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The lino floor in my 18 month old new house makes a “crackling” sound in certain spots when walked on. The puzzling thing is that it only happens when the floor has not been walked on for a while, and only in the same spots.Immediately walking over these same areas again, the “crackling” sound is gone. However the next day the “crackling” sound from the same areas is back.
My builder had pounded in shims between the pre-engineered joists and the subfloor. This of course did not work as the “crackling” sound is coming from within the floor. Now I have one squeak resulting from these shims. Who knows what damage the other shims will do.
Does anyone know what is causing the “crackling” sound coming from the lino floor?
My builder used 5/8″ O.S.B. subfloor glued and screwed, pre-engineered joists(silent floor System) and 5/16″ lino U-Lay stapled to subfloor.
Is it common practice to use shims between pre-engineered joists and the subfloor?
I thought that pre-engineered joists are supposed to be flat unlike conventional joists.
Any suggestions?
Thank You
Ron
Replies
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Hi Ron,
You may have a failure in the adhesive under the lino with an air bubble.
I've never had a problem that required shimming with TJI's.
*Ron,I'm with Gabe on the adhesive. Call the Installer, then call the manufacture rep for the floor. Shims? On a TJ? Gotta be kidding.
*Ron,Had what you're describing myself. Only on the outside edges of the room. Basically narrowed it down to to lino U-dek (proboard, 1/4" lino subfloor). I glue and staple it with a 1/4" crown stapler every 4" o.c. Apparently I didn't glue close enough to the outside edges, and what you're describing is the proboard moving up and down along the staple legs. After walking on it a few times it went away. If it persists, I'd use a block of 2x4 in the affected areas and try tapping it down. However you may run the risk of pushing the heads of the staples through the back of the lino, which would be a whole lot worse. If you didn't install the lino subfloor, I'd get ahold of the guy who did.
*Gabe, Mark and Mike: Thanks for your help. What does TJI stand for? The brand name of the pre-engineered joists that were used on my house is "silent floor". My floor is anything but silent. Is it better to remove the shims and if so does the subfloor need to be fixed where the shims were pounded in? I already have two places where these shims have created new squeaks.They were not there before the shims were pounded in. As for the "crackling" sound , I have noticed that the floor moves up and down a little in the areas where the "crackling" sound is coming from.Would this be the lino underlay not fastened properly like you said? Please let me know.Thank YouRon Please let me know.ThanksRon
*"silent floor" isn't a brand name - It's just a buzz phrase that Truss Joist corporation uses to market it's I-joists. "TJI" is an abbreviation for Truss Joist I-joists. I'm with the other guys in think that shimming I-joists is nuts. Something's wrong with this picture.
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The lino floor in my 18 month old new house makes a "crackling" sound in certain spots when walked on. The puzzling thing is that it only happens when the floor has not been walked on for a while, and only in the same spots.Immediately walking over these same areas again, the "crackling" sound is gone. However the next day the "crackling" sound from the same areas is back.
My builder had pounded in shims between the pre-engineered joists and the subfloor. This of course did not work as the "crackling" sound is coming from within the floor. Now I have one squeak resulting from these shims. Who knows what damage the other shims will do.
Does anyone know what is causing the "crackling" sound coming from the lino floor?
My builder used 5/8" O.S.B. subfloor glued and screwed, pre-engineered joists(silent floor System) and 5/16" lino U-Lay stapled to subfloor.
Is it common practice to use shims between pre-engineered joists and the subfloor?
I thought that pre-engineered joists are supposed to be flat unlike conventional joists.
Any suggestions?
Thank You
Ron