How to Remove Squeaky Floors in an Old House
Living in an old house is a challenge for many reasons. From architectural details you can’t see anymore, to layers of paint and wallpaper, to custom built-ins, there are features hidden throughout.
However, some features of older homes are hard to ignore, let alone overlook—like a leaky basement, tiny closets or flickering electricity—that relatives commonly refer to as “character” and/or “charm.” Creaky hardwood floors also fall into this category.
It’s one thing when they betray you at night, making noise when you try to sneak into the kitchen unnoticed to have a snack. But older floors also tend to make squeaks and crackles even when no one is standing in the house. And even though you know these aren’t extra steps, your mind can play some pretty nasty tricks on you in the dark.
Luckily, you have options to solve this problem and calm your floors.
Reasons why your floor may be squeaking
Over time, the fasteners that hold the subfloor to the joists or the fasteners that hold the flooring material in place can become loose. In older homes, the nails that hold things together can begin to fall out over time, allowing the floor to move. If a space develops between the floor joists and the subfloor, or between the flooring material and the subfloor, the wood will often make a squeaking sound as it rubs against itself under the pressure of footsteps.
How to stop wooden floors from making noise
Lisa Kaplan Gordon writes in an article for Realtor.com : “Squeaks happen when a home settles and wood floors dry out and then expand. This causes the floorboards to rub against each other, the subfloor, or the nail bodies.”
Luckily, she also has ideas on how to stop the squeaking. But first you need to find its source—it’s a two-person job, she says.
Have one person go down to the level of the house below the noisy floor (so if the creaking is on the first floor, go to the basement) while the other person walks on the creaky floor. A person at a lower level should be able to determine exactly (or approximately) where the sound is coming from.
From here, you have several options, depending on whether you want a quick fix or something more permanent, and whether you want (or, more realistically, can) solve the problem from the top or bottom.
From below
According to Gordon , several ways to eliminate a noisy floor below include:
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Apply a little construction adhesive or wood glue to a thin piece of wood shim, then gently tap it between the joists and the subfloor or two floorboards, “being careful not to tap so hard that you lift or sag the floor,” she notes.
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If the gap is larger, you can use a caulking gun to fill it with construction adhesive between the subfloor and the joist.
Above
In the meantime, here are a few ways to calm floors above, once again, according to Gordon :
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Sprinkle talcum powder over noisy cracks, cover the area with a towel or cloth, and walk gently over it to set it in place. “The powder acts as a lubricant to stop the friction that causes noise,” she explains.
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“Drive ring-shank floor nails (covered with small rings that prevent the nail from loosening over time) or cement-coated floor nails into the joints between the rubbing parts,” says Gordon.
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If the squeaking is caused by the floorboards separating from the subfloor, you can drive two nails at opposite 45-degree angles into the joists (which can be found with a stud finder) and then seal the holes with putty.
Try to support the subfloor
The hardware that holds the subfloor to the joists can become loose over time. Nails may begin to fall out and the boards may rub loosely against their neighbors, causing squeaking. If your floor is squeaking because the subfloor is moving against itself, there are a few other things you can try.
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If your basement has access to the subfloor from below, you can try adding a support or strip to the underside of the subfloor boards. Cut a one-by-three or one-by-four piece to fit between the floor joists in the problem area. Then use a pilot drill to drill two pilot holes on either side of the board. Using a short screw ( 1.5 or 1.25 inches), screw the strip into the bottom of the subfloor through the pilot holes.
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If the subfloor is available, you can also try screwing the problematic subfloor board to the floor joist. Drill a pilot hole at an angle into the joist adjacent to the damaged subfloor board. Then use a two-inch screw to drive it diagonally through the joist and into the subfloor board.
Try lubricating adjacent surfaces.
Since squeaks are caused by adjacent boards rubbing against each other, you can alleviate some of the problem by lubricating the areas where the boards rub. Although this is a temporary solution and will need to be redone periodically, it is a quick and easy way to fix the problem.
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Rub some beeswax into the cracks on the floor where the squeaking noise is coming from. Work your way back and forth across the area and then reapply the beeswax. Repeat this process until the beeswax is absorbed into the area. When you’re finished, you shouldn’t hear any squeaking.
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If you have hardwood or vinyl floors installed over an existing floor, they may not be held to the underlying surface with adhesive. In this case, you can use a floor lubricant to eliminate the problem area.