The squeaky floor gets the ….

Your house may be old or brand spanking new, it doesn’t matter, squeaky wooden floors happen. The squeak may come from one particular spot, many spots, or just one spot. They may also show some preference for certain environmental conditions. The squeak may only appear when the house is hot, cold, humid, dry, or for no apparent reason at all. The good news is that most squeaks are not hard for the average do-it-yourselfer to fix.

Exorcising the squeak

Casting out the demon squeak requires some modicum of knowledge about how wooden floors are constructed. Most have a two layer construction: the subfloor and the finished floor. The subfloor may consist of wide boards that run across the supporting joists at a 45 degree angle. In some cases the subfloor may be sheets of plywood. The finished floor is made up of narrower boards that run, usually, at right angles to the joist. They fit together with a tongue-in-groove joint. The finished floor boards should never run parallel to the subfloor boards.

The majority of the time, squeaks are caused by loose boards. This is caused by the buckling or warping of joists, or warping of the floorboard itself. Floorboards warp if they were not nailed down properly at the start, or not enough room was allowed for their expansion and contraction. Yes, they’re ALIVE! No, not really, but they do expand and contract. The actual squeak usually comes from the edges of the boards rubbing together when stepped on. The loose board(s) may be part of the subfloor or the finished floor.

The ritual

Have someone walk, not run, so don’t ask the kids to help, around the offending floor. Listen and try to pinpoint the exact spot a squeak is coming from. Mark out this section of the floor with some of that police line tape. Ordinary masking tape, or even chalk, will do in a pinch.

Now, if you don’t want to get into doing a permanent repair job right away, you can squirt some powdered lubricant into the cracks around the bad boards. This is a temporary fix and won’t last, but it will give you some peace for a while. Powdered graphite will work, as will any of the white powdered lubricants you can find at a hardware store. Squirt the stuff into the cracks and then step on the board a few times to work it in. It works, but the squeak will be back like a bad rash.

If this doesn’t work, the squeak is likely coming from the subfloor. In that case proceed to the basement, and take along a flashlight.

If there is an unfinished basement beneath the squeaky area, you will be able to access the squeak. Have someone else walk around above. Listen and watch to pinpoint the squeak. Then, watch while the person above steps on and off the squeaky boards. If the subflooring moves up and down, it is the culprit. If the subfloor doesn’t move, the problem is the finished flooring.

Driving out the demon squeak

In cases where the finished flooring is loose, and you cannot get at it from below, the fix is quite simple. Drill a small diameter pilot hole for nailing. At an angle, drive a two and one half, or three inch, finishing nail into the offending boards so that the nails go through the subfloor. One nail goes on each side of the offending joint. The nails should be driven in so that they catch the tongue edge of one board and the grooved edge of the other board. Angle the nails in opposite directions, so the tips point toward each other. Have someone stand on the boards while you nail them. Do not drive the nails all the way down to the surface of the finished floor board because you will damage the surface of the finished board with your hammer. Drive the nails in to the point where the head of the nail is about a half inch above the surface of the board. Drive the nails in the rest of the way by using a nail set.

If you can get at the finished floor from below the squeak can be easily repaired if it is coming from the subfloor and not the finished floor. Shine a light on the subfloor from beneath and watch as someone walks about upstairs. Pinpoint any movement of the subfloor boards. Then you can drive a thin wooden wedge, coated with wood glue, between the joist and the offending board in the subfloor.

While you are down there under the floor, check the bridging strips too. They are those short pieces of wood that form the X shape between the joists. Make sure they are nailed in securely. If they are loose, the joists can twist, and that can leave a gap at the top of joist. If there is a gap at the top of the joist, the flooring can move, and thus squeak.

The neatest way to secure loose finished floor boards is from underneath also. If you can access the floorboards from below, you can drive long wood screws up from underneath and they will pull the finished floor boards down snug. The screws must be long enough to penetrate the subfloor and go about two-thirds of the way into the finished floor board. You do not want the screws to go right through the finished floor board!

In cases where you cannot get at the floor from underneath, you can drive the screws in from above. Always drill a pilot hole for screws going through the finished floor so that the finished floor boards do not crack. Drill pilot holes whether you are driving the screws from underneath, or above the finished floor. You will also need to counterbore the hole you drilled for the screw. The counterbore should be just deep enough so that the head of the screw will sit below the surface the floorboard when the screw is in all the way. Once the screw is in, fill the hole with colored plastic wood, or use a wood plug stained the same color as the floorboard. If you use a wooden plug, put a little wood glue on it so it won’t come out.

A piece of dowel, stained to match, will also do as a plug. Once the dowel is set, use a sharp chisel to make it level with the floorboard. Be careful not to gouge the floorboard with the chisel.

Oak floors

Before driving a nail, or a screw, into an oak floor drill a pilot hole to keep the oak from cracking. This is very important for oak floors in particular. It doesn’t matter whether the screw or nail is being driven from above or underneath the floor, always drill a pilot hole. The hole diameter can be a little smaller for a nail than for a screw.

Even if you have drilled a pilot hole, drive the screw, or nail in slowly and carefully. If you notice the oak starting to show any sign of cracking, take the screw or nail out and drill a slightly larger diameter pilot hole and try again.

Conclusion

Now the squeaks should be gone. If not, go back to the beginning and pay close attention to pinpointing exactly where the squeak is emanating from, they can be elusive. Also, remember that you need to squeak hunt when conditions that cause a particular squeak are right.

Once you have exorcised all possible squeaks, you can safely raid the fridge at night with much less risk of being detected. So, repairing squeaks can be considered stealth technology!