I’ve just bought my first home. It was built in the late 30’s and has hard wood floors thoughout the house, some sections are very squeeky. How to fix? Also some of the windows have been painted shut, what is the best way to get them open again?
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Welcome ewan kanobie...
Couple of questions...
What's the build up of your flooring? Mind face nailing? What kind of materials? Subfloor? What are the joists? How far apart? Got access to the underside...
What kind of windows and are you gonna repaint???
Pound a thin - wide bladed knief between the sashes and the mouldings... A 5 in 1 may be too thick.. a 4" DW butter knief would be a better call..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming....
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Thanks for the reply. The floors are fir with oak inlay. All nails have been woodfilled. Sorry I don't know what mind face nailing is. The subfloor is tounge and groove, the joists are on 16 inch centers, I have access to about half the undersides.
The windows are wood with the prerequisite broken weight ropes.
Get a crowd 1, 2 or 3 people and have them move around on the floor in unison, go underneath and observe if it is the finish floor that's moving or the subfloor or both.... Are the joists moving???
If it's the finish floor only, run deck screws up thru the subfloor into the finish floor.
Both - If you don't "mind face nailing" run 16d casing nails thru both floors into the joists... Fill the holes.. You can use trim head instead of nails here. 50% piolet drill (half the size of the nail shank) the flooring but not the joists....
Joists - time for sistering or shoring...
Don't want to "face nail" - deck screws and then Squeak-Enders from the underside... Don't want to do the easier Squeak-Enders use the more difficult blocking securely fastened to the joists in parrallel and perpendicular a bit low of the subfloor and deck screw thru the blocks in to the flooring. Toe-screwing and PL will work at times too...
Here's an excuse to get yurself a Bosch cordless and a fine collection or tools for yur new home.. You'll even have the chance to use "Piffen Screws and hopefully tell us all about yur experience.. ROAR!!!
At any place you can inject PL Premium into any space or gap before you close it.. Make the gap a little bit larger if you can then inject the PL... Don't waste yur money on liquid nails... Can't find PL, use OSI brand.. Lowes has both...
Get a few windows unstuck and then lets deal with the counter weights...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=41564.1
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=41485.121
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
IMERC was asking if you minded (or had a problem with) "face nailing". Face nailing is where the nail head shows, because it's in the surface of the board (the face) where it can be seen, instead of being concealed like in the tongue of tongue and groove (T&G) where the groove hides the tongue and the nail of the previous board.
Thanks...
He could sortta toenail sortta in the joints... They should be pretty wide and could easily hide a finish nail...
Face nail with wrought nails and call it rustic...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
Edited 9/1/2004 10:05 pm ET by IMERC
Ummm, not to short circuit my bud IMERC, but why did you buy a 75- year-old house if you mind squeeky floors? Kinda comes with the territory, I'd think. Adds character to the house, too, and proves it's a living entity, not just a sterile, composite-based box....
But, since it's apparantly bothering either you or DW, get some cedar shims and drive them in between the joist and the sub-floor under the squeeky areas. Crude, rude, and cheap--but it usually works. You'll need to maintain these in position as the seasons change and the wood swells an shrinks.
On the busted sash weights: pry off the interior casing from both jambs with a 5-in-1 or a Wonder Bar; this should expose the sash weight pocket. You may (probably will) also have to pry off the sash stop--the little bar inside the jamb that acts like a track--so you can swing the sash clear of the jamb and get to the attachment point of the cord. Get some new sash cord and replace the broken one.
To free a stuck sash that's painted shut, run a sharp utility knife along the joint several times to cut through the paint, then wiggle in a wonder bar and pry back and forth a few times.
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
get some cedar shims and drive them in between the joist and the sub-floor under the squeeky areas. Crude, rude, and cheap--but it usually works. You'll need to maintain these in position as the seasons change and the wood swells an shrinks.
PL them and the gap they open...
On the busted sash weights: pry off the interior casing from both jambs with a 5-in-1 or a Wonder Bar; this should expose the sash weight pocket. You may (probably will) also have to pry off the sash stop--the little bar inside the jamb that acts like a track--so you can swing the sash clear of the jamb and get to the attachment point of the cord. Get some new sash cord and replace the broken one.
It's possible he has access doors / covers in a window that old and not need to be so destructive... He's gotta get the window unstuck first....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
"He's gotta get the window unstuck first...."
That could be ten minutes - or a whole day on each, depending...
A hair dryer or heat gun will soften the paint if it's really gobbered on thick
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Bad advice on your part as to the "shimming of the squeeky floors. The only sure way is to screw them down, (either from above or below) to avoid any movement .
My original says glue, nail, screw, blocking or Squeak Enders sir...
PL on the shims covered the what if... Can't watch everybody all the time...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
Jump up to posting #7....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
Thanks guys,
All of the suggestions are good. I would like to stop the sqeeks as I have a tenant in my basment. I wil probably go with screwing up from the subfloor, if that does not work I will go withSqeekenders, if I can find them. As I live in Canada I am not sure if they can be bought here.
Ewan
Dinosaur and Arron Rosenthal are up in Canda... Two good craftsman... They may be able to help you directly...
BTW... The Squeek Enders are if the sub floor is loose from the joists...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
"get some cedar shims and drive them in between the joist and the sub-floor under the squeeky areas. Crude, rude, and cheap--but it usually works. "
I gotta disagree with you on this one. First thing to do is diagnose what is causing the squeeks. If the subfloor is riding up and down on the nails used to fasten it, the shims with some glue will take care of it.
But he has T&G flooring and T&G subfloor. Wood to wood squeeks in the T&G joints are as common as wood to nail squeeks. Also, there could be a possibility that no paper was used between flooring and subflooring - far less likely, but I've seen that cause squeeks too.
So instead of the doc saying take two aspirin and call me in the morning, I think it's more important to figure out what causes the leak and then come up with the solution to take care of it.
On the DH windows - most wood DHG I have seen have an acces panel to get at the weights with no need to dismantle the trim work. some screws remove the stop on the side jamb. Then the first sash will come out ( OK - in) and the parting bead comes out next. About a third of the time, I have to replace these because of weathering, warping and paint. After the parting bead comes out, The top sash is ready to pull into the room too. That is the one that most often gets painted in tight. I use a flexable 1" or 1-1/2" putty knife to slide in and break paint locks. I have cleaned it on my ROS so many times it is nice and thin and fine with rounded over corners. I could slide it between a banker and his money without tearing a stitch.
anyway. When the sashes are out, it is easy to see the access panel in the lower third of the jamb, held by a small screw.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I did say 'usually'....
I don't disagree about doing a real diagnosis before tearing stuff apart or driving lots of Piffin screws, but if the shims don't cure it he'll know pretty quick and for only a few dollars out of pocket and no demolition or nail holes to putty up....
Anyway, I never met a wood floor I liked that didn't have something to say whenever I wallked by....
On the windows, I was describing the ones I have seen, which were mostly in city apartments when I lived in cities back when. Double-hung are pretty rare around here; mostly what we have in this area is either old wooden French windows or modern vinyl crank jobs. No sash weights either way....Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
Piffen said.....
But he has T&G flooring and T&G subfloor. Wood to wood squeeks in the T&G joints are as common as wood to nail squeeks. Also, there could be a possibility that no paper was used between flooring and subflooring - far less likely, but I've seen that cause squeeks too.
Run a 1 by strap or banding (glue and screwed) parrell to joists, centered between them and to the bottom of the T&G sub-floor if this is part of the problem...
The strap could be 1x4 or 6 most anything... WTB 5 ply plywood, or better, would be be a good call...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming....
WOW!!! What a Ride!