Why do my Floors Squeak?
We often receive complaints from clients in regards to their floors creaking. This is often because the Joists are often spaced too far apart, which can result in a reduction in floor stiffness. Over-notching of joists can also lead to a reduction in floor stiffness and also potential squeaking. Although the floors may pass the airborne and impact sound testing, however it won’t stop the squeaking of the floors under the extra load imposed by people walking above.
Other problems may be down to the contractor using 12mm floor boarding instead of 18mm to the top of the joists, again this may allow the boards to move and squeak. It may also be down to the chipboard not sitting level across the joists, this may down to the joists being installed at slightly the wrong level or a joist hanger may have been hit or come loose during the build. If the joist has been built into the wall the bearing could be unsatisfactory. it may be as simple as a missing joist, or cut edge unsupported or an over span on the joists.
- Incorrect bridging of resilient layer by over-long screws/nails
- Fixings connecting ceiling boards to resilient bars should not bridge to joists
- Extra wide joist spacing that reduces floor stiffness
- Platform floor resilient layers damaged by inserting pipes and services within the layers
- Reduction in stiffness due to use of joist hangers
- Ceiling boards not staggered
- Over-notching of joists for services reduces floor stiffness
- Incorrect omission of flanking strips at floor edge perimeters.
In most cases, due to the complexity of acoustical and noise problems along with an overwhelming variety of material designs and combinations due to varying constructions, it is impossible to cover all problems in a short article such as this; however in our experience if the acoustic design is taken into consideration from the offset of the project, then it usually results in compliance with Building Regulations Part E.
If you have a project that requires acoustic design advice and/or sound insulation testing, then please contact us at: info@aptsoundtesting.co.uk or phone me (Darren) on 07775623464.