Squeak No More Hardwood Floor Adapter, Eliminates Squeak In Hardwood Floors.
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Works Well On Hardwood with Solid Subfloors Comment: I own a house with hardwood floors and I've been obsessively fixing all the squeaks I find for the past 9 months.
This knob-break-off product works very well, but only on floors where the subfloor is in good condition. If your subfloor is in poor condiation (e.g. it has water damage), you may get what I call a 'dry hole'--where the screw goes in, but because the subfloor is in poor condition, the screw can't 'grab' enough, and will just spin instead of breaking off. If this happens, you have to back the screw off, then try again nearby.
But, I did find a solution for the dry-hole problem. Squeak No More also sells a under-carpet tripod device that limits the depth that the screw goes in, then allows you to break it off.
I would try the screw with the conventional break-off knobby device, and if I hit a dry-hole, I would back the screw out, then re-screw the screw in with the carpet device and break it off. This worked almost every time.
Additional tips:
When drilling the pilot hole in hardwood, only drill down through the hardwood--not the subfloor. The screw grabs better that way.
If you've got a lot of squeeks to fix, two drills will help alot (one for drilling, one for screwing).
Perform your squeak fixes before you sand--the screws can pull the floor down and it will be uneven next to the adjacent floor boards.
Some vendors sell 250 and 500 screws in a box--but the price may be cheaper for two 250s.
The carpet and hardwood screws are exactly the same.
The tripod device can dent the floor if you push down too hard.
Filling the holes can require multiple application of filler as the filler can shrink/sink.
