I want to fix some squeaky floorboards myself in a long (10' x 3') hallway. I'm nervous however, about pulling up the carpet as I would have to put it back. If it was the corner of a room, no problem. But how do I go about pulling up such a long stretch? I assume the carpet joins are under doorways and maybe near the top of the stairs. Is rejoining it easy?
Thanks.
Refitting the carpet is not terribly easy. You'll need some specialist tools -- a kicker/stretcher at least and maybe an iron for the seams (depending on how you do them). Re-seaming worn (i.e. not new) carpet tends not to work very well because the pile has likely been flattened.
I have some squeaky floorboards that need fixing but I'm going to live with the squeaks for another year or two until I replace those floor coverings (and I worked as a carpet fitter in a previous life).
If your carpet is near the end of its life, you might want to wait until you replace it. If the carpet is relatively new and you want to fix the squeaks now, you might want to get some professional help with putting the carpet back and having it look at good as possible.
What's your plan of attack once you pull up the carpet? If you are just going to pound some finish nails down thru the floor to try and quiet the squeak, you can probably do that pretty safely right thru the carpet. Stop hammering with the nail where you can still get at it and use a nail set to drive it the rest of the way thru the carpet, pad, and set it slightlybelow the surface of the floor.
Home Depot/ Lowes sell special screws for this. Has two heads. You screw it down so one head goes below carpet then you break off top head and shank. No removal of carpet needed. I have not tried it.
If you use finishing nails, probably shoudl use two, at opposite angles from vertical. If you use just one, the wood will slide up and down the nail, but at different angles the wood can't move at all,.
There are products to screw down floor boards under carpets. All without removing them.
tom @
This is great info. Thanks!
In the event you can't fix it now, heck feature it: it makes for a nice audible intrusion detection or "kid sneaking out of the house" alarm.
Best Regards,
-- Todd H.
Get these special screws and installation tool.
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