Subfloor Screws Through Carpet

Snap the head of the screw off.

Subfloor screws through carpet.

If the plywood subfloor you re placing is 5 8 of an inch thick you need a screw about 1 5 8 inches long. You can t see or feel where the screw went through the carpet. Use 2 inch trim screws with undersize heads that will penetrate the carpet backing and sink into the subfloor. Use a heavy duty drill to drive phillips head wood screws through the subfloor into the floor joists.

If the bit penetrates down more than 1 inch and begins to spin freely you ve missed the joist. Drilling through carpeted floors can present a few challenges including unraveling the carpet and stalling the drill. Stops floor squeaks on carpeted and hardwood floors. Lower the piece of subfloor you just cut into the opening screwing it into the joists below.

So if your subfloor is 3 4 of an inch thick any screw about 1 3 4 inches long will do the trick. This is also a good time to screw as much of the original subfloor down as you can. Drive the screws approximately 8 inches apart. Move the bit to the left or right.

You ll want the screw to go about an inch past the plywood into the joist or underlying layer beneath it. 3 chuck the joist finding screw into the drill driver. Drill straight down through the carpet with the joist finding bit. 2 tap the carpeted floor with the hammer and listen for dull thud indicating a joist below.

Drive screws into the subfloor from above if there is no access underneath it. 1 use a hammer to locate a floor joist within the squeaky section of floor. Here s a tip that doesn t require any special tools. A thicker subfloor takes a 3 inch screw.

The way it works is you can use the tool and screw the screws in and then with the tool snap the head off just below the surface of the sub floor so it doesn t poke thru the carpeting or interfere with laying down vinyl or tile etc.