Customer Reviews

O'Berry 3233 Squeak No More Kit

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This product works as advertised. The only minor problem I had was with finding the studs (but that is more of a user/home error than a product error).

Also, they should really give you fair warning that if used more than 3 times in a row to find a stud, the stud finder will heat up (extremely hot). Mine got so hot on the fourth try that the tip melted off into the stud. This was not that big of an issue because my kit came with two stud finders.

For the remainder of usage, I used a water cup to cool the stud finder in-between guesses.

The last tip I have is to not break the screws off until the squeak has been silenced. If you screw the screw into the floor and the squeak is still there, back the screw back out of the wood and try again (the screws hold up to this abuse until you purposely break them).

Good luck everyone, I also purchased the 250 screw kit so that my parents could also silence their squeaks.

We have some squeaks (groans really) that have developed in the flooring under the wall to wall carpeting in our six month old new house. The builder assured us that nailing and gluing the decking when installing would prevent sqeaking. He sent his skilled carpenter by to quiet the squeaks. He was somewhat successful with shims from below or finishing nails through the carpet from above, but gave up in frustration on one particularly annoying spot. He had not heard of Squeeeeek No More (as featured on *This Old House*). I bought it and was able to stop the groan in front of one of our bedroom closets in an hour using four screws and a bit of trial and error plus luck and carefully following the directions. I chalked this up to the learning curve, but saved the next squeak to quiet another day. The next one was resolved with the SNM system in about 5 minutes. Was I more skillful or just luckier? The third one (the one the carpenter gave up on) I also fixed quickly. This was too good to be true. Then I tried it on a fourth place and eventually gave up. The squeak persisted no matter how many screws or how carefully placed. When it works, it is great, simple, effective. When it doesn't work right away, it it can lead to frustration and requires patience and resolve. Better leave it and come back another time when rested. I wondered why they don't just screw down the flooring in the first place, but decided it was probably too expensive both in material cost and, particularly, labor costs. A man using a power nailer can stitch a floor seam at sewing machine speed, but screwing the floor down would be a whole lot slower. This product works well, but it does not perform miracles every time. There is art to the science. I considered gifting the kit to my carpenter and letting him do the work, since the house is still under warranty; but I wanted to try it myself first.

What an ingenious tool! The hardest part of the job was to locate the floor joist. Once we found it, things went very quickly. Our white pile carpet shows no signs of disturbance, and the very annoying squeak is completely gone. We discovered that, if you do miss the joist, the screw can very easily be removed and relocated. We wish we had found this unique tool 7 years ago.

This product works reasonably well for silencing squeaky floors. I used it specifically through carpet to repair plywood flooring over joists on a second floor. While this method definitely has its drawbacks, I believe that it's the best option available aside from rolling back carpet.

Some important facts to be aware of:

- For light-colored carpet, the joist finder (long screw that you attach to your drill) may leave dark marks on the carpet. These were easily cleaned with carpet cleaner but were nevertheless unexpected.

- The joist finder lasts for only 100-150 tests. The kit includes two joist finders so if you're working with a large area, purchase two kits.

- The joist finder gets extremely hot and will cause burns if not handled properly.

- If possible, use an electronic Deep Scan stud finder rather than the joist finder. It'll save you lots of extra work.

- 100 screws will fix 4-5 squeak spots on your floor. Purchase more screws than you think you'll need.

- Plan on spending 30-45 minutes per squeak. Most of your time will be spent on searching for joints and figuring out how to patter the screws. Some carpet cleaning may be required for lighter-colored carpet.

- Some of the screws may not sink deep enough and will stick up through the carpet. Make sure to sink the screws heads to the maximum allowable by the tool/template.

- The tool/template is plastic, not metal as it appears in the product image.

- If you have berber carpet, be prepared for some damage.


For $16, this product is well worth the money. Just be cautious with the joist finder to prevent carpet damage or burns.

I was a doubting Thomas, but I purchased the Sqeeeeek No More kit and gave it a shot. The product did exactly what it was supposed to. It tightened the plywood floor to the joists below and stopped the squeak. The screws broke off exactly where they were supposed to and disappeared below the rug without leaving a sharp point sticking up to be stepped on. Depending on the area that needs to be silenced, you will probably have to use multiple screws. I used as many as five screws in a two foot area. The only problem I had was not with the screws or the tool itself, it was locating the first joist in the room... it took several attempts, but that's expected if you have no idea where the first one is. You'll need a power drill (or battery operated) for this project. Bottom line: I don't know how the product could be better, unless of course it included more screws and a spare joist locator screw.

Works very well. I had a very squeaky bedroom and hallway floor. It has always been a big irritation since we bought the house 5 years ago. I saw this product on DIY network and thought I would give it a try.

Our floor was VERY squeaky so I thought that if it even worked a little bit it would be good. Once we were finished, it pretty much completely removed all the squeaks. Occasionally, you will hear very small squeaks when you walk across the floor but nothing compared to what it was. Most of the time now you don't hear squeaks at all.

The biggest hassle is finding the floor joists. Luckily our bedroom is above the laundry room which is not finished. So, I can see the floor joists. So, that made it much easier.

However, we did have to try a few times to hit the joist and a few times we got off and started missing the joist again. The bigger challenge was in the hall where I cannot see the joists at all. I used the heater vent to approximate where the 1st joist was. Then measured 16 inches from there. I still used the joist finder to verify I was on track as I went along.

HELPFUL TIP: We would put one screw in then locate the same joist on the opposite side of the room. Then we used fishing line and tied it to each screw. From there I just followed the fishing line to line up each screw. I put one in every 4 inches. This sped up the process quite a bit.

I also completely covered the area with screws every 4 inches. Once we broke of the ends of the screws, there was no sign that anything had been done at all.

Another tip: buy a couple of extra packs of screws. 50 screws come with the kit and that was about enough for about a 6' X 4' area. You don't want to get the screws in then realize you need more. Because you have all the ends sticking out of the floor and you either need to break them off and start over after you get the additional screws or leave them in until you can get more. Either way it is a pain so buy more screws then you think you need!

First, a few tips/thoughts no usage:

* An adjustable-torque drill is a critical. I was using one on "10" out of 20, and successfully drove in over 40 screws before I made a huge mistake. One screw hit some resistance, so I instinctively turned up the torque to drive it home, only to immediately snap off the top of the screw. Whereas every other screw's head had broken off cleanly way below the carpet pad, this one stuck up above the carpet and was a major hazard. Thankfully, it was easily removed with a massive pair of vice grips by aligning them with the shaft of the screw, clamping down on it, and slowly twisting. After adjusting the torque back down, I had no further problems. This makes me suspect that using an old-style drill without the adjustment would be a recipe for disaster!

* You may or may not find the joist finder useful. In my case, the bit gripped 2+ inches into the floor no matter where I drilled, yet the spots measured from the floor vents following the directions were the ones that made the difference. In other words, the joist finder would have you believe I live atop one giant joist. Sadly, a quality stud finder was of no help either, so have a measuring tape handy!

* Using scotch tape really does keep the screws from getting stuck in the carpeting. I was worried that the scotch tape would be left sticking out of the carpet after removing the screw, but found it removed very cleanly if, after snapping off the top of the screw with the supplied tool, the tool was rotated as it was slowly pulled away from the floor.

Now, a normal review:
After moving into a top-story carpeted apartment, I soon found that several of the most high-traffic areas gave out squeaks that were like nails on a chalkboard. As a renter, I didn't want to invest heavily in renovating the place, but this kit was cheap enough that I decided to give it a try. I'm glad that I did!

The kit comes with 50 screws, which may or may not go far. Interestingly, where the screws worked most effectively were on spots in the middle of rooms. There was one room that was so squeaky that everyone avoided it, and it was completely silenced with a half-dozen screws! I had similar success with different squeaky spot in the corner of another room only a few feet from the walls using about a dozen screws. For what it's worth, it took about a minute to tape a screw, align it, drive it in, and remove its head.

Where this approach seemed to fall short was for squeaks emitted near walls. In both instances when I tried to quiet such squeaks, using 15+ screws did little, if anything. I blanketed the areas in screws so I have no doubt I hit at least some joists, and I also had an assistant help weigh down the floorboards, yet I still didn't have much luck.

Overall, I was very pleased with the kit. It didn't do much for the near-wall squeaks, but I truly doubt that anything short of ripping up the flooring would be effective for them. Furthermore, those spots are easy enough to avoid stepping on, whereas the huge problematic areas in the middle or rooms that the kit did fix were unavoidable, so I'm giving it five stars. The approach isn't perfect, but the kit's shortcomings aren't the result of poor design or manufacture, so I'm very pleased overall. Hope this helps!

This product does a good job quieting squeaks caused by loose nails at the floor joists. It won't stop wood-to-wood squeaks between two floorboards not located at a joist, but it was not designed to do that. Easy to use if you're moderately handy. The joist locator screw is a nice feature. I had one screw break off above the scored area so had to pound it into the floor with a hammer and punch. And two screws broke off while I was driving them in - removed them with vice grips. But 98% of the time it works as advertised. Now I can walk around late at night without waking the baby!

Hey, here are the tricks I summarized:

1. Be patient to find the joist;
2. Make sure to get a cup of water ready to cool the bit;
3. Do NOT break the tail too soon - make sure the squeak is gone first;
4. Biggest trick: get some extra weight at the squeaking spot before drive the screw down. The purpose is to TIGHTLY CLOSE the separation between the subfloor and the joist before the crew is drived. The screw can HOLD them together, but it is hard for it to CLOSE the separation. This is VERY important. Get two more family members standing close to the spot. (Don't blame me if some big sizers give up dieting once they find they can help here:))

Know how, do better.

This product does a good job quieting squeaks caused by loose nails at the floor joists. It won't stop wood-to-wood squeaks between two floorboards not located at a joist, but it was not designed to do that. Easy to use if you're moderately handy. The joist locator screw is a nice feature. I had one screw break off above the scored area so had to pound it into the floor with a hammer and punch. And two screws broke off while I was driving them in - removed them with vice grips. But 98% of the time it works as advertised. Now I can walk around late at night without waking the baby!