Screwing down floorboards

[Twilkes]

Having trouble getting a joiner to come and lift and screw down loose floorboards that we have in a few rooms, and as a new carpet is looming (no pun intended) I'm half thinking I should just do it myself. Wanted a joiner in case they saw any joist work that needed doing and just general convenience.

These screws were recommended in a previous thread (no pun intended) http://www.screwfix.com/p/spax-flooring-screws-4-5... does that advice still stand?

When I tried this previously (with some different screws) my drill/screwdriver wasn't strong enough to get the screws all the way into the joists - what kind of power should I be looking for? Or will the spax screws drive through much easier?

And how much should I be bothered about taking a board up before screwing it down? I'm not that fussed about perfectly flat, I just don't want them to move and make noise. Equally, I don't want to screw them down and lay the carpets, only for them to come loose again.

Standard 1930s joist/floorboard combination, if it makes any difference.

[thebraketester]

Buy an 18v impact driver.

[Bristol spark]

I wouldn't go whacking screws in without seeing whats below......

Water/gas pipes are usually notched through the joists directly below the boards.

[tim0409]

I'm in the middle of flooring at the moment and those Spax screws are superb.

[Twilkes]

Bristol spark said:

I wouldn't go whacking screws in without seeing whats below......
Water/gas pipes are usually notched through the joists directly below the boards.

Even right next to existing screws/nails?

I've lifted a few before so have a pretty good idea about where the pipes/cables are, but don't particularly want to be lifting up all the boards and relaying them.

[anonymous-user]

I pulled the old (crap) nails out, and screwed new Spax screws into the same holes. Also brushed talcum powder into all the gaps to reduce the noise.

Some of them were hard to get out, but felt a lot more comfortable doing this than risking hitting anything.

[Gav147]

Twilkes said:

Even right next to existing screws/nails?

I've lifted a few before so have a pretty good idea about where the pipes/cables are, but don't particularly want to be lifting up all the boards and relaying them.

Yes, I have seen many times when some has been very lucky and put a screw right next to a pipe/cable etc just pure luck they have missed it. It may be a pain lifting each one first but not as much of a pain as putting a screw straight through a water/gas pipe.

[Stoatman]

I replaced a few screws in existing , but missing screws, holes.

I soon learned why they were now redundant holes , as water dropped through my ceiling .

[Etretat]

Stoatman said:

as water dropped through my ceiling .

Perhap this is why you can't get a joiner to do it, they don't think the job is worth the potential aggro

[C0ffin D0dger]

tim0409 said:

I'm in the middle of flooring at the moment and those Spax screws are superb.

Another vote for these, used loads throughout the top floor of my house due to fairly old and knackered floor boards. As others have said though, you need a good idea of what is going on underneath first. When I did this I first lifted a sufficient number of floor boards so that I knew where all the water pipes and cables were. After screwing down all the existing boards this was followed by over boarding with 6mm plywood screwed down on 20 - 30cm centres. Smooth and squeak free after that. Lot of effort but well worth it.

[Chris Type R]

C0ffin D0dger said:

Another vote for these, used loads throughout the top floor of my house due to fairly old and knackered floor boards.

I'm also a Spax fan. I've used a few tubs of the stainless decking screws which also work well for floorboards. The head hides very well - these http://www.screwfix.com/p/spax-cylindrical-head-de...

I'll also echo the comments above, tread carefully when screwing boards down. If you can, lift them first and something which might prove useful in the future is to take photos while the boards are up, so that you know what runs where.

[nyt]

Chris Type R said:

something which might prove useful in the future is to take photos while the boards are up, so that you know what runs where.

Or paint the route of any pipes/electrics onto the floorboards

[Twilkes]

I think it's more that it's a small job and if they get something bigger they'll drop it (with a day's notice, which I had yesterday).

Like I said, I'd be happy screwing the boards down (will check underneath, point noted) but I wouldn't be able to notice any warping/deterioration in the joists if there was any, which is why I wanted a joiner to do it.

But having said that the number of times I've got a tradesperson in and they've ended up doing a less than perfect job anyway....

[skinnyman]

I did this on the whole first floor when we moved in, circa 1000 screws.
Get a Bosch pipe/stud detector thing to figure out where the pipes run, and if putting the screws in next to existing nails then where possible do them outside of the nails rather than inside, so closer to the edges of the joists. Also, my 18V driver still struggled, so I drilled 3mm pilot holes everywhere before the screws, much easier.

[Wozy68]

Twilkes said:

but I wouldn't be able to notice any warping/deterioration in the joists if there was any, which is why I wanted a joiner to do it.

But having said that the number of times I've got a tradesperson in and they've ended up doing a less than perfect job anyway....

The only thing a joiner would do then is pack out the floor. He wouldn't repair/replace joists, as that's a biggo job.

Are there not screw holes in the boards already there that you can just re-use?

[Twilkes]

Wozy68 said:

The only thing a joiner would do then is pack out the floor. He wouldn't repair/replace joists, as that's a biggo job.

I was thinking more of bracing/noggins, but yeah think I'll just go for it.