Wood floors are a popular choice because they make a room warmer and more inviting, but no one wants to listen to squeaky noises all day. These sounds are ruining the overall aesthetic of what should be a dream home. This article will help you fix squeaky wood floors by sharing six proven methods that have worked for thousands of other homeowners in their quest to solve this problem.
Why Is The Wood Floor Making Noise?
Many reasons could be causing the noise that you hear when walking on your wood floor, but most likely it is the result of loose or uneven boards or joists, moved by heavy furniture or vibrations from other rooms in your house.
And while some causes are too many moisture problems, which will have an effect on any flooring material, other causes might be very localized to just one board in your flooring system. Keep reading to learn more about methods on how to fix squeaky wood floors in ease.
How To Fix Squeaky Wood Floor: 6 Proven Methods
There are many ways on how to silence your squeaky wooden floor. Below you can find the most valuable of them.
Put A Shim Into The Gap
If there is a gap between two floorboards, you can fill it with a shim. This can be any similar type of wood that is flexible enough to be pushed into the crevice, and rigid enough not to cause further problems when the boards are walked on by others. You will have to locate the exact point where one board ends and the other begins for this to work properly.
Nail A Piece Of Wood Along A Warped Joist
If the floorboards are not warped or misshapen, you can use a nail to secure a piece of wood along them to keep them from moving anymore. Use the nail at an angle so you won’t hit the board with it when walking across it.
Put Wood Blocks Between Noisy Joists
In case the floorboards are warped or misshapen, you need to go ahead and deal with it since this will cause more problems in the future by causing cracks that may cause bulging in certain areas of the house below it.
To fix this, you can place wood blocks on top of them and secure them in place with a piece of wood nailed across the boards. This can be used for the single joist case or for when there are multiple warped ones.
Use Construction Adhesive To Fill Long Gaps
If you have a long gap between two floorboards, you can fill it with construction adhesive and then push a strip of wood over it to hold it in place. Apply glue to the bottom of your strip of wood so that it will stay securely in place, and add more glue to make sure that no gaps remain once it has dried completely. Check beforehand to see how much adhesive you need to fill the gap, and make sure it only touches the floorboards once it has hardened completely.
Screw The Subfloor To The Finished Floor
If you have a long gap between the floorboards, you can use screws to secure the subfloor to the final floor once it has been installed. Simply drill your screw holes into the subfloor so that they are close enough to penetrate the top of the floorboards. Make sure that you don’t drill too deep that they may go through into other house areas below it.
Floorboard Lubricants
If you have squeaky wood floors, but there is still some noise coming from them, then you can try using a lubricant on them before walking across them. The only thing to remember here is not to use Teflon-based lubes since these may cause damage when exposed to water.
How To Fix Squeaky Wood Floors Over Concrete
If the floorboards are installed over concrete, you will need to put a layer of plywood on top of the concrete before installing the boards on top of it. The plywood should be ½ inch thicker than the thickness of the floorboards. Screws should be used to secure the boards to the plywood. This will help prevent squeaks from happening since the boards will not vibrate as much with a layer of something solid underneath them.
How To Fix Squeaky Wood Floors Under Carpet
To fix squeaky wood floors under carpet, you will need to locate the joists from which the squeak is originating and then secure them in place by drilling screws into them. This will help improve your chances of making sure that the floorboards remain in place and don’t move anymore, keeping your house quieter for all to enjoy.
The Bottom Line
A squeaky floor should never be ignored since it can lead to more serious problems in the future by allowing the floorboards to continue to move around and separate. The carpets will not conceal the sounds of a moving floor, making it best to address the problem right away before it becomes worse. I hope this guide gave you vast information about how to fix squeaky wood floors with no fuss.
FAQ
Why Are My Wooden Floors So Squeaky?
How Do You Fix Squeaky Floors Yourself?
If one board is making more noise than others when walked over, screw-in long screws from underneath each time you walk over that spot. Tightening joists with metal nails may also help. An excellent way to stop some degree of creaking is by putting shims under joist hangers that sag or using wood blocks between noisy joists.