Do this simple renovation to make sure your tenants stay longer!

[Alan Asriants]

In my area a lot of the duplexes/homes have a poor noise insulation in between floors and you can hear every creak when someone walks above you. This is super annoying, even in your own home. You can mitigate sound between floors by removing sheetrock, installing insulation, applying metal strips and thicker sheet rock, but thats a costly upgrade. If you plan on updating your floors and laying vinyl or laminate over them, first screw down your existing subfloor to the joists. 

Over time, the subfloor secured by the old nails starts to loosen through natural conditions (humidity, change in temperature). When you walk on the floor, you are moving the subfloor very slightly along the existing nail which is what creates that horrible creaking noise.  By screwing down the subfloor to the joists you are tightening the floor and preventing the floor from moving with the existing nails. This can be done as a DIY project or might cost just a bit more when paying someone to put in new floors. You and your tenants will be thankful for this small upgrade.

Hope this helps