Hi Dmitry,

Thanks for writing to us. To provide a helpful answer, could you please advise on the following details:

• What is the type of flooring installed - engineered flooring? or solid wood flooring?
• If solid, was it nailed down over wooden subfloors or was it glued - where was the glue placed (t&g, bottom)?
• If engineered, do you know the thickness of the product in mm, or would you know if it was a tongue & groove board or click system?
• If engineered, were any nails used on fitting?
• What is the subfloor - floorboards, chipboard panels, plywood, concrete?

You may not know all these details, but they will give us the answer to your question, so the more we know the better.

Thanks.

The floor is solid wood. It was glued (not nailed down).
The subfloor is either floorboards or chipboard panels (but most probably floorboards).

Many thanks. Dmitry.

Hi Dmitry,

Here are some points to consider as a source of the issue.

1. Chipborded Subfloor
   Chipboard tongue & groove panels, which haven't been fixed well to the joists/support are usually the reason for the squeaky noise coming from wooden floors.
    
2. Original Pine Boards
   Not likely to produce squeaking - pine is a soft porous wood, which shrinks with age - not a common source for squeaky issues.
    
3. Solid Wood Floor Installation
   The proper way of installing solid wood over floorboards is by nailing it down. The proper way of installing solid wood over the chipboard is by glueing it down.

If the floors were glued down by the floor fitters, most likely it was done over chipboard and as mentioned unsecured chipboard panels are a common source of squeaking noise. Due to the strong bonding between floors & subfloors, removing the floors with such installation would mean relaying or repairing the subfloors and new flooring to be installed.

If the floors were laid by glueing into the tongue & groove by the floor fitters, this would be wrong but would mean the floors can be removed without damaging the subfloor. In this case, some of the existing floors can be preserved and reused on new wood floor installation and the subfloor will be preserved.

Hope that helps.