Creaking floor patch

[redstickbill]

In my 07 Dynasty I have replaced a section of flooring that was damaged due to a slide seal leak, while waiting for the time to complete the project and replace some of the tile, the floor makes a creaking noise when walked upon. How do I eliminate the creaking before re-laying the tile ?

Thank you in advance,

Bill B 07 Dynasty

[jacwjames]

Did you replace the subfloor? 

The creaking is the subfloor flexing.  Is the subfloor solid or does it sound drummy?

I notice my floor starting to flex, kept getting worse and I finally had to dive in a repair.  Once I removed the laminate flooring I could see the extent of the damage.  The subfloor was particle type plywood, and it crumbled in my hand.  Ended having to cut out a ~4X6' section to get to good wood. 

 

[redstickbill]

James,

Subfloor was replaced, guess I didn't replace enough, guess it needs more replaced. Darn, and I thought I was close to finishing the project.

Bill B

[jacwjames]

How did you fasten the portion of the subfloor you replaced down??

I used selftapping metal screws to fasten down the portion I replaced.   Measured and marked a line then screwed into the metal cross members on a fairly close spacing.

[6Wheels]

In residential construction, underlayment is screwed to the subfloor every 4 in.  Do you have 2 layers under the tile?

If you want squeaky proof use adhesive.

[jacwjames]

1 hour ago, 6Wheels said:

In residential construction, underlayment is screwed to the subfloor every 4 in.  Do you have 2 layers under the tile?

If you want squeaky proof use adhesive.

Monaco installed 2 layers of ~5/8" flooring, no adhesive, they fastened to the metal tubing that is spaced ~16"(from memory).   When it got wet it basically just crumbled.   I cut out the bad section until I got to good.

So there is nothing to screw to between the tubing.  The subfloor they used was not water proof, they do use a vapor type barrier that is glued to the bottom but in front of the coach where there was no basement storage the bottom is exposed to the open road.  Imagine driving in heavy rain and standing water on the road and the front wheels spraying water up underneath the rig.  I am amazed the more people don't have problems.

When I repaired I tried to salvage the vapor barrier, trying no to cut or puncture it, but there were some penetrations.  I used 3/4" treated plywood painted with an exterior primer for the first layer.  Made sure it fit.  I then spread a liberal amount of liquid nail on the bottom side, quickly dropped it in place and put some screws in it to hold it down, and then went underneath with a roller and used it to push the vapor barrier into the adhesive as best I could.  

For the second layer I used a piece of very dense exterior siding, it was ~3/8" thick so the two layers were the same thickness as the original floor. 

When I was done I got some cans of the Black Flex seal spray and covered the area that I had repaired underneath hoping it would seal any openings in the vapor barrier. 

[6Wheels]

Sounds structurally sound.  If you choose to use 1" construction screws to keep the squeaking down, try dipping them in epoxy before installation.  This will help keep any moisture from getting in and keep the screw from backing out. 

Wouldn't it be nice if coach makers would use better subflooring to eliminate these repairs?  I would gladly trade the marble and tile (and grout, weight) for luxury vinyl tile with a good base.  

[jacwjames]

I toured the Oregon Monaco factory in 2009, at that time they said they were using a one piece subfloor that you could submerge in water and it wouldn't degrade.  Not sure when they started using it but my 2002 model didn't have that.