Elimination of squeaks and minor damages in the floor

For the manufacture of floors, time-tested designs, modern materials and installation methods are used. Thanks to the possibility of using ready-made elements and structures, the process of installation and repair of floors of any kind is greatly facilitated: parquet, covered with tiles or soft carpet..

Professional rental tools can help you complete difficult jobs such as laying new concrete slabs, carpeted floors or making stairs. Synthetic adhesives, floor varnishes and special additives for concrete allow you to repair the floor not only for a professional, but also for anyone who even has a little tool.

Perhaps the main modern material for the manufacture of floors is chipboard (chipboard), which are made by hot pressing sawdust with synthetic resins. Robust and virtually non-deformable, these slabs provide a solid foundation for the floor throughout your home, from basement to attic. Placed on concrete, particle boards provide a warm base for subsequent paving; when laid on logs, chipboards provide the same strength as traditional boards, but they are much easier to install. Particleboard, especially in combination with sound-absorbing materials, is an excellent base for laying both hard tiles and soft floor coverings and allows you to obtain an economical and soundproof floor.

If you need a new staircase, you can order a ready-made traditional staircase, or a spiral staircase that saves space in your home, or a folding staircase for an attic or basement that can be installed in a few hours. You can make a ladder yourself, using a milling machine to cut grooves for steps. A milling machine, as well as various other tools for repairing and making floors, can be rented. A portable concrete mixer, for example, will save you many hours of hard labor; a special device is very useful for stretching the carpet; and with the help of adjustable jack stands, you can repair serious damage to house structures that previously could only be repaired by professionals.

Any floor, from basement to attic, sometimes needs renovation. The floors are integral with the structure of the house, and natural shifts of this structure lead to mechanical stresses in them. Other enemies of floors are moisture, violation of operating rules and age. Regardless of the cause of the damage, the floor can be repaired. Sometimes major repairs are needed, such as installing beams under a sagging floor, in which case you need help. However, in most cases you will be able to handle the repair yourself if you only stock up on the necessary materials and familiarize yourself with some professional secrets. Often all that is required is a nail or wedge driven in the right place. You can replace or tighten a worn or loose plank, or sand down darkened or stained wood and then re-coat the floor with a polyurethane varnish that will never lose its transparency. New adhesives make it easier to cover floors with elastic materials, and new mastics make it much easier to apply coatings to concrete floors..

Quick elimination of squeaks and minor damage

Although the wood most commonly used for flooring is a fairly durable material, it can crack, stain, or char. The fastening of the boards can weaken over time, as a result, they begin to creak and sag. Fortunately, all of these problems are fairly easy to fix. Cracks can be putty, stains and charred spots can be cleaned, and loose boards can be nailed.

If the boards are seriously damaged, you can replace them so that no traces of repair will be visible. Most often boards that are poorly attached to logs or floor beams creak. If the floorboards are serving as the unfinished ceiling in the basement, you can ask someone to walk on the floor while you watch the boards move against the beams. Squeaking can be eliminated by using wooden wedges that are inserted into the gaps between beams and planks. Where there is no access to the floor from below, attach the boards to the logs from above. Grooved boards can also dry out and crack; use countersunk screws to secure these boards to the floor. If the boards were nailed to the floor so that the nails are not visible and, therefore, it is impossible to determine the position of the log, you will have to lift the boards to find the logs.

Squeaking can be caused by the friction of the boards against each other. Ask someone to walk over the creaking place, watch the boards play, and try to determine the cause of the creak. If you are not going to lay the flooring, first try to eliminate the squeak so as not to spoil the surface of the boards: pour graphite powder, talcum powder into the crack, or drive wooden wedges into the gap between the boards. If that doesn’t work, attach the boards with countersunk screws.

Planks often crack due to changes in humidity and temperature, which cause the boards to dry unevenly. Such cracks can be repaired with thin wood planks or with a paste made from sawdust and paint or varnish used to finish the floor. Sawdust can be taken somewhere in an inconspicuous corner of the floor, for example, in the corner of a built-in closet. Mix 4 parts sawdust with 1 part paint or varnish until a thick paste is obtained, and then cover the crack with this paste. Surface imperfections such as spots and charred spots can be removed by sanding if the damage is not too deep. To determine the depth of damage, run the cycles along the floor surface in the place of damage. If the defect disappears, the board can be repaired by sanding it. If not, the board will have to be removed and replaced with a new one..

When replacing a board, check the condition of adjacent boards. Try inserting an awl or screwdriver into the boards, making sure there are no pinhead-sized holes that bark beetles leave. If the wood is soft, like a sponge, or cracks along or across the grain, it may be rotten and you will need to seek professional advice. If the wood is only slightly damaged, the floor can be treated, but if the damage is severe, the boards will have to be replaced. When inspecting the floor, check the condition of the cross-braces between the floor joists. Such connections must be provided if the length of the floor beams exceeds 3.5 m. The floor, which also serves as the basement ceiling, can be reinforced from below; if there is no access from below, you will have to remove the boards and work from above. The cross bars should fit snugly between the beams. The spacing between the beams can vary, so adjust each beam to fit.

Anatomy of a wood floor. Suspended wood flooring consists of two layers: a support base made of parallel wood beams and a flooring made of planks or panels (for example, made from particle boards). Currently, tongue-and-groove boards are most often used for the manufacture of floors, but in old houses there are still floors made of ordinary boards that do not have grooves and ridges. Sometimes boards on such floors were laid diagonally to increase strength. When installing floors on the ground, the floor is laid along wooden logs, which are beams with a section of 100 by 50 mm, installed with a step of 400 mm. The logs are installed on posts on a concrete screed, or, in old houses, on posts and on external walls. When flooring on upper floors, beams should only support the walls. Usually, for such beams, a bar with a section of 200-225 by 50 mm with a span length of up to 3.5 m is used; with a longer span, an additional beam is installed under the beams as an intermediate support. The ends of the beams are embedded in the wall or attached to metal brackets. In the middle of the span, the beams can be secured with additional struts to prevent warping during aging.

Eliminate squeaks

Wedging boards from below. To prevent the boards from moving, carefully hammer a wooden wedge between the joists and the loosely attached board. Do not lift the planks as they may be higher than the rest of the floor..

Wedging boards from above. To prevent the boards from rubbing against each other, hammer wooden wedges into the gap between the boards. To drive the wedges, use a hammer and a hammer or a piece of metal bar. Drive wedges every 150 mm until squeaks are eliminated.

Securing boards from above. Drill a couple of auxiliary holes in the creaky boards above each beam and attach the boards with # 8 screws, 37mm long. Drill the holes at an angle to each other to firmly attach the board to the beams. Putty and sand the screw heads after the putty has dried.

Reinforcement of beams

Installation of spacers. Beat a line across the beams in the middle of the span with chalk. Cut the bars so that they fit exactly into the gap between the beams. The thickness of the bars must match the thickness of the beams, and the height must be equal to or 25 mm less than the height of the beams if you want to leave space for pipes or cables under the floor. Moving across the room, set the bars alternately on both sides of the broken line and attach each of them from the end with two 100mm nails. If the block is against the wall, attach it on one side only.