Hardwood Floors February/March 2019

AT THE SITE Squeaking, Popping, And Crunching (Continued)

accommodate the exact thickness of engineered flooring product. In that instance, a nailer or stapler will not drive the flooring fastener at the proper angle through the nail pocket and into the subfloor. That incorrect angle can be the cause of blow-out on the underside of the floorboard and lead to squeaking, popping, or crunching. A few minutes spent properly adjusting your nailer is a fairly cheap premium for call-back insurance.”

fasteners, and often accompanying cracked tongues.

Some manufacturers promote nailing directly through these acoustical underlayment materials as an appropriate installation method. This is not an appropriate installation method. The transmission of sound becomes compromised as soon as any fastener penetrates the acoustical underlayment material, resulting in a useless sound control system. Not only is the acoustical membrane compromised, but also several other noises are then produced fromwithin the system. Here are some reasons this method is a common cause for squeaking, popping, and crunching sounds: • None of these materials are designed to hold a fastener. The fastener withdrawal resistance becomes greatly diminished and will result in a loose flooring system. The thickness of these pads also minimizes the actual subfloor fastener penetration. The density of these underlayments will compress when a fastener is driven through, driving the flooring tight to the substrate. This forces the flooring out of a flat pane and results in vertical movement within the flooring system. The creation of pivot points/ anchors within the flooring system. • • •

When the tank is depleted of air, the compressor cannot deliver enough air to the nailer, resulting in underdriven fasteners. This causes staples or cleats that are not fully seated into the tongue of the flooring product. When either of these occurs sporadically throughout the installation of the flooring system, it is not uncommon to hear crackling and popping from the improperly driven fasteners. When using trigger-activated flooring nailers (where it is common to use the gun while out in front of the floor being installed, rather than standing on top of the floor), it is common for flooring installers to use the pneumatic pressure of the gun to draw the boards tightly together, rather than use a mallet or tapping block. This action, accompanied by limited to no downward pressure being applied to the plank, can result in blow-out. Tyler Powell from Powernail adds, “Many times, installers will not properly adjust their tool to TRIGGER-ACTIVATED FLOORING NAILERS

Anytime the floor is not driven tightly together or tightly to the subfloor, it may result in a noisy floor after the entire unit has been installed. INSTALLATION METHODS OVER ACOUSTICAL UNDERLAYMENT MATERIAL A relatively new cause for noisy floors is related to installation methods over acoustical underlayment material. Acoustical underlayment materials commonly used under wood flooring systems include cork, foam, rubber, and many recycled cellulose fiber pads. Proper installation methods over these underlayment materials may include floating, glue-down, or nail-down over a floated wood subfloor.

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