What causes floors to squeak?
In general floor squeaks are caused by nails in the floor loosening. The nail is under a great deal of pressure that initially helps to hold the floor to the joist. The problem with the nail is that it has a smooth surface. The smooth portion of the nail allows the floor to move back and forth on it even though it is still under a great deal of pressure. This movement on that high pressure nail generally causes the squeaks.
The screw is a far better fastener. Most homes that have their floors screwed down will never develop floor squeaks, and will never be in need of a squeaky floor fix.
How does the Squeeeeek No More screw pull the floor tight to the joist without using the screw head?
The Squeeeeek No More screw has two different pitches. The first inch of screw thread is at 8 threads per inch. The second inch is at 9 threads per inch. When the screw goes down the second set of threads goes slower through the wood than the first set. This difference in speeds pulls the flooring down just like the head of the screw does.
How do you find the joist from above the floor, in carpeted floors?
You do need to know the direction of your joists. Generally, they go the shortest distance across the home. If your home is shorter from front to back, the joist will go that direction for example. If you were to go the long way the builder would have to have beefed up the joists; that would cost more money. Builders won't spend anymore than they have to so they won't do it.
There are some clues as to the location of the joists. One is the location of your floor vents. The floor vent is between two joists so we can generally find a joist on one side or the other of the vent. Once you find one joist you can measure, 16 inches is the standard, to find the other joists.
We have developed a tool that we include in the squeaky floor repair kit to find the exact location of the joist from above the floor. The tool, the joist finding screw, has 3/8 of an inch of thread with a 4 1/4 inch smooth shaft and a hex head. You place the hex head in you drill and tighten it down. Then drive the Joist Finder down 3 inches. Next reverse your drill. If the Joist finder backs out without your assistance you are at the joist. If the Joist Finder doesn't backout lift the drill as you reverse it. Move the Joist finder over an inch and do this again until the Joist Finder backs up with out any assistance. Once the first joist is found measure to find the other joists across the room.
This is not a time consuming job. You should be able to find the first joist within a few minutes.
What tools in addition to the squeaky floor repair kit do I need to do the job?
For a quick squeaky floor fix, the only other tools you need are a drill, corded or battery will work fine, and a tape measure.
How many screws do I need to do the job?
This is hard to know exactly. One way to make the screws go a long way is to put the screws down into the joist at the spot the floor squeaks. Put about 4 screws in the joist separated by 3 inches but don't break the heads off the screws.
Stand up and see if the squeak is gone. If the squeak is still there back those screws up and move them down the joist until you get the right spot, then break the heads off.
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