Floor Squeak Problem SOLVED

We have been putting up with a constant floor squeak problem right outside our bathroom which just happens to be next to the bedroom. The squeak has gotten so bad that even trying not to make it squeak would make it seem to squeak louder. Since it is winter I finally made an appointment to take it to our dealer. They called today and said they had opened everything up and had even removed the linoleum floor and could not get the squeak to stop and wanted to know if I could stop out to discuss a plan of attack. I met with the repair tech and we started to look over the squeak area. What they found prior to my arrival was a tongue and grove joint, which is the area the squeak is coming from, but they advised the joint is not the squeak problem. In our unit the bedroom heat duct is between the bathroom door and bedroom opening. The squeak is coming from inside the heat duct. We discussed cutting up the floor and redoing the aluminum heat duct and trying to insulate the metal from the flooring. The tech decided to try to pry up on the joint to see if we could relieve some pressure on the duct and stop the squeak. The tongue and grove joints are held together with 1 inch metal staples that are 1 inch long, The tech advised this is to keep the joints from separating. Once he pulled around 10 staples I stepped on the flooring and (you guessed it) NO Squeak.

After giving each other the holy cow look, what we have concluded is the staples had penetrated the duct work as well as the aluminum frame members and were squeaking against the aluminum. Once all the staples were removed I could not get the floor to make a sound.

Unfortunately, to find the problem it required the repair tech to remove the toilet and the linoleum. Without doing this the problem never would have been found or repaired. I am sure the linoleum will look good when it is installed they are going to install molding along the walls and vanity to hide the cuts.

While I am a little mad that the cause is a result of workmanship, I am extremely happy with our dealer, Reichart's Camping Center in Hanover Pa.

Glad you got it figured out Rich. Did you have a chance to see how long the staples were? Some of us have learned that, as with nails and screws, one size is not appropriate for every job. Sometmes I get the impression that the assembly crew uses whatever is handy instead of searching for the appropriate item.

TC

Yea, they were about 1 inch long enough to go through the sub floor and into the aluminum

That's kind'a what I thought.

TC

Rich,
When we bought our Cat, it had a big scratch on the bathroom floor. Our dealer replaced the vinyl and used quarter round trim to match the wood - it looks good.

You can find pictures here:
http://www.wildcatcamperforum.com/t4423-vinyl-floor-repair?highlight=vinyl

Tater

Thanks Scruffy and Tater, I am sure they will do the same thing, but I printed some of your pictures, so I can show them how it should look.

Rich

Scruffy & Tater, WOW! Just looked at your 1/4 round molding. Really looks good. I might have to do some of that on our trailer. We have the same color scheme. Very Nice work..