How about some hardwood floor expertise - how do you fix the squeaky spots? I've...

...got several, unfortunately. TIA.

I have several, also...any suggestions out there?

I have always heard that the squeaks are places where the boards have loosened up in a nail and as they board rises and falls on the nail, it squeaks. The solution then, is to find the spot where the board crosses a joist and put a screw in it. If the floor below does not have a finished ceiling, then you can do some things from underneath. If not, the best time to fix the squeak is just before you recoat or reseal your hardwood floor. Mark your squeaky spots with tape or chalk, look for the existing nails to locate your joists (they should be in rows, much like finding the joins ly looking for the nail heads in drywall) and then put a screw in the board that is squeaking nearest the joist where the squeak seems to originate.

I admit, that I do not have a lot of experience doing this, but I have searched for a few squeaks. My problem is that in our houses, somebody had usually already carpeted over them so you couldn't get at them from the top or the bottom. We just learned to live with them.

Grease? But seriously, floors squeak because there is movement under load. Stop the movement, stop the squeak. I can't tell you exactly how to fix it without seeing where/why it's moving. You can try sprinkling baby powder on the floor in the area of the squeak and rubbing it into cracks. This will lubricate the spaces between the boards, if it can get down between them, and help reduce the squeak. Otherwise, you may need to get below the floor and shim up the area where the squeak is to tighten the fit and reduce movement. Kinda hard to do if it's an upper story floor (or you're on a slab). There are also screws with special heads that break off under the surface that are used to screw the boards down tighter. One cure I would *not* use is to apply water or liquid to the area in hopes of swelling the fibers. This might work temporarily, but can cause other damage, or the problem can return (maybe worse) when the fibers dry out and shrink back.

Sorry I can't be of more help, but the problem really needs a specific fix, depending upon the circumstances.

Thanks, sooner.boomer.

Mine does the same thing and I haven't tried to fix it yet.

A neighbor told me that he used some adhesive in a caulk gun and from his unfinished basement ran a bead of glue along the top edge of all the floor joists up against the subflooring that was laying on the joists and that worked. I haven't done it but maybe I should since I'm months away from putting up a ceiling in my basement.

cvanc said:

...got several, unfortunately. TIA.

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Hey bud, where are they? Upstairs--downstairs?Does it only happen in the winter? What kind of floor? planking(the thin stuff) or boards( thick, 1/2 inch or better). Can you get to the joists under the floor?

cvanc said:

...got several, unfortunately. TIA.

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An N-10,000 should take care of it.

GRIFFIN said:

An N-10,000 should take care of it.

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Yeah, but I'd point it at the problem and it would shoot off to the side

The real question is wether its a sub-floor issue or wether its the actual wood flooring. If its the sub-floor and you can access the underside its fairly easy to fix (getting there might not be easy), you can if its over a floor joist simply push or lightly tap a cedar door shim into the area between the sub-floor and the floor joist continue pushing it in until someone (you need a second person preferably) walking on the floor no longer causes it to squeak. If its a engineered wood floor (snap-lock stuff) I got no ideas, if its real wood nailed down type you can go from below and shoot a screw through the subfloor (making sure not to go through the finish floor of course )into the squeaky area since its not designed to be a floating floor. This is the way I have seen it/done it over the years and there are probably other ways too.

Mushtang said:

Mine does the same thing and I haven't tried to fix it yet.

A neighbor told me that he used some adhesive in a caulk gun and from his unfinished basement ran a bead of glue along the top edge of all the floor joists up against the subflooring that was laying on the joists and that worked. I haven't done it but maybe I should since I'm months away from putting up a ceiling in my basement.

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You would be better off probably just using construction adhesive and putting a furring strip alongside the floor joist to subfloor joint and securing that to the floor joist with nails or screws. The reason for the furring strip is to get full bond to the subfloor and then solidly attaching it to the floor joist. My $.02

I see the problem as a naturally occurring phenomenon, and ignore it. :wink:

Carl,

Are the squeaks isolated to a particular spot, or are they widespread?

In general, a lot of these floors are put down with nails, which loosen over time. If it it a small area, I would try to get screws through the floor in to the floor joists. Of course, you would need to countersink the screws, fill, sand, and finish the patched areas.

I had to rip out a rooms floor last year to the joists, and I am proud to say there are no nails and no squeaks.

If you want to discuss further you know my email.

More than likely the squeaks are coming from the subfloor itself where the nails have loosened over the years. The nails used for real hardwood have very aggressive barbs and wouldn't be prone to pulling out like the subfloor nails which have a light ring shank to them.

Joker050608 said:

More than likely the squeaks are coming from the subfloor itself where the nails have loosened over the years. The nails used for real hardwood have very aggressive barbs and wouldn't be prone to pulling out like the subfloor nails which have a light ring shank to them.

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+1 the subfloor is to blame I'm willing to bet. in my opinion, unless you are replacing the floor its not worth it to rip everything up just to fix the subfloor.