Creaking chipboard floorboards

Honest John Back Room » General discussion ( non motoring )
View Threaded
Wed 23 Jan 2013 11:11
Creaking chipboard floorboards - freman

Does anyone know how to cure this problem which is more pronounced in cold weather?

I have tried putting extra sctrews into the joists but with no improvement.

Is the creaking noise caused by movement between the joins in the floorboards or in the material itself ?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 23 Jan 2013 16:48
Creaking chipboard floorboards - Bobbin Threadbare

It's generally caused by movement. They will contract slightly when it's colder and this causes the movement. You can solve the issue short term by putting talcum poweder between the cracks and you can also do a mix of wood glue and water and paste it on the cracks. This will seal them.

Obviously the best thing to do is lift them up, check the joists are flat etc, mark off the joist and pipe layout on the floorboards and then countersink in some wood screws to hold the boards properly!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 25 Jan 2013 16:45
Creaking chipboard floorboards - freman

Thank you for your reply B.T.

I have tried the extra screws but with no noticable improvement, it looks like I will have to wait for the warmer weather.

I have been toying with idea of fitting extra supports between the joists to support the floor.

Do you think this is viable ?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 1 Feb 2013 00:14
Creaking chipboard floorboards - concrete

It's generally caused by movement. They will contract slightly when it's colder and this causes the movement. You can solve the issue short term by putting talcum poweder between the cracks and you can also do a mix of wood glue and water and paste it on the cracks. This will seal them.

Obviously the best thing to do is lift them up, check the joists are flat etc, mark off the joist and pipe layout on the floorboards and then countersink in some wood screws to hold the boards properly!

this problem is endemic with chipboard, especially nailed, onto timber joists. The timber joists are never truly flat and also can warp. Which means the point of contact is smaller than intended, causing stress on the fixings (nails) and excess movement in the chipboard resulting in creaking. Timber floorboards are much stronger, and even when nailed will resist these pressures. The remedy is to take up the clipboards and either replace with timber floorboards, screwed down if possible. Or, fix a polyurethane strip of about 6mm thickness onto your existing joists and relay the chipboard and screw down. Chipboard is still used for flooring, however it is fixed with screws onto Silajoists, which are flat and do not warp so this problem does not occur. Cheers. Concrete
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 25 Jan 2013 17:03
Creaking chipboard floorboards - maltrap

I'm not a builder but could the cause be , central heating pipes under the floor coming on in cold weather ? Maybe insulating the pipes might help, Also "Screwfix" have a forum for building types, maybe someone on there could help.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 25 Jan 2013 17:07
Creaking chipboard floorboards - Bobbin Threadbare

Extra joists might help actually; it'll spread the load and there'll be more fixing point, as it were.

Squeaky creaky pipes is a possibility as well! Maltrap is right about the building forum; I'm just basing my advice on stuff I have tried before!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 25 Jan 2013 17:22
Creaking chipboard floorboards - maltrap

Do they creak only when walked on or all the time. Putting extra joists in might help but is a "mega" job. If the creaking is because the floor is flexing under load you might want to think about changing the chipboard for traditional floor boards, or thicker chipboard, or to muffle the sound with heavy duty carpet &underlay.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 6 Feb 2013 14:04
Creaking chipboard floorboards - madf

Sprinkle talcum powder over all joints..

Simple.

Our 180 year old floorboards no longer squeak

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 7 Feb 2013 17:45
Creaking chipboard floorboards - freman

Sprinkle talcum powder over all joints..

Simple.

Our 180 year old floorboards no longer squeak

At 180 years old I dont think they are chipboard

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 26 Feb 2013 14:02
Creaking chipboard floorboards - concrete

Sprinkle talcum powder over all joints..

Simple.

Our 180 year old floorboards no longer squeak

I refer you to my post on 1/2/13. Floorboards are inherently quieter than chipboards. I am a manager for a construction company and have resolved this problem in the past. Cheers Concrete

Reply | Report as offensive | Link