My floor squeaks. I am planning to pull up the carpet and screw it down. I have heard that using wax on the screw heads is a good idea. Is this true and why? What kind? As well, what kind of spacing of screws is needed and what length of screw is recommended? Thanks for your help.
Answer:
I've never heard of waxing the screws and I don't know what good it would do. My system: Sub-flooring that squeaks and is covered by carpets can often be corrected by probing for joists with a 2.5-inch, spiral, finishing nail. When a joist is found, a nail of the same size is driven in every three inches or so for a couple of feet. That done, probing can continue for joists running parallel to the first one. These are normally 12 to 16 inches on either side and can be nailed in the same fashion as the first. Finishing nail heads will go through carpet and under-pad without damaging either and at the same time, they'll hold quite well.
If you don't like that, you might use 1.75" plywood screws and put them in every 6 to 8 inches int he field and every three inches along the butted edges.
