BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the housing industry, it is important to be able to construct flooring that minimizes squeaks and sound transfer. This is also true for ceilings and walls.

Current systems aim to reduce or eliminate squeak associated with plywood floors, and in some cases, particularly with respect to the interaction of the plywood floor with the underlying joists.

Canadian Patent No. 1,281, 158 utilizes a plurality of spaced elongated support members fabricated of a pre-cured elastomeric material positioned between the floor panels and the support base.

Canadian Patent No. 1,254, 019 utilizes a plurality of rubber strips between the floorboards and the underlayment and between the grooves.

Canadian Patent No. 1,307, 640 utilizes cushioning means preferably comprising a series of shock absorbing elastomer pads uniformly distributed between the opposed surfaces of the upper and lower plate means, but a continuous layer of resilient padding may also be used.

Canadian Patent No. 2,036, 322 utilizes a layer of resilient material that co-extends generally underneath the sub-floor and resilient floor.

Canadian Patent No. 2,033, 245 utilizes a plurality of elastomeric pads secured to a bottom surface of the lower subfloor, and preferably having a truncated conical shape with a truncated or flattened first end and a larger cross sectional cover at a second end.

United States Patent No. 1,745, 171 utilizes a strip of felt firmly clamped on top of the furring strip by a strap.

United States Patent No. 4,854, 099 utilizes resilient spring elements, substantially solid and made of rubber or plastic, separating the two layers of flooring.

While some reduction in the level of squeaks and sound reduction is accomplished by the above inventions, none are entirely satisfactory.

\ It would be advantageous to have an improved buffering material for use in floor, ceiling and wall construction that would minimize squeaks and sound transfer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide an improved buffering material for use in floor, ceiling and wall construction that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.

According to one embodiment of the invention there is provided a piece of metal being generally U-shaped and placed between the floor joist and the flooring, such that the two ends of the generally U- shaped piece of metal remain in generally spaced-apart relation. The piece of metal can also be bent further so that it is in a generally accordion-shape.

The ends of the metal can be wrapped around the floor joist to provide a more secure fit and assist in the reduction of the sound transfer.

A screw or similar fastening means is used to secure the flooring to the floor joist.

According to another embodiment of the invention sound-reducing strips, such as rubber (i. e. from recycled tires) or plastic, can be used to further reduce the sound transfer.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, a buffering material solely comprising rubber (i. e. from recycled tires) can be used. Preferably the buffering material includes side channels which form around the floor joist.

According to further embodiments of the invention, the above buffering materials can be used in ceiling construction in a similar manner.

According to further embodiments of the invention, the above buffering materials can be used in wall construction in a similar manner.

Advantages of the invention are that sound transfer is reduced and there is virtually no squeak in the floor, ceiling and walls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the following drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a side cut-away view of the floor construction according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side cut-away view of the floor construction according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a side cut-away view of the floor construction according to a third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a side cut-away view of the ceiling construction according to the embodiment of Fig. 1.

FIG. 5 is a side cut-away view of the ceiling construction according to the embodiment of Fig. 2.

FIG. 6 is a side cut-away view of the ceiling construction according to the embodiment of Fig. 3.

FIG. 7 is a side cut-away view of the wall construction according to the embodiment of Fig. 1.

FIG. 8 is a side cut-away view of the wall construction according to the embodiment of Fig. 2.

FIG. 9 is a side cut-away view of the wall construction according to the embodiment of Fig. 3.

The same reference numerals are used in different Figures to denote similar components.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to Fig. 1 there is shown a wood joist 2 on which is placed flooring 4.

A continuous piece of metal 6 is bent and placed between the wood joist 2 and the flooring 4 to act as a buffering material. The metal 6 can be of a generally U-shape, or can be further bent to be in an "accordion"style. Typically the metal 6 is of approximately 24-gauge aluminum such as tin or steel. The metal 6 can be of sufficient width to enable it to be extended around the edges of the wood joist 2.

The flooring 4 is secured to the wood joist 2 by means of a screw 8 or similar attaching means.

Referring to Fig. 2, another embodiment of the invention is shown which includes one or more strips 10 which serve as a further buffering component.

The strips 10 can be made of rubber or plastic and it has been found that recycled tires are particularly suitable. Natural or other substances can be used depending upon their properties and densities. The thickness of the strips 10 is preferably 1/16"but can be of any practical thickness.

Referring to Fig. 3, a further embodiment of the invention is shown which shows a strip 12 that serves as a buffering component. The strip 12 is typically 1/4"thick but can be of any practical thickness.

The strip 12 can be made of rubber or plastic and it has been found that recycled tires are particularly suitable. Natural or other substances can be used depending upon their properties and densities.

The strip 12 can be formed to include side channels of about 2"which are adapted to extend around the edges of the wood joist 2.

The plywood flooring 4 is secured to the wood joist 2 by means of a screw 8 or similar attaching means.

All three embodiments of the invention can be further enhanced by using commercially available sound batting which would be placed between joists to reduce sound travel.

Referring to Figure 4 there is shown a side cut-away view of the ceiling construction according to the embodiment of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 5 there is shown a side cut-away view of the ceiling construction according to the embodiment of Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 6 there is shown a side cut-away view of the ceiling construction according to the embodiment of Fig. 3.

Referring to Figure 7 there is shown a side cut-away view of the wall construction according to the embodiment of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 8 there is shown a side cut-away view of the wall construction according to the embodiment of Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 9 there is shown a side cut-away view of the wall construction according to the embodiment of Figure 3.

Both sides of the wall can be constructed using the buffering material described above for even greater advantage.

It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that a number of modifications and variations could be made without departing from the scope or intention of the invention.