Secrets to Squeaky Floors and Perfect Paint Edges

In this episode of Home in Progress, host Dan Hansen, supported by RepcoLite Paints and Benjamin Moore, covers practical fixes for common DIY home project frustrations. The episode dives into paint flashing, its causes, and how to avoid it, as well as a guide on fixing squeaky floors and achieving flawless results using masking tape. Hansen also shares a personal anecdote about his phone seemingly reading his mind, serving as a humorous interlude. The episode wraps up with tips on selecting colors for west-facing spaces and solving various DIY problems efficiently.RESOURCES

• Squeeek No More Website
• Repair a Squeaky Floor in Minutes with Squeeek No More (Video)
• Fix Squeaky Floor with 2x4 Method (Video)

CHAPTERS00:00 Welcome to Home in Progress00:51 Is Your Phone Reading Your Mind?10:49 Masking Tape Mastery19:38 Fixing Squeaky Floors21:21 Navigating Squeaky Floors: A Personal Anecdote22:43 Understanding the Cause of Floor Squeaks25:07 Fixing Squeaky Floors from Below28:42 Fixing Squeaky Floors from Above32:16 Alternative Solutions for Squeaky Floors34:46 Conclusion and Listener Engagement35:39 Understanding Paint Flashing41:52 Preventing and Fixing Paint Flashing43:51 Final Thoughts and Giveaway Reminder

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hi everyone, and welcome to Home in Progress, brought to
you by Repkolite Paints and Benjamin Moore, offering expert advice,
premium paint, and all the tools you need to keep
your home moving forward. I'm Dan Hansen in today's show
is packed with practical fixes for some of the most
common frustrations in DIY home projects. Coming up a little later,
we're going to tackle the topic that drives a lot
of people crazy from time to time, paint flashing. It's

(00:24):
an uneven, patchy look that shows up on your walls
after you paint. We're going to explain what causes it,
how to fix it, and most importantly, how to avoid it.
Right before that, we'll walk you through the process of
fixing squeaky floors, and coming up next, we're going to
take a look at masking tape. It seems simple, but
if you've ever peeled it off only to pull paint
with it, or you've struggled to get clean lines, you

(00:44):
know there's a right way and a wrong way to tape.
We're going to help you avoid the most common mistakes
and get great results every time. But first, I've got
something I've got to get off my chest. I think
I think my phone is reading my little you know,
my little pea brain. I think my phone is reading that.
And I'm not joking. I'm being serious. I know there

(01:08):
are conspiracy theory people out there who talk about how
our phones can read our minds, all right. I've run
into these folks, and a lot of the time I
blow that stuff off. A couple of years ago, I
really thought it was nuts, you know, absolutely tinfoil hat stuff.
But as I go places and have conversations and then
suddenly start getting served ads, you know, on social media

(01:32):
or whatever, that the ads seem to be entirely based
on the conversations that I've had. Well, after having that experience,
you know, I've come to accept the fact that the
phone is listening to me. All right. I think it's
listening to all of us, and I think most of
us have come to that conclusion. We know that, you know,
we've all experienced that. But I'm literally talking about my

(01:54):
phone reading my mind, knowing my thoughts somehow, and then
sending me as it's based on those thoughts. And like
I said, I'm not joking, And I bet you're thinking
that I am or that I'm crazy or that I've
got some weird twists to this where it's not where
it will make sense in a way. No, I mean
exactly what I'm saying. My phone. I'm looking at you

(02:16):
phone right now, I'm holding it, looking at it, and
I know it's reading my mind right now. Here's what
led me to this. And I've had a number of
scenarios or experiences that are similar to what I'm going
to describe, but never so profound is the one that
I'm going to tell you about. You know, I've thought
about things just out of the blue. They pop into

(02:38):
my mind. I don't google them, I don't talk about
them out loud to anybody. It's just a thought that
goes through my head. I spend a little time thinking
about it, and then hours later, maybe a day later,
I don't know, all of a sudden, there are ads
that are showing up about that exact same thing that
has happened. And that's weird but maybe coincidental. All right,

(02:59):
I get all that. Well, not long ago, something happened
that changed my mind. It's not accidental. It's reading my mind.
And this thing is not fun to talk about, you know,
it's not fun to talk about it's not gonna be
fun to listen to parts of it. I'm sorry, buckle up.
This isn't Saturday Morning, fair. I understand that, but this

(03:20):
is the time slot that they've given me. So anyway, quick,
finish your cheerios, slurp down your your coffee, you know,
suck down your oatmeal real fast. This is your final warning.
Give you one second to finish up. All right, here
we go a while back. I'm getting ready for work,
right and in the bathroom, I'm moving around and I

(03:41):
stub my toe hurts like crazy, you know, stub my
toe hurts like crazy. I'm hopping around. I look down
and I see the nail has split, you know, it's
bent back, it's split some mass. It's not good. It hurts.
And then I'm looking at it and I start to
wonder why that nail, you know, crack so easily and

(04:03):
split so easily. And then I started to look at
and consider the condition, the health condition of my toenails. Yeah,
I'm sorry, you know, if you haven't finished eating, still,
you got seconds now to get this down. Anyway, I'm
looking at my toenails wondering about their the state of

(04:23):
their health. I'm sure This is one hundred percent normal.
People do this all the time. We're constantly evaluating our
toenail health. Anyway, I'm doing that in the bathroom. I'm
wondering about my toenails. I'm not googling anything. I'm not
talking to anybody. There's nobody there. You know, I'm alone
in that space. And I didn't take this conversation anywhere
else either, you know, this was a Dan only conversation,

(04:45):
you know, until now. But as I'm sitting there, I'm
looking at them, at my toenails, and I'm wondering if
they're healthy, do they look the right color? Are they
too thick? Are they supposed to be that thick? Is
there something going on? Am I just old? You know,
I don't know. I'm wondering these things. And then I think,
wait a minute, what if it's a fungus. You know,
what if I have toenail fungus of some kind? And

(05:08):
that is so gross to think about. You know, I'm
appalled at myself. I'm disgusted with myself just thinking that
I might have this toenail fungus or whatever's going on.
You know, all I can think is that I've got
mushrooms starting to sprout down there. But then as I'm
thinking all those horrible thoughts, I remember something else. Miracle
of miracles. I think I've got toenail fungus stuff in

(05:32):
the medicine cabinet, right, Who doesn't I think I do?
I open up the cabinet door, and after a quick search,
sure enough, there it is a dusty, little brown bottle
that's been in there for eight years, you know, expired
since twenty nineteen, with the label fungus side funguside. I
don't know how to say that, fungus side all over it.

(05:54):
I don't remember why I've got that bottle, but I
was thrilled to see it. I read the words. I
didn't touch the bottle, I didn't grab it and use it,
but I did read it, and I was thinking really
hard about it. You know, all of this was really
really powerfully in my brain because I was grossed out
by the idea. It was all consuming for these few

(06:15):
minutes that I was searching. Anyway, I decided I was
going to put it on just in case after my
toe stopped bleeding, because I figured it was going to
sting like crazy, you know, in the state that it
was in so I put it back in the medicine
cabinet and that was it. You know, I didn't google
about it. I didn't talk about it afterwards, of course,
I didn't talk about it. Like I said, I hate

(06:36):
the idea of talking about it. I hate talking about
it now. It's gross, but it's for the greater good.
I'm doing this for all of you out there. Anyway.
All I did was think about it. No googling, no searching,
no talking, just thoughts. And then lo and behold, the
next day, finally getting to my point, I'm literally blown away.
I still remember this moment, sitting there, just stunned, looking

(06:59):
at my phone. I'm looking at Facebook, and all of
a sudden, an ad comes straight across the screen as
I'm scrolling, and it's an ad full of weird misshapen toes,
yellow toenails, you know, just horrible. And the header on
the ad says, are you worrying about toenail fungus? I mean,
come on, how can that ad just be a random

(07:21):
ad out there? How is that even possible? You know,
I'm sure some of you are going to say that
maybe it would have always been there, And you know
now that I'm thinking about toenail fungus. I just happened
to clue into it. I don't buy that for a second,
because the toes in that ad were so misshapen, they
were so hideous, you know, they were mutant toes. They

(07:43):
would have gotten my attention no matter what, because it
was ridiculously, you know, a gross ad. The only real solution,
the only real conclusion that I can make, is that
my phone is literally reading my mind. So I don't
know about you. I don't know if you've ever run
into that. That's my musing for the day. I would

(08:04):
love to know if you have any ideas or feedback
on what I just said. You know, not my toenails.
It turns out they were healthy and fine. So everybody
can breathe easy when I'm in the pool. You don't
have to worry what's happening, at least not from my toenails.
My toenails are fine. I want to know instead, what
you're thinking, what your ideas are about your phone reading

(08:25):
your mind. Has that ever happened to you? Let me
know Radio at Repcolite dot com. I'm serious, reach out
and let me know. I want to know. All right,
enough of that, let's get onto the show for today,
and here's what I've got. I'm really sorry that that
was the thing I started the show with, but it's
been on my mind. I wanted to talk about it anyway.
Coming up at the end of the show, we're going

(08:46):
to be talking about choosing colors for west facing spaces,
and I'm going to be giving you the last chance
for a while to win one of two Repcolite gift
certificates for one hundred bucks. In fact, since it's the
last one of these that I'm going to do for
a little bit, I want to extend the opportunity through
the whole show. You know, maybe you're only catching this part.
This is all you heard. You heard the toenail story,

(09:08):
and now you've got to go somewhere else, maybe to
a therapist. I don't know. If that's all you're gonna hear.
You can't ride with me till the end of the show.
I still want to give you a chance to win.
And here's how it's gonna work. You've got intel ten
am today to email me at radio at repco Light
dot com. R E P C O L I T

(09:28):
E dot com, Radio at repco Light dot com. Tell
me you know, tell me what your next project is,
or tell me about a topic that you want to
hear on the show, or maybe your favorite Repco light location,
maybe break up your favorite Repcolite employee, tell me your
favorite song. I really don't care. Just email me and
tell me something fun, something interesting, whatever. Get your emails

(09:50):
in before ten am this morning, and then at ten
or right after I'll draw two random winners from amongst
all the entries. So email right now, radio at REP
and I'll remind you throughout the show. But now you've
got a head start, all right. So at the end
of the show, we're going to be talking about flashing
paint flashing. It's not probably what you're thinking. It's a

(10:11):
paint problem. It's kind of common. We'll talk about how
you avoid that. We'll also be talking about fixing squeaks
in your floor, and we'll also be talking about masking tape. Basically,
I'm going to look at three big complaints that we
hear all the time when it comes to masking tape,
and most likely you've experienced at least one, if not
all of them at some point. They're common, they're frustrating,

(10:32):
but the good news is they're completely avoidable, and we're
going to get to that topic right after. This home
in progress is brought to you by Repcolite Paints and
Benjamin Moore, Top tier paint expert advice. Your next project
is way easier than you think it's going to be.
All right, let's talk about masking tape, and I want
to talk about you know, three big complaints that we

(10:55):
hear all the time when it comes to masking tape,
and most likely you've experience at least one of these,
if not all of them, at some point. They're pretty common,
they're frustrating, and the good news is they're really avoidable.
So let's walk through them one by one and talk
about how to get clean, professional results every single time
you use masking tape. Now, the first complaint I get

(11:15):
a fair amount is this one. I can never get
sharp lines. You know, I've always got paint bleeding under
the tape. Well, if that's the case, you're completely not alone.
You know, you spend the time taping everything off, you
paint carefully, and then when you peel the tape off,
it looks like you tried to do the job, you know, blindfolded,
wavy edges, all kinds of little fuzzy lines, you know,
little runs of paint that slipped underneath whatever. You know what,

(11:38):
you know what it looks like. It's frustrating, But most
of the time that problem starts with the tape you're using. Now,
I've tested all of the tapes that we sell. You know,
I haven't tested all tapes, but all the masking tapes
we sell. I've tested them all. You know, the cheaper
tan stuff, the blue Painter's tape, and high end options
like Frog tape. I've tested all of these and over

(12:00):
and over again, Frog tape comes out on top. It's
not perfect, not one hundred percent perfect, but it's consistently
better than everything else I tried. Now, I do want
to explain this a little bit more, just to make
sure we're all on the same page. All tapes really
can do a decent job. That is the other thing
that I ran into when I was doing this testing.
All of them could do a good job if you

(12:22):
you know, really did everything right. You know, even the
cheap ones could produce good results, or at least mostly good.
You know, I would say I'd have been happy with
the results of all of these, provided you know, you
do apply the product in the right way, apply the
tape in the right way. For example, let's just focus
on that regular blue painters tape, not the frog tape.

(12:43):
Just the regular blue painters tape. You definitely can get
razor sharp lines with that if you apply the tape
the right way and go through all of that work,
which we're going to talk about in just a minute here.
But the thing with the frog tape, the reason I
like that one a little bit better, is that the
good results came a little bit easier. Now, you got
perfect results if you did the application the right way,
but even if you didn't go through all of that work,

(13:04):
you still got really, really, really good results with just
the frog tape. So that's why I like frog tape
a little bit better. Frog tape comes in a number
of different varieties, but they all share one key feature,
something called paint block technology. Now it's fun, it's sciencey
and all of that, but the concept is really pretty simple.
The edge of the tape is treated with a special

(13:25):
polymer that reacts with water based paint, So the moment
the paint touches the tape, the polymer gels, and that
essentially forms a barrier that locks out you know the
bleed through you know, it locks the paint out and
doesn't allow it to bleed underneath the tape. And yeah,
it's a little more expensive than the basic stuff, but
the good results are easier to get because of that

(13:46):
paint block technology, and to me, that makes it worth it.
And here's the thing. It doesn't take any more time
to use frog tape, you know. And if I'm going
to spend ten minutes taping off a wall or taping
off some trim, or twenty minutes or whatever it takes,
I'd rather get it right the first time then spend
more time trying to fix, you know, a little bleeds
and stuff like that where the paint got under the tape.

(14:08):
So that's why I like frog tape. That's why I
generally use it. And right now through the end of August,
we've got inch and inch and a half blue frog
tape on special at all Repcolite locations. So if you've
never tried frog tape before, you can pick up a
single roll and just see what you think. I think
you're gonna like it all right. Now, using the right
tape is important. I mentioned that, but so is using

(14:31):
the right technique. I was hinting at that all along.
Taping's a skill, and pretty much like every skill, it
improves with a little bit of knowledge and a little
bit of practice. So when you're applying tape, here's what
you need to do to get really good results, no
matter what you're using. First off, of course, the surface
has to be clean. Make sure it's clean. Make sure
it's dry, you know, don't wipe it clean and then
try to put tape on a damp surface. That's just dumb.

(14:54):
That's not going to work. So it's got to be dry,
it's got to be clean. When you're applying the tape,
don't stretch the tape as you apply it. You know,
you want to gently lay it in place, so use
shorter strips rather than long ones. And then once the
tape is down, here's the big trick. Once the tape
is down, pressed the edge down firmly, you know, burnishing
it with like a putty knife or a dull blade

(15:16):
or something like that. And that's going to ensure a
really tight seal. You know, no matter what tape you're using,
that's going to give you a really good seal. The
big thing here is just be careful not to press
so hard that you damage the surface underneath, all right.
So that brings me to the next complaint that we
sometimes get, and it's this, when I remove the tape,
the paint comes with it, all right. Usually this happens

(15:39):
for one of a couple different reasons. You know, either
you're applying the tape over fresh paint that hasn't fully ceed,
or you've left the tape on too long after painting. Now,
even though your paint might feel dry to the touch
after a couple hours, it can still be soft underneath
for days. So if you use a high adhesion tape
on that kind of surface, there's a really good chance
you're going to peel it off when you move that tape.

(16:01):
You're gonna peel paint off when you remove that tape.
That's why delicate surface painter tapes exist. Frog tape makes
a yellow one for exactly this reason. It's great for
freshly painted walls, wallpaper, decorative finishes, anything fragile. But even then,
when you're using delicate surface tape, you still want to
give that new paint at least a full day to

(16:22):
cure out and to dry out before taping over it.
Two or three days is even better, but at least
a full day before you put the tape on, even
though you're using delicate surface tape, So use the right tape.
That's one way to get around this problem of paint
peeling off when you remove the tape. The other reason
that that happens is that you left the tape on
too long. So once you finish painting, don't walk away

(16:45):
and leave the tape on until the paint dries. The
right time to take the tape off is actually while
the paint is still wet. You know, as the paint dries,
it forms this continuous film that can bond to both
the wall and the tape. And if that film hardens
too much, sure becomes too you know, consistent pulling that
tape later can actually cause the paint to tear or

(17:06):
peel as you're removing it. So remove the tape right
away after painting. Just take your time and be careful
because the paint on the tape is still going to
be wet, you know, don't let it brush against you
or your floors, your trim, your furniture. Just be careful
as you're removing it. If you can't do that before
you tear it, that tape off. Take a razor blade
and run it right along the edge of where the

(17:27):
tape meets the wall and score that paint film that way.
When you remove the tape, it's not going to tear
into the paint on the wall. That's a really big deal,
all right. The third complaint we get, and it's incredibly common.
My tape keeps tearing when I'm trying to use it.
All right, You pull a strip, it splits, you try
to apply it, shreds in your hands, drives your nuts.

(17:48):
And usually this boils down to one of two things.
You're either using really poor quality tape. Don't do that
dollar store tape. Don't do it, go get good stuff,
or maybe even more likely, you're using tape that's been
sitting in your garage since your last project three years ago.
You know, heat, cold, humidity, All of those things break
down the adhesive and they weaken the backing paper if

(18:08):
it's been through a few Michigan summers and winters in
a dusty basement or your truck bed or whatever, do
yourself a favor on your next project. Toss that tape out.
Get a new, fresh, role, high quality tape, stored properly
is going to save you time, frustration, and all of
that down the road. It's definitely worth it. All right.
Before we wrap this segment up, one question that does

(18:28):
come up a lot, especially from contractors, and it's this,
why tape at all? You know, good painters don't need tape.
You know, a season pro with thousands of hours on
the job can probably cut in a wall with perfect accuracy.
That is one hundred percent true. But if you're a
di wire, or if you're a contractor running multiple crews
with varying levels of experience, taping is really, you know,

(18:50):
one of the best ways to maintain quality control. It's
a safety net, keep your lines clean, your work consistent,
and your results looking really professional, even if you're not
on site to supervise every single brushstroke. You know, it's
not about taking shortcuts. Really, it's about making sure the
job gets done right. So tape does play out as
beneficial even to contractors in certain situations. For di wires,

(19:12):
I would say, it's really something you almost got to
do almost every time if you want good results consistently.
All right, Masking tape not glamorous. It's not a fun
part of the paint job, but it does help you
achieve really good professional results every time if you do
it right. All right, next time you're starting a project,
don't forget to grab a roll or two. And if
you are painting this month all August, check out the

(19:35):
blue Frog tape that's on special at all Repcolite stores.
All Right, squeaky floors. They are an absolute pain in
the neck. But fortunately fixing them is easier than you think.
We're going to get to that right after this. This
is home in progress where the to do list is long.
And that's all right. We're not crabbing at you. We're
not gonna yell at you. That's how it is. It's
how ours is too. It's probably supported by Repcolite Paints

(19:58):
and Benjamin Moore because home projects are easier when you've
got people you can trust. All right, let's talk about
floor squeaks, right, floor squeaks, and really these things can
drive you absolutely nuts. You know. I remember having little kids,
babies specifically, and it's such a cliche, I know it,
but it's true. I remember with these babies how we'd

(20:22):
sit in their room, you know, and finally you'd get
them to sleep, right, finally they quit crying or fussing
or whatever they're doing, and they go to sleep, and
you carefully, you know, creep across the floor and you
put them carefully in the crib, you know, so quietly,
so gently. It's like you're handling nitroglycerin or something. You know.

(20:43):
You finally got them settled, and you back away. You
watch them roll over a little bit. You hold your breath.
You're panicking, are they going to wake up again? And
then they settle and they go back to sleep. You know,
Relief settles in right. You start to leave the room.
And then for me, anyway, you up at the doorway
and you're just staring at this hallway. You know, it's

(21:03):
ten foot long, twelve foot long, something like that. It
wasn't a huge hallway at my old house, but it
was full of squeaky floorboards. And somehow I know I've
got to navigate that area by memory, you know, and
avoid all these little spots where the floor squeaks. You know.
So you go back and forth, you're zigzagging all over

(21:24):
the place, putting the foot down here, and you start
to hear the squeak. Goh, so you quick pull your
foot back. It's like you're Indiana Jones. Really it's what
it felt like. You know. I can't tell you how
many times I would almost get to the end of
that hallway before I ended up stepping on you know,
the wrong spot, and suddenly the house is filled with
that horrible squeak, and then like an alarm clock, it

(21:46):
wakes up the kids and it all starts over again.
So squeaky floors, they are not fun at all or
real pain in the neck, real pain in the neck. Real.
I should edit that out, but I think I'll leave
it just so you know what I deal with all
the time. Do you know what it's like to be
talking to people in public? You know, at least on
the radio, I get to edit all of that stuff out.

(22:08):
I'm sorry this is a big dumb tangent, but now
my voice cracked and I'm really focused on it. On
the radio, I edit a lot of those out just
because I don't want to deal with them all the time.
But in real life, really speaking to people and my
voice does that, it's like, I'm I don't know, it
feels like Mickey Mouse or something that's not even accurate.

(22:29):
I don't know what's wrong with me. Perpetually in a
state of puberty explains my height. I'm at that state
of puberty right before the growth spurt, and it's perpetual.
I'm stuck here anyway. Flora squeaks, they're a real pain
in the next So let's talk about fixing them. And happily,
most squeaks are kind of easy to fix. And I

(22:51):
guess to start, let's first talk about what's really making
that sound, because maybe most of you are aware, fully
aware of what's making that sound. For me, I kind
of didn't know. I guess I assumed what it was,
but I didn't really know what it was. And once
you know what's going on, makes it a lot easier
to fix. All right, Floor squeaks happen because something that's
not supposed to be moving is moving. Something that's supposed

(23:13):
to be tight isn't tight, you know, and a number
of reasons make this happen. You know, Over time, wood
dries out, it shrinks just a little bit. That can
be a part of it. Fasteners can loosen. Parts that
used to sit snugly together start to rub a little bit,
and that rubbing is where the noise comes from. All
of that, if you've got access to the underside of
your floor, you know, like from an unfinished basement or

(23:36):
crawl space or something. You can often spot the issue
really quickly. You know, a lot of the times the
sub floor was nailed instead of screwed down, and those
nails don't always hold. It will loosen up a little
bit over time, and in some cases those nails aren't
even driven into the joists like they're supposed to be.
You know, if you go down there and look, you'll
find nails coming out of the joists on angles, you know,

(23:58):
kind of half in, half out, or sometimes they're like
a row of nails like an inch off from the
floor joist. They completely missed the joist as they were
nailing it. And that means your subfloor over that particular joist,
that particular area, it's just floating right, it's just sitting
on top of the floor joist. It's not secured to it. Now.

(24:18):
In pretty much all of these instances, when you walk
across the floor over those areas, that subfloor is going
to flex, it's going to hit the joist, it's going
to rub against that nail. That nail that's part in,
part out is going to squeak a little bit. That's
where the squeaking is coming from, just that movement. Now,
Also keep in mind that even when nails do hit
that joist, you know, even when they're dead on into

(24:39):
that joist, like I said earlier, they can work loose
over time, especially if construction adhesive wasn't used during the install.
And even though gluing the subfloor to the joist is
standard practice right now, it hasn't always been the case.
So plenty of older homes or you know, quick builds,
they can skip that step entirely and without the glue,

(25:00):
really just relying entirely on nails or screws to hold
everything tight. So that's what's going on, That's where the
squeak is coming from. Now, finding and fixing the spots
is going to be relatively easy for the most part,
if you've got access to the underside of the floor
from the basement or a crawl space. You know, it's
not the only way to fix these things, and we'll

(25:20):
talk about other ones if you don't have that access,
but it is the easiest way now, if you're able
to go down there and look up and see the
floor joists and the sub floor and all of that,
it's really straightforward. Just get a partner who's going to
walk the floor, you know, on the main level where
the squeaks are while you're down below. You know you're
going to be down below looking up, trying to pinpoint
the trouble spots. So you're listening for squeaks, You're watching

(25:43):
for movement, you know, as the other person walks across
the floor above you. Sometimes, you know, if you're close
enough to it, you'll actually see small amounts of dust
maybe puffing out from where the sub floor meets the joist.
That's possible, and if you see that as a telltale
sign there's movement there. You can also put your fingers
along that spot, you know, that little corner if you will,
where the joist meets the subfloor. You can put your

(26:06):
finger along there and feel for any shift or bounce.
You know, you should feel a little bit when the
person walks over that trouble area. Another thing to look
at is look carefully at the nails or the fasteners.
If they're not driven into the joyst cleanly. If they're
you know, missing the joist altogether, that's likely, you know,
a likely culprit for your problem, your squeak problem. So

(26:29):
examine all of those things, and once you've found the
trouble spot or identified the trouble spots. It's probably gonna
be multiple spots. But once you've identified them, you've got
a few different options to fix it. One of the
simplest ways is to gently tap a thin, really thin
wood shim into the gap between the joist and the
sub floor. Now, you're looking to take up that slack.

(26:52):
You know that that wiggle room that it's got, just
you're trying to close that off. You just don't want
to overdo this with the shim. If you force the
shim too far or too thick of a shim, you
can actually lift the floor above and create a brand
new problem that you're gonna have to deal with. So
slide it in snug and then secure it with a
dab or two of construction adhesive to hold it in place. Now,

(27:12):
another approach, not the shim approach, but another one, especially
if the gap is longer than a shim can realistically handle,
is to use what I call a two by four method.
I'm gonna do my best to describe it. Put on
your thinking caps as i'm talking, and then I'll put
a link in the show notes to a video demonstrating
what I'm talking about. But you take a piece of
two by four, maybe it's eighteen to twenty four inches

(27:34):
in length, maybe longer, you know, maybe a little bit shorter.
Take that piece, and then run a generous bead of
thick you know, construction adhesive along one of the thinner edges.
All right, this is gonna be the edge that presses
up against the underside of the subfloor. All right, So
put construction adhesive on that edge, and then press the
glued edge tight against the subfloor, hold it up there,

(27:56):
tight against it, and screw the two by four sideways
into the joe. What you're doing is creating a sort
of glued ledger support, you know, beneath the subfloor. Now
that adhesive bond between the two by four and the
sub floor is going to eliminate the flex, and the
screws into the joist are gonna hold the whole thing tight.
It's simple, you know, really low cost, really effective. It

(28:17):
is important to note though, that this fix, unlike some
of the other ones that I talk about, isn't going
to be immediate. You know, that glue needs to set
up and cure, and once that happens, then it's gonna
be permanent, and you know you're gonna have a fixed
squeak no problem, but it is going to take time.
Some of these other ones are instant fix. You know,
once you've done it, the squeak's gone. This one, the

(28:38):
squeak could persist for a little bit to the glue drives.
So just keep that in mind. Now, not everybody has
access to the floor from underneath. If you're working from
above and everything else below is closed off, you can't see.
And let's say you've got carpet in this particular area,
if you're working with a problem there, you're gonna have

(28:59):
to look for something called Squeak No More. This is
a kit that I ran into. Squeak No More. It's
basically a number of little guides and things that you
would use, and then some specially designed screws that you
can literally drive right through the carpet and into the
subfloor without damaging the carpet fibers. And I know this

(29:20):
sounds ridiculous, all right. I was not hooked on this
until I really dug into it a lot further. And
I do think there's a lot of value to the system.
I'm going to use it in my own hallway just
to try it out. But the way it works is
that screw this special screw. You've got to use the
right screw. That's why you're looking for this kit. Squeak
no more. I'll put links in the show notes. The

(29:42):
screw that you're using in that kit is engineered to
snap off just below the surface of the subfloor, all right,
so everything stays invisible. It doesn't damage the carpet. You know,
the fibers cover where the screw went in, and you
never feel anything when you walk over the spot because
that screw gets snapped off within the subfloor. I know that.
Like I said, it sounds literally crazy. I've got a

(30:05):
video link in the show notes that demonstrates the process.
It's definitely something to check out. If you don't have
access to a carpeted floor, you know that that's got
some squeaks. If you don't have access to that floor
from beneath and you can't figure out how to fix
it the other way. This could be a brilliant solution,
all right, So keep that in mind. And the same

(30:26):
system also works for hardwood floors. That's not ideal in
a lot of regards because you're literally having to drill
a hole in the surface of your hardwood floor and
run this screw through that. But again, the screw snaps
off beneath the surface of the hardwood plank, and then
that hole can be filled with colored putty. It's not ideal.
I don't love that solution, but it does work if

(30:47):
you've got no access to the underside of the floor
from the basement. So I'll put links to that system
squeak no more in the show notes. Definitely check it
out before you write it off. But here's where I
want to add a little bit of a cat If
you're drilling into your finished flooring, you know, hardwood, or
if you're drilling through carpet because you don't have access

(31:08):
from underneath, you need to make sure that you know
what's beneath the floorboards. You know what's beneath the floorboards.
You don't want to suspect what's beneath the floorboards. You
don't want to think you have a good idea of
what's beneath the floorboards. You really need to know what's
beneath the floorboards. You know, modern building codes, they're going
to place plumbing and electrical away from the tops of

(31:30):
floor joists. But in older homes or remodeled areas, that's
not always a guarantee. So if you're unsure, you've got
to find a way to check, you know, whether it's
with a stud finder, with a live wire detector or something.
You've got to find out where exactly the joys are,
make sure you hit it and make sure there isn't
water or electrical around it. There are plenty of times

(31:53):
when people do something like this, think they're solving one
problem and they literally drill into a water pipe. You know,
it happens, and it's a mess when it happens. Don't
drill into electrical lines, don't drill into water lines. You've
got to do your due diligence and make sure that
you're safe. All right. I'm just giving you the tools
and the method. You've got to make sure that you're

(32:14):
safe to do this, so make sure you check it out.
Another solution moving on that you're going to see online,
especially when the squeak is caused by wood rubbing against wood,
you know, board to board and a hardwood flooring situation
something like that. An online solution that's really popular is
to work a dry lubricant like powdered graphite, talcum powder,
even baking soda into the gaps between the floorboards. Now,

(32:36):
the idea here is that the powder is going to
settle into the seams and reduce the friction that's creating
that squeak. And in some cases this really does work.
It really can help, especially if that squeak is surface
level and not due to movement between the sub floor
and the choice below. You know, if that's the problem,
this isn't going to do a lot. It's got to
be you know, board to board movement that's causing the squeak.

(32:58):
Then it can fix it. It's a temporary fix at best,
so keep that in mind. And over time that powder
is going to shift or wear away with foot traffic
and cleaning, and the squeak's going to return. So that's
something to keep in mind. But there's a bigger concern,
especially if you think you might ever refinish your hardwood
floors or apply another layer of top coat. Many baby powders,

(33:19):
for example, they contain fragrance oils or moisture absorbing agents,
and these things can penetrate the wood. Also, the powder,
all of these things that you're putting on. Once it
gets down into the gaps between the boards, it can
be kind of a trick to remove it. It's not
always easy to get it out, and it's definitely possible
that you could end up with adhesion problems when you

(33:40):
try to reseal those floors later. You know, in worst
case scenarios, you could even see visible streaking, you know,
uneven finish absorption, or even fish eyes in the top coat.
So while it might seem like a harmless DIY trick
and it might offer some short term relief putting powders
or things like that into the gaps between the boards,

(34:00):
it's worth thinking twice about before doing that. So there
you go. Squeaky floors. They don't need to annoy you.
You know, you don't have to zigzag your way down
the hallway like Indiana Jones to avoid trouble spots anymore.
The squeaks are fixable and it's surprisingly easy really in
a lot of cases. Now. Of course, there are tons
of other situations that I couldn't get to on the

(34:20):
show right now that make this whole thing a little
more complicated. I understand that there's a lot of different
things going on, and there are also many methods out there.
You know a lot of other methods for fixing squeaks.
Before you start your project, Before you jump into this,
definitely go and check out some videos and you'll see
all the different solutions that I talked about. You'll find more.

(34:41):
Check out the videos, do some research, make sure you're comfortable,
and then jump in and get it fixed. And also,
if you've got a method that I didn't mention but
which works really well, you know, even if it's just
in your experience, let me know. I want to know
about that. Radio at repco Light dot com email me.
And remember, speaking of emailing me, remember I'm being away
two one hundred dollars repco Light gift certificates after the

(35:03):
show today. If you want to be in the running
to win one of them, all you got to do
is email me at radio at repco Light dot com
and tell me something interesting. Tell me about your favorite
method for fixing squeaks on your floor that would work,
or tell me a topic that you'd like me to
cover on a future episode. Tell me how religiously you
listen to the show. I don't care what you tell me,

(35:24):
what you send just send me something fun. Email that
to Radio at repco Light dot com. Do that before
ten o'clock this morning, and then after ten I'm going
to draw two random winners from all of those entries.
So get those emails off Radio at repco Light dot com.
All right, have you ever finished painting room? You think
it looks perfect, the color looks perfect, and after you

(35:44):
get everything put away and the room back together, the
sun comes in, catches the walls at just a particular
angle and you see that the finish is completely uneven.
Have you ever run into that? That's paint flashing, And
we're going to talk about what causes it and more importantly,
how to avoid it. Right after this, you're listening to
Home in Progress, where the projects are real, the mistakes,

(36:06):
they're educational, sometimes painful, mostly educational. And the only thing
more stubborn than that old wallpaper on your bathroom wall
is your determination to get it fixed. Proudly sponsored by
Repcolite Paints and Benjamin Moore Paint with a Purpose, people
who care and everything you need to get the job
done right. All right, Right now, let's talk about you know,

(36:28):
a kind of common paint problem flashing. Now it's not
the kind of problem you're going to run into on
a regular basis, but it's possible. Over the course of
you know, a normal DIY paint career, you'll run into
it a couple times, two, three times, depending. But anyway,
flashing is a paint problem that shows up as an
uneven sheene or gloss or shine across a painted surface.

(36:53):
You know, it's not a color mismatch. It's all about
the way light reflects off different areas of the wall.
You know, some areas are shy, some areas they are dull,
all along the same wall. It's really frustrating. It's flashing,
all right, So let's talk about why it happens in
the first place. And there are a handful of reasons
that it shows up, and they're almost always going to

(37:13):
come back to either how the surface was prepped, how
the paint was applied, or what kind of conditions you
were working in. Let's start with the surface. One of
the biggest culprits of flashing is uneven paint absorption, and
that happens a lot with drywall repairs, you know, especially
when they haven't been properly prepped. Patches using drywall compound
those areas really soak up paint really fast. You know,

(37:35):
they soak it up at a much different rate than
the surrounding wall where the paint is already there. You know,
those those areas are sealed up. This patch is not
sealed up, and it really sucks the paint in and
that difference in absorption rate can really change the final sheen.
And that's why priming matters so much. If you skip
the primer or you use a really low quality one,

(37:56):
it means the surface that you're painting is going to
drink up your paint unevenly. Primer acts like a seiler.
That's its main goal. That's pretty much, well, not its
only goal, but it's its main goal. Acts like a seiler.
It's going to create a consistent surface for your finish coat,
and that's going to allow your finished coat to behave
the same way, same finish, same sheene across the entire wall.

(38:18):
When you skip that primer step, flashing becomes a real risk.
Now in a lot of situations, you can use your
finish paint as a primer. In these situations, you know,
just hit those patches with a first coat of your
finish paint before you coat over. Everything else. The first
coat on those more porous spots, those patches or whatever,
that's going to seal them up and it's going to

(38:38):
help your finish dry evenly. So not sealing those patches
up with primer or with your finished paint, that's one
of the main reasons that that flashing occurs. Another reason
is inconsistent application. You know, if you're applying paint too
slowly or at an uneven film thickness, you can encounter
flashing problems. Applying the paint too slowly, that means one

(38:58):
section can start to dry before you've had a chance
to blend it into the next. That's a recipe for problems.
And if you apply the paint too thickly in some areas,
that's no good either. In both cases, you're going to
get lapmarks and those areas are going to reflect light
differently and make your finished look uneven. You know, a
lot of this comes about by using the wrong roller nap.
You know, if you use a roller nap that's too

(39:20):
short for your walls or for the texture on your walls,
you're not applying enough paint and you're going to end
up with that paint drying before you can roll into
it again and keep a wet edge. So you got
to use the right roller nap. If you use too
thick of a roller nap, of course, you end up
putting on too much product. So finding the right roller
nap for your project, for your surface is really key.

(39:42):
On top of all of those things, you've got the environment.
You know, the environment that you're painting in. Drying conditions
play a huge role. If it's too hot or too cold,
or the humidity is really low, or if you're painting
in direct sunlight, the paint can dry unevenly and that's
going to affect how it flows, how it levels, And
it's another way flashing can sneak in. You know, even

(40:02):
the quality of the paint honestly can make a difference.
Some paints are just more prone to flashing because of
how they're made, you know, whether it's pigment, concentration, binder
quality additives, whatever. Lower quality paints don't always level out
as well, and that can leave you with a patchy finish.
All right, So that's flashing. That's why it happens. How
do you fix it? And the problem here is if

(40:25):
it's already happened, you know, the paint's dry and you're
looking at a wall with a patchy, uneven finish. There's
not a really great easy way to fix this. You're
really basically just looking at a repaint, and in most
situations it's going to be just like touch up work.
You know, you can't paint a small area in the
middle of a wall and expect it to blend in

(40:45):
and fade away. You know, we always tell people that
with touchups, you're gonna have to take a larger area.
Same with this flashing problem. You're probably gonna need to
paint corner to corner on a wall if you've got
flashing on one particular wall, or maybe you'll get lucky
and there are a number of vision U breaking points
in your wall. If that's the case, you'll you'll still
be painting from visual breaking point to visual breaking point

(41:07):
to hide that spot. Now, in some instances, you know,
if you've done some patching and it was really severe,
it's possible that you know, you might need to literally
spot prime those areas, even though you've got one code
of finish on it already. It might be bad enough
that you need to spot prime those areas before you
hit everything with one more code of finish. So if

(41:29):
that's the case, hit those areas, feather the edges really well.
You don't want to build up layers here. Feather the
edge is really well, let it dry and then top
coat everything. The good news is that when you do that,
it's going to hide the flashing. You know, almost all
the time, flashing isn't going to bleed through. It's not
a problem like that. You're going to hide it. The
downside is, though, like I said, you are looking at

(41:50):
a repaint in order to fix it. So with that
in mind, let's talk about how you avoid it entirely,
you know, right from the get go. And the good
news is it's not as bad as you might think.
You just have to do a few key things right
from the start and you won't have a problem. So
first and foremost prime or hit those concerning areas, you know,
the patches and stuff, with a first coat of your

(42:10):
finish paint. Now, if you've got new drywall, i'd recommend
a specific drywall primer before you move on to finish paint.
If you've got patch spots on a wall, go and
hit those with a first coat of your finish paint.
Feather out the edges really well, and then when that's dry,
roll another coat of finish over everything. That should eliminate
all of your flashing concerns if it was just coming

(42:31):
from the patches on the wall or the unsealed surface.
So that's one thing you can do. Second, use high
quality products. You know, better paints tend to perform better.
Third thing, apply the paint evenly and consistently. And this
doesn't just mean work quickly and evenly across the room.
It also means using the same tool across the whole surface.
You know, if you start with a roller, finish with

(42:53):
a roller and use a consistent roller nap. If you
go from a three eight inch nap to a half
inch nap for any reason, or you switch from a
foam to a microfiber, or even from a brush to
a roller for cutting in that change has the possibility
of showing up as flashing or just a different look
on your final finish. So try to stay as much

(43:15):
as possible with the exact same tool all the way
through the process. Fourth, watch your conditions. Try to work
when temperatures and humidity levels are moderate. Don't stretch your
paint too thin. Remember thinner coats can flash more easily,
especially if the surface underneath is absorbing at different rates.
All right, that's flashing. If you have any other questions,

(43:35):
swing out to any Repcolite. We'll walk you through what
you're dealing with and help you figure out the best
way to move forward and fix the problem. If you're
dealing with a problem, or better yet, we'll help you
avoid all of these problems on your next project. Just
let us walk you through what you need to know.
All right, that's going to do it for this episode.
Remember I'm giving away two one hundred dollars Repcolite gift
certificates after the show today. If you want to be

(43:58):
in the running, just email me at Radio at repco
Light dot com and tell me something interesting. I don't
care what you tell me, just tell me something fun.
Email that to radio at repco Light dot com before
ten am this morning, and then after ten I'll draw
two random winners. All right. If you found today's tips helpful,
whether it was solving those squeaky floor problems, getting better
results with masking tape, or maybe just you know, finally

(44:21):
being able to understand what's going on when your paint's flashing.
If any of that was helpful. Do me a favor
and hit that subscribe button so you'll never miss another episode.
And if you are enjoying the show, we'd love it
if you could leave a quick review or rating wherever
you're listening. It helps more than you know and it's
one of the best ways to support what we're doing.
You can always find more pain advice, how to guides,

(44:43):
an inspiration at repcoll light dot com. And of course,
if you've got a question or a topic you'd love
us to cover on a future episode, shoot us a message.
We'd love to hear from you. For Home in Progress,
I'm Dan Hansen. Thanks for listening, looking up to