Carpeted floors can add beauty, warmth and comfort to your home, but a squeaking carpeted floor may indicate a serious problem. Not only is a squeaking floor annoying to live with, it can also significantly affect the value of the house. This is especially troublesome if you are planning to put your house on the market or have recently bought your home and found it to have defective carpeted flooring. There are several solutions you can do to fix your carpeted floor problem, but you have to identify the cause behind it first. Here, are several possible causes of squeaking carpeted floors.
Shrunken Floorboards
Several factors can cause floorboards to shrink. If the wooden boards had not been dried sufficiently before they were installed, shrinkage could occur. Floorboards can also shrink when they are not properly seasoned. When floorboards shrink, the boards can easily come lose and go out of place when someone walks on the carpeted floor or whenever pressure is applied. The movement of the boards rubbing against each other can cause the squeaking noise.
The Floors are Cramped Improperly
The cramping process for floorboards is ideal for wooden floors. The process also helps make sure that the wooden joints are tight and will not easily move. Unfortunately, there are some cases where the floorboards are not cramped tightly or are not cramped in the proper way. This causes the boards to move and rub against each other and produce the squeaking noise.
Floorboards are too Dry when Installed
When wooden boards are too dry, there is a possibility that they will accumulate and retain some of the moisture from the air or its surrounding areas. When this happens, the floorboards could expand and later spring up from their place. The squeaking noise occurs when the boards spring up. This is quite difficult to repair as it could involve removing the carpet and floorboards and relaying them again.
Wooden Floor Moves Away from the Subfloor
The common way of installing hardwood floors is to nail the wooden floorboards onto a plywood subfloor. The joists or support beams hold the subfloor. The nails that fasten the floorboards to the subfloor can come loose over time or the subfloor itself can warp. This can cause the wooden floor to move away from the subfloor and consequently become squeaky.
Gaps in the Floor or in Between the Joists
It could also be possible that there is a gap or space in between the subfloor and the joists. The gaps can cause the floorboards to wobble or rub against each other. This will then result in squeaking sounds.
Bearers Are Not Properly Supported
The piers of the house need to be able to give ample support to the bearers. Weak support can cause gaps and extra spaces to occur in the bearers which can later cause floorboards to squeak when they move against each other.
The problem of squeaking carpeted floors can be solved more easily and effectively once you have identified the cause behind it.
Source: www.DoItYourself.com
