Trying to fix squeaky hardwood floor in small hallway, think joists run parallel to floorboards on sides, near or under the walls on either side, can't find any with stud finder that run at 90 degree angle to floor.
Any ideas what to do?
I know about those kits with the scored screws that snap off, but will they work if just screwed into subfloor?
Best Answer
I'm going to skip over the likelihood of this parallel joist situation actually being true (I have a deep mis-trust of stud finders), and attempt to just answer your question.
Answer part 1 - can any of this floor (+ subfloor) come up without causing damage/serious inconvenience to you or the property? If so, then I would strongly suggest pulling up a couple of boards and having a look around. I (unfortunately) had to do this in an old bathroom because we needed to move a sink, and after tearing up some plywood subfloor and 3 floorboards found a half-disintegrated joist holding up one end of the room.
I don't think your situation will be the same (water damage less likely in a hallway), but if it isn't obvious where to screw in to stop the squeaking this should help you out.
Answer part 2 - you aren't likely to get much long-term improvement from just screwing through to the subloor. A long term fix will require knowing where those joists are (parallel or otherwise!)
Addendum In an older property of mine, we regularly encountered the situation where a joist would be located directly underneath an internal wall, making affixing the boards to them pretty difficult. If you can't find recognizable joists close to the walls - this could be why. We solved that one by sistering another joist to it to give us something to screw into.