[tcole321]

Hi, I am a new member here and am a female who likes to try and fix stuff in the house myself, if I can. Otherwise, I call a professional!

My situation is - I have some flooring that is squeaking when you walk on it. I bought the kit, Squeeeek No More to tack it down. I am afraid of drilling through the floor to find the floor joist to tack down the flooring. I did contact the Squeeeek no more company and they said it should not be a problem.

So my question is - How far under the floor, in the crawlspace are the wires for the house supposed to run according to code? Am I safe to try and locate the joist by drilling into the subfloor up to 2 inches with the drill bit. I am afraid I am going to hit an electrical wire or water pipe.

What about on the second story? Are the wires run only in the walls or is it the same code?

Thank you for your help!

[hfcarson]

Consider going down into the crawlspace and finding out how the pipe and wiring
was really installed... A lot of wiring is done without a permit, knowledge, the code or good practices so take a good flashlight, a friend with a construction background and have a good look!

[smoothy]

Don't count on any code to eliminate the possibility of wiring being someplace. It can be and is frequently run under floors (and conversely over ceilings) not just in walls. Think about Ceiling lights, fans and ventilators.

If you have carpeting you can pull back some from the wall to look for nails or screws in the subflooring... If you have hardwood you are scewed as any sheet vinyl type product.

How you tried using a stud finder yet?

[tcole321]

That is what I was afraid of! No have not tried stud finder but that is the same situation of drilling into floor where I "think" the joist maybe! Thanks for the replies!

[hkstroud]

My suggestion would be to go under the house and look at how the electrical wire and pipes are run. You should not find any that are any where close to the flooring but doesn't hurt to check..

Using a long, small drill bit (something like a 1/8" bit) drill up through the flooring right next to a joist. Angle the drill toward the center of the joist. Stick a wire coat hanger up through that hole. Measure the spacing between the joist.

Go top side and mark the location of joist measured from the coat hanger. You can fill the hole you drilled with a finish nail. Nail straight down into the joist (the hole will be at an angle). Set the nail below the surface and fill with wood putty.

[tcole321]

Thank you! I guess we will be taking a trip under the house! Are you familiar with the squeeeek no more? It actually comes with a stud finder drill bit and break off screws for securing the floor. I was just afraid to use it without checking about safety first.