Q-Our bedroom floor is made of strip-oak flooring and is covered with carpet. Recently, the floor has started to squeak in a couple of places every time someone walks across it. Since our room is on the second story, we can’t get at the floor from below. Is there any way to get rid of the noise by working from above?
A-First, you’ll have to roll up the carpeting so the wood flooring is exposed. Walk around and mark the spots where the floor squeaks when stepped on. Squeaking is caused by loose boards that move up and down so that the edges rub against each other when the boards are stepped on.
To cure this, the boards should be permanently nailed down. Drive in the nails at opposing angles so they go through the subflooring and into the joists, if possible.
To avoid splitting the flooring, drill small pilot holes for each nail before driving it in.
Q-The vent pipe for our septic system works fine until there’s a northeast wind. Then the house fills with a terrible odor.
The first plumber we called in added two feet to the height of the vent pipe to make it higher than a nearby dormer, but this didn’t work. The second plumber claims there must be a crack in the cast-iron pipe that allows a downdraft to blow odors into the house. What do you think?
A-I assume you’re talking about the main vent stack that goes up through the roof of the house. This should stick up higher than any structure that’s within about 10 feet of it.
It could also be a cracked vent pipe, or a faulty fitting or joint somewhere in the waste vent system, which is allowing odors to seep out.
It could even be a partial obstruction at some point in the system. Call an experienced plumber to locate and repair the problem.
Q-The previous owner of the house we recently purchased had a cat he kept in a small area of the basement under the vestibule stairs.
He left a box with kitty litter there all the time, and now a strong odor is coming up through the flooring and into the vestibule.
We’ve tried various deodorizers, including baking soda, but all to no avail. The odor seems to be in the wood itself. Can you suggest anything?
A-If plenty of ventilation and steady use of baking soda or other deodorizers doesn’t work, then it’s possible that the odor is actually in the exposed wood.
It could also be in any nearby carpet or other porous material that may have absorbed the odor, or that may have been frequently wet with cat urine.
If it’s in the wood, you may be able to seal in the odor by coating all exposed wood with shellac or with a glossy oil-based paint.
If it’s in any carpet, tile or other material, the material may have to be replaced.
