Trying to fix a squeaky floorboard turned into a three week project in my rental

I live in an old house built in the 40s here in Portland. That squeak near the hallway was just annoying at first but then it got worse. I figured I could just screw the board down from the top and patch the hole. Three screw strips later and a whole can of wood filler later I finally gave up and called a handyman. He found the real problem was a loose joist under the subfloor that took a whole afternoon to fix. Has anyone else had a simple home fix snowball into something bigger?

2 comments

2 Comments

alex30719d ago

Three screw strips and a whole can of wood filler later, I'm pretty sure you accidentally built a new floor instead of fixing the one you had. Classic rental life, you try to silence one creak and end up with a whole new joist.

brianl5319d ago

...and that's exactly why I tell people to check the joists before they start messing with the floorboards themselves. I went through something similar in my place, thought a squeak was just loose nail, ended up finding a whole section of subfloor that was rotten from a window leak. Had to tear out a four foot section and sister in new blocking. My rule now is if a couple screws don't fix it, I stop and look underneath before I make things worse. That loose joist you had, I've seen those hidden by carpet or paint for years before they finally let go.