Buying house - creaking flooring on first floor in UK?
Question:I noticed a number of creaking sounds whilst walking around the first floor of a house I am thinking of buying. Should I be worried, I dont know who to call to check it out. Any help much appreciated
Answers:
Don't worry about it, it will just be the nails used weren't really suitable- about 20 years ago it was common to nail down T&G flooring using 70mm "lost head" nails. What happens with floor decking ( and this can even hapen when round wire nails have been used), is that as you walk across a suspended floor, it flexes. Over a period of time this can work the nails slightly loose, with the resulting creaks you heard. You'll often find also that the worst of the creaks are in doorways or close to walls. This is when the stud partitions were fixed, the joiner didn't fix them down securely enough, so the nails running through the base plate of the stud partition aren't securing it firmly to the floor-this can REALLY produce some worrying creaking sounds. A simple remedy is to remove the skirting from the affected area and drive a wooden wedge under the wall, which will kill the creaking in one easy move.
Bear in mind that if you need to fix the flooring down that there will be pipes and cables below the decking, so be wary!
None of these issues is serious so go ahead with your house offer, and good luck
Hope this helps
Probably just a few loose nails holding floorboards to joists but as always, get a good survey before losing all your hard earned cash.
If you will require a mortage, the lender will insist on a survey in any case.
Were the floors boards or planks? how old the property??
Depending on the age of the house will suggest the reason behind it.Mostly it is just normal,but a survey will show up anything sinister.We live in a bungalow which has creaky floorboards so i just put matchsticks(without the striking head) between them and it worked a treat.
All floorboards can creak espcially if the house is old and has had central heating put in and been rewired. The floors never go back the same after that. Try putting screws instead of nails into the offending boards, this will stop it.
I should buy it if i were you ; someone might have stashed their money under the floorboards !
our first house built just after the Boer war had proper floorboards and i sprinkled talcome powder in the gaps it worked a treat
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