How to fix creaky floorboards?

Answer 1

If it's the first floor and you have a basement then your in luck. Have someone walk around above you and as they step on a squeaky spot, slide a shim in between the joist and the ceiling. good luck

Answer 2

Hi
I guess you do not have a slab foundation, but a joist system? Often in older houses the sub floor separates in places over time from the support joists. Here are some thing you could try.
1. Crawl into the crawl space under your House with a flashlight and see if separation is indeed occurring, and to what extent. Then, if there is space between the joists and the sub-floor, hammer in some shims in these areas.
2. If the entire floor squeaks, a better way might be to jack up the floor using 'screw-jacks, the types used for leveling mobile homes, in strategic places. ( these are left there permanently) Support these jacks with wide paving stones to spread out the weight so the jacks won't just sink. That should bring the joists back into contact with the sub-floor, and the beauty of this method is that you can go back occasionally and screw the jacks up a bit more if continued settling occurs.
3. Pull up your carpeting, find which way the joists are running, snap a chalk-line over them, and drive screws every 16 inches all along them. Replace carpet with new.
Good Luck!

Answer 3

Not sure that you can, totally.

It's an acoustical property caused by wood bending and loosening.

You can try putting some wood glue underneath the boards and then add a new nail or two, but the chances are it will eventuall loosen and creak or develop a new type of creak.

Replacing the offending board might work or at least change things.

More of a pain than it's worth.

Answer 4

I live in a 100 year old house and I love the creaky floors. It's part of the houses' character.

Answer 5

i lived in an apartment with creaky floorboards. i told the landlord about it and he ended tearing up the old carpet & matting and put a thicker mat & carpet down. it didn't take out all the creaks, but it made walking on floor a little less noisy.

Answer 6

If you can get under them, in the basement or under a stair way, slip a shim or small piece of wood between the floorboard and the joist.

Answer 7

whats creaking the wood floor or the sub floor ? most of the time if from when it was installed , it don't happen wright away cause the hard wood holds moisture .b4 i install a wood floor i let the wood acclimate
to the temp of the house cause if you don't once the wood dries out it shrinks . if you don't let some of the moisture come out and in stall it will shrink and leave spaces and make creaking sounds.. you can have a floor man come check it .it can be fixed with a tiny nail that no one will see . or take the board out and nail the sub floor and install a new board .

Answer 8

yeah, what they said, about shims, just remember to glue them to stop continued separation. worse comes to worse, a new sub-floor. ahhh $$$$ hardwood floors are different, they are often tongue and groove (T&G), and the nails are hidden, if they are old enough, not T&G pull the old nail and install new slightly larger ones. if the boards are dry and warped you can use wood swell, a product used in furniture production were glue cannot be used. put small amount in the joints, only if the gaps are not extreme, T&G up to 1/4 inch. older lathe style; up to an eighth inch. if greater install shims in the joint first then product. wax floor heavlily after application, to retain moister, and prevent squeaking. good luck, feel free to call

Answer 9

it is best done from underneath. for larger gaps use shims and wood screws. For smaller gaps use just the screws.

If you need to do this from the top and it is carpet you can probably get by with just nailing into your floor joists. you should be able to spot them by looking for rows of existing nails.

If this is a hardwood floor, this can be a bit tricky. If there are gaps between the boards you may be able to get very thin finish nails between them. You will need something called a nail set to drive the head of the nail far down into the wood. You want to sink it below the surface. It may not be ideal as you may not be able to hide them well. I suggest finish nails that have a color to them to help hide them, or you may be able to find a putty to fill over them if you can drive them down far enough.

Good luck.

Answer 10

don't walk on them or you can have them fixed which can be very expensive but worth it in the long run.... creaky floorboards are not always a good thing....