floor is acting as a sponge. There may not be enough airflow under the floor to carry away any relative humidity. relative humidity is airborne moisture that is absorbed into timber frame members. Radiata pine is a open grain species and will absorb moisture faster than most. you need to stabilize the sub floor conditions. There are a couple of easy ways in your case, but first send a message back on a report on :
1/ any sub floor vents
2/ moisture content of the soil 
report back on these two and we can advise of a probable solution.

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## finger

There is 3 windows, 2 doors and 2 garage doors but because we only use downstairs for storage the windows are permanently closed and the grarage doors are only opened when putting my bike or trailer away or mowing the lawn. 
As for the soil, I had to dig down to lay some PVC pipe and after the first 30cm or so it was mainly hard clay. 
The boards that squeak have heaps of flex in them, I am thinking my best option is probably too rip the carpet up and get a flooring specialst in to fix/ polish the boards again.

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## Larry McCully

Thanks for the answers. But is the top soil damp ?

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## finger

Yeah it is. Its fairly shaded and the grass grows quickly and its moist so its a pain to cut.

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