How To Fix A Squeaky Hardwood Floor

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If the application of baby powder fails to work, then further investigation is required with the floor.

If it is possible then you should take subfloor access and have a friend or family member walk on the floor above you until the squeaking is located.

Once the squeaking is located, check the floor for gaps or for any signs of cracking or splitting in the support beams of the floor. If so then you can repair these very easily with glazier points or shims.

If you do have access to subfloor then while you are there it may pay to check out the X shaped bridging strips which are located between the floor joists.

These must be secured firmly in place because any gaps at the top of your joist will cause the floor to squeak and even shift a little.

If you discover that you have loose floorboards then you can work from the subfloor area and secure any loose boards by simply using long wood screws which can be drilled through your subfloor into the floorboard.

Do check the length of screw though, compared to the thickness of the subfloor and floorboard.

The last thing you want to happen is to screw the screw in and discover later that the end protrudes out of the floorboard.

Now if you do not have access to a subfloor then the repair can be carried out from the main floor.

Just secure the floorboard with wood screws in to a counterbore hole. Once the screws are in just cover with a wood plug or some stained dowel.

If after the repair you still have a squeak then repeat the process over again until the squeak is eliminated.

Which screws are best to use with squeaky floorboards?

Counter snap screws and the now well known Squeeeeek No More System are highly recommended and do work well. Available from Amazon for around the $20 mark, these prove to be a right royal deal.

What comes with this package is 50 screws, a square head drill bit for your drill and the counter snap thingie which holds the screw firmly in place while it snaps the head of the screw off.

In researching squeaky floors it has been found that the squeaks will come from both or either one of 2 points. They are at the joist or actually between the joists and each particular location requires a different screw.

The screw system has been designed for this and by having the screw head snap off, you are left with a very tidy and user friendly finish.

Just fill the remaining hole with a wood filler that replicates the colour of your flooring. You will never know that a repair has been carried out!!

Once repaired it is a good idea to constantly monitor your floor with the use of a moisture meter. Remember moisture level changes are the cause of many flooring problems.

How To Fix Squeaky Floorboards

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Wood moisture meter

Concrete moisture meter

Garden moisture meter

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Sqeaky floorboards will not affect the structure of your home or pose a large financial decision as to whether you can afford to fix them or not. They are very annoying though and rectifying the matter is fairly easy to do with a small diy weekend project.

Due to moisture, floorboards will expand and shrink over time. This will eventually loosen any nails or tacks that hold the floorboard in place. Any nail or tack that has worked loose will cause a squeaky spot in your floor. Locating the squeaky spot on a floor precisely just involves walking on the floor until the spot is found.

If there are no exposed nails or tacks visible or to the touch and the boards appear to be secure, then you can simply eliminate the squeaking by squirting baby powder into the cracks around a particular board or an area. If this fails to work, then further investigation and action is required.