[Shop-talk] Stud finder - squeaky floor

[Karl Vacek]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

My main goal was not wanting to destroy the very nice clear fir subfloor by drilling lots of holes into it.  But I guess that’s pretty much just my psychosis – it’s been carpeted since 1951 when the house was gutted, moved, and redesigned inside.  There are loads of nail holes from the tackles strip around the walls besides.  Nobody’s likely to want to use that as a finished floor, and with values here they’d want to use oak or something nicer than fir flooring.  And as I roll the carpet back more than the first 3 feet I see that it’s not really that wonderful anyway.

 

I’d still love to find a stud finder that works on something thicker than ½” drywall, or that doesn’t depend on steel fasteners near the surface.  Seems like with the sort of construction that permits those to work, banging your fist on the wall or using a magnet would be perfectly adequate.

 

I can certainly drill lots of holes (the way I find studs in our plaster and rock lath walls), and I’ll probably use my USB borescope to check out the interior of the joist spaces.  Pat’s suggestion to bang with a hammer to find the hollow areas may help but form that I’m finding apparent spaces that are far wider than I’d expect.  Gotta just drill and look.

 

Thanks to all !!

Karl

 

 

 

From: Pat Horne [mailto:patintexas at icloud.com] 
Sent: Thursday, May 4, 2017 9:45 AM
To: rande at pobox.com
Cc: Karl Vacek; ShopTalk
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Stud finder - squeaky floor

 

That kit will help after you find the squeaky spot but won't he

Pat Horne find it. My understanding is that it is sold as being able to fix the squeak without removing carpet. 

 

Peace, 

Pat

 

We support Caldwell County Habitat for Humanity

 


On May 3, 2017, at 7:50 PM, RandE <rande90 at gmail.com> wrote:

Would something like this work?

 

Squeeeek No More floor repair kit

 

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0006IK8YE/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8 <https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0006IK8YE/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1POTHEPZSLVR0&coliid=I4DNXWG0QHQ3X&psc=1> &colid=1POTHEPZSLVR0&coliid=I4DNXWG0QHQ3X&psc=1

 

 

On Tue, May 2, 2017 at 5:02 PM, Karl Vacek <stearman809 at gmail.com> wrote:

Squeaky floors upstairs – not terrible for an 1871 house (moved, gutted, and rebuilt in 1951), but still it’s the time to address them before we replace the carpet.

 

I’m trying to locate floor joists beneath what I assume is a ¾” subfloor and ¾” of T&G fir flooring on top of that.  I really hate to rip up the nice fir flooring to look, though it’s going to have carpet again so it’s not out of the question.  All rock lath and plaster ceilings (about 1” total) below.

 

With the age of the house, stud and joist spacing is very unpredictable.  It’s not as if I can find one and measure to find the next one with any certainty.

 

I’ve tried stud finders many times before with our construction, and nothing has worked.  For walls I usually just drill tiny holes till I hit wood.  I tried a neighbor’s garden-variety Strait-Line electronic stud finder and it’s not capable.

 

Are there any really strong stud finders on the market today?

 

Or – any other ideas to quiet the floor?  Only a few spots actually squeak – it’s not all over.  I thought about injecting urethane glue (it expands with moisture) if I can find the joists, and then a few screws.  But where are the joists?


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