Chipboard floors

[Slider]

Hi

Need to sort out some creaking chipboard floors before having new carpets laid. I think the creak is from the joint (tongue and groove) between two boards. I am thinking about cutting the joint and just filling it with PVA wood glue. Or, I may cut a patch out and refit adding some noggins for support.

To do the cutting (either just the tongue/groove joint or take a section out) I am thinking of buying a Bosch PMF-180 multi-tool. Don't want to cut a hole and use a jigsaw and I am unsure of elec cables / CH pipes etc.

Any thoughts?

[Invisible Man]

I usually fix creaking by putting a few more fixing screws in. Should have done so before our lounge diner carpet was laid. Keeps sounding like I am f**ting as I walk through the double doors between the two rooms.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Although a multi-tool will do the job the blades tend to be expensive. It's cheaper to snap off a jigsaw blade so the maximum cut is only to the thickness of the board to avoid damage to things underneath.

[Slider]

I already have put about a hundred chipboard screws in the floor, it's the actual T&G joint that's causing the creak. Thinking if I break the joint then glue it back up, should cure it.

[Slider]

Did think about that, although it's an excuse to buy a PMF-180!! ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Find a bigger excuse and get the Fein.

[Slider]

Too expensive. Could not justify the cost over the PMF-180.

[Lobster]

My solution to this has been to get some heavy-duty polythene bin bags, and cut them into long strips 2 or 3 inches wide, and then lay these along the chipboard T&G joints before putting the boards down. In fact, for the miniscule extra effort it caused, it was worth laying the strips along the tops of the joists too! So every 'interface' was then protected/'lubricated' by a layer of slippery polythene.

No more creaking, and no problems in future if I want to lift the boards again.

[fictitiousemail]

Or beg,steal or borrow a circ saw adjusted for depth?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It will work but blades for those are expensive if you hit a nail, etc. Jigsaw blades are cheap.

[The Medway Handyman]

Disguise this DIY blunder by actually farting as you walk through the doors.

[The Medway Handyman]

Not forgetting to remove the riving knife if you want to plunge cut.