If the floors squeak. What to do if wooden floors squeak. Possible causes of squeaks

Photo: upon request from Yandex and Google

Not only residents of old houses face the problem of squeaky floors. An unsuccessfully laid new laminate flooring can also annoy you with hateful sounds. We suggest that you do not tolerate or tiptoe around the apartment when someone close to you is sleeping, but that you radically solve this problem. There are a lot of options for eliminating squeaking - choose yours.

Why do floors squeak?

  • The boards are not firmly fixed to the underground crossbars. As a result, inevitable loosening occurs, which is why the floor creaks;
  • The simplest and most natural reason is that the tree has dried out. Unfortunately, with natural material this happens when the floor serves you for a very long time;
  • Special wooden linings sank;
  • Nails and screws have become loose;
  • The ends of the boards move when walking on the floor;
  • There is insufficient clearance between the wall base and the floor.

The floors in the apartment squeak: we offer several options for eliminating the problem

Option 1: polyurethane foam

We can’t say that this method will help one hundred percent, but if the squeak is not very big, it really works. Ordinary polyurethane foam is used, which is carefully blown into the subfloor. This is done quite easily, which means that even a beginner can cope with eliminating the squeak.

The indisputable advantage of this option is that there is no need to remove the boards from the floor. It is enough to drill a certain number of neat holes and blow foam into them. It can also be poured into the cracks between the boards. The principle of operation is simple: the poured foam will harden and expand, as a result of which the floorboards will be pressed down and the creaking will disappear.


However, this option also has two obvious disadvantages. Firstly, this method is quite expensive. You will need a lot of foam, and good material from a trusted manufacturer is not cheap. Secondly, fragility. Unfortunately, after some time the creaking will return again, because the foam is destroyed and pressed through. However, this may not happen, because it all depends on how much stress your floor experiences every day. If we are talking, for example, about an office where people are constantly moving, then the creaking will definitely return. But in an apartment this method will be much more durable. Read the following answers to the question why the floor creaks.


Option 2: driving wedges

If your wooden floor is creaking, then wedges will come in handy. This option is more durable than polyurethane foam and is significantly less expensive. True, you will have to work hard.


Ideally, if you have the opportunity to work with the “lower” floor (for example, in a country house or in a house). In this case, wedges need to be placed between the boards and beams themselves. Each wedge should first be lubricated with high-quality glue.

If you can’t get to the subfloor, then simply drive wooden wedges into the gaps between the floorboards. There may be a lot of such gaps, and the work will be quite painstaking, but believe me: it’s worth it. Your working tools are a cone-shaped hammer and a regular hammer. Keep in mind that the approximate distance between the 2 wedges should be approximately 0.17-0.22 millimeters. The wedges must be tapped in such a way that the upper part under no circumstances goes beyond the top of the board. Now you know what to do to prevent the floor from squeaking. But that’s not all: what if you like the next option better?


Option 3: self-tapping screws

Another practical answer to the question of what to do if the floors in the apartment creak. True, there is one “but”: you will have to work with self-tapping screws only if the floor made of boards, which is mounted on a concrete base, creaks. The essence of the method is simple: each place from which an unpleasant sound comes is “stretched” with self-tapping screws. The huge advantage of the work is that you will forget about the squeak for a really long time.


You should start by identifying problem areas and looking for beams/joists (they should be marked on the floor, for example, with chalk). It is not difficult to determine the area where the joist is located: as a rule, these are the heads of screws or nails. With their help, the floorboards are attached to the beams. Then it is worth making sure that in no case do any communications, wires, etc. pass through the found places.

Next, we will need a drill: in the place of the creaking, we drill a hole through the board, after which, using a thin wire, we accurately measure the distance to the concrete surface. Let's say you get a distance of eight centimeters. In this case, you need to use self-tapping screws with a length of at least nine to ten centimeters. All that remains is to screw in the screws through the contact points of the boards and joists. We do this all the way until we feel that we have touched the concrete. In most cases, it takes two to four screws per problem squeaky spot. As a result, thanks to the screws, additional support is created to support the beams. The floor seems to rise in the “sick” place, and the unpleasant sound disappears. It is only important to check that each screw head is well recessed. As you can see, it’s easy to eliminate the squeak without opening the floor!


Option 4: plywood

So, your chipboard floors are squeaking. To forget about this sound forever, just attach it over the material plain plywood. Please note that the plywood used should be no thinner than twelve millimeters. The plywood must first be cut into squares. small size. After this, make sure that the base of your floor is completely dry. The plywood is fixed to the floor using screws or special glue. Between the “squares” you need to leave gaps of nine to ten millimeters. For more information on how to eliminate creaking floors in an apartment, see the video below:

Option 5: anchor method

Now let's try to remove the unpleasant creaking of the floor using special metal anchors. The reliability of the result of such work is one hundred percent. But there is also a significant disadvantage: this is the most expensive and labor-intensive option.


So, if you decide not to change the floor, then you will have to work according to the so-called through installation principle. Its essence is that the metal anchor must pass through the flooring. To start with using a hammer drill you need to go through cross beams and the floor drill a small hole in the concrete. Next, a special outer metal shell is installed. It is into this that you need to screw the anchor directly. This way you will secure the lag for them.

Keep in mind that the top of the anchor should not protrude above the deck. To do this, the entrance of the hole must first be drilled using a nozzle of a slightly larger diameter. Ideally, you can install such anchors around the perimeter of the entire room.

Note! The optimal distance between anchors is ninety centimeters. Based on this, plan how many fasteners you will need. Now you know what to do if the floors in your house creak!

The popularity of using wood as flooring due to its characteristics and consumer properties. Wooden floors are environmentally friendly and do not emit emissions during operation. harmful substances. However, over time, the boards in the apartment dry out, and when walking on them they begin to make various sounds. What to do if your wooden floor creaks? First you need to determine the possible causes of this phenomenon, and then find effective way elimination.

Causes of squeaking

There may be several possible answers to the question of why floors creak. First of all, due to the deformation of the material during the drying process. If the humidity of the boards used for flooring was more than optimal and exceeded 12%, then over time their warping is inevitable. The reasons for the appearance of squeaking also include:

  • Weakening the rigidity of the structure. As a result of a loose fit, the floor structural elements begin to move relative to each other.
  • Damage by fungus and rot. They appear in rooms with high humidity and contribute to the deformation of the material, forming cracks and gaps.
  • Reducing the gap between walls and boards. The friction of structural elements against each other is enough to cause a creaking sound.
  • Reduced joint strength. The fastening elements gradually become loose and the tightness of the individual wooden parts decreases.

In addition, the reasons for the appearance of squeaking can be mistakes made when installing the floor. The most common among them:

  • selection of boards whose thickness does not correspond to certain operating conditions;
  • incorrect installation of joists and too large a distance between the load-bearing beams.

Depending on the cause, an algorithm of actions necessary to get rid of the squeak is selected.

Tools and accessories

To bring the wooden floor in an apartment into proper shape and eliminate squeaks, you will need various tools, the exact list of which is determined by the type repair work. The minimum set should include:

  • nail puller, which is used to open the floor;
  • hacksaw for cutting linings for boards;
  • a hammer necessary to strengthen the fixation of individual elements with nails;
  • an ax with which you can adjust the bars or wedges to the desired size;
  • marker or chalk for marking places where additional fastening or other types of work need to be done;
  • drill for making holes.
  • Using a hammer, drive the anchor into the hole and push it apart.
  • Lay the floorboard, cutting it with a hacksaw or electric jigsaw so that it does not touch the wall after fastening.
  • Fix the floorboards on the joists using self-tapping screws and recessing the caps to the floor level.

It is not advisable to use nails to fasten boards, as over time they can cause squeaking.

A simpler option is to get rid of squeaks without dismantling the floor. It can be used both for and for covering from boards.

Wooden floor

If extraneous sounds appear due to weak fastening of the boards and slightly deformed areas, then wooden wedges are used. They are driven between the floorboards to eliminate friction and the squeak disappears.

If the affected area is large, the boards are secured with self-tapping screws, doing the following:

  • identify creaking areas and mark them with chalk;
  • find the location of the lags, for which they are guided by nails or remove the outer boards;
  • in increments of no more than 15 cm, drill holes in the floorboards that are 1-2 mm smaller than the diameter of the screws;
  • Using a drill with an attachment or a screwdriver, screw the boards to the joists, slightly recessing the caps.

First, its source is determined and deformed areas are noted. Then, using a drill, cement and a large-volume syringe without a needle, perform the following operations:

  1. carefully drill a hole in the middle of the creaking plank;
  2. make a cement mortar that resembles the consistency of milk;
  3. pour the resulting mixture into the syringe and check how it is squeezed out;
  4. If the mixture is too thick, it is diluted with water, and cement is added to the liquid mixture;
  5. insert the syringe into the prepared hole and pour the solution in small doses, pausing to allow air to escape;
  6. pour the mixture until the hole is filled.

Finally, you need to wait for the solution to harden, and then make sure there is no creaking. To ensure that the location of the repair work is not visible, the hole is sealed with mastic or a special wood putty and the surface is polished.

Except cement mortar Polyurethane glue can be used to secure deformed planks.

In some cases, polyurethane foam is used to fill the space under damaged planks and strengthen the base, but this method can only serve as a temporary measure.

Advice! There is no need to get rid of all squeaky areas at once. After checking the elimination technology on one bar, you can begin working on the following elements. If the squeak does not disappear, then you will need to re-lay the parquet completely.

All those who live in old private houses often experience the same problem over time - the wooden floor creaks - we will tell you what to do in this case in this article. On a positive note In this case, it may be that all the work can be done with your own hands.

Possible causes of squeaks

If logs creak, the following reasons are possible:

  • The boards are poorly secured. This fact is the cause of squeaking most often. How to remove creaking floors in this case, you ask. You just need to secure the boards more securely, and self-tapping screws are best for this. Unlike nails, they won't loosen after a while.
  • The pads under the joists are loose or incorrectly installed. Over time, the floor in the apartment creaks because the joists become less stable and this becomes evident when walking.
  • Formation of gaps between boards. This happens if insufficiently dried wood was used as a raw material during the laying process or it could have dried out after a change of season. In this case, the boards begin to rub against each other, which is accompanied by an unpleasant sound.
  • Laying without maintaining a gap between the boards and the wall. In this case, squeaks occur due to the fact that a 10 mm gap was not left from the wall, which is necessary so that the board can expand freely during changes in the microclimate. As a result, the boards swell or swell - a squeak appears at the wall at the point of contact with them.

Naturally, squeaks can also occur if some of these factors are combined. In order to understand how to remove the creaking of a wooden floor, you need to understand its nature. Often, a simple inspection is enough, but sometimes it may be necessary to remove a couple of boards to determine the condition of the joists.


Now you need to understand what to do to prevent floors from squeaking if they are made of plywood. Additional reason Inter-sheet friction may cause squeaks. Since the installation of the covering from sheets is carried out in compliance with the gaps, which are soon covered with putty, this is why such side issues arise.

Getting rid of floor squeaks

Screwing the floorboard

In the old days, there were probably no boards that were not attached to the floor with nails. Such floors still exist and many of them have not been repaired for decades. It can be assumed that most of the nails have become loose and need to be replaced with modern, effective fastening in the form of self-tapping screws.

Sequence of scrolling the floor:

  • Initially, you need to find out the thickness of the lag. This can be done by drilling a hole in the floor and measuring the length to the base. You can go the other way - remove one floorboard. The screws should be 1.5 cm shorter than the combined length of the floorboard and joists.


If you decide to use a screwdriver instead of an electric drill, then it must be powerful enough and have a capacious battery, otherwise the repair process will be significantly delayed.

  • If the screwdriver cannot screw in the screws, you can drill holes for them before installation. It is not necessary to remove old nails if they do not interfere.
  • The logs are usually located at a distance of 600 mm from each other. To understand how many screws you should purchase, you need to multiply the number of joists by the number of boards located across the entire width.
  • Next, everything is tritely simple - you need to screw all the boards tightly, while the caps should be hidden. If you can still hear creaks somewhere, then these places need to be marked so that they can be further secured later.
  • Next comes leveling the surface using plywood. It is also attached to the floor with self-tapping screws in increments of 150-200 mm. If you screw them in less often, they may become loose.

Gaps between boards

If there are gaps between the boards that cause the floors to creak, what to do without disassembling them, in this case, is to fix them using wooden wedges.

Sequence of operations:

  • plan wooden wedges from wood, determining right size;
  • cover them with glue and hammer them into the gap, the wedges should fit tightly;
  • After the glue has dried, the excess part of the wedges can be cut off flush with the base.

The disadvantage of this method is that the rail must be adjusted to the size of the slots each time, and this is very time-consuming.


It’s easier to use a cord instead of a rail:

  • You will need to buy a braided cord with a synthetic base. Next, it is impregnated with wood glue or PVA glue, and using a core or punch, the cord is driven between the boards to about half their thickness.
  • The upper part of the cracks is filled with homemade putty, which includes sawdust and PVA glue. It should have a paste-like consistency.
  • The putty should be applied with a slight excess so that after drying, the excess can be cut off flush with the main floor. When replacing the floor in a Khrushchev house with your own hands, slightly different methods are used.

Restoring regular floorboards

Not everyone knows what to do if the floor in the apartment creaks, in the case when an ordinary board was used to make such a floor.

The creaking occurs because the floorboards begin to sag during loading, since nearby boards do not hold them in any way.


What to do to prevent wooden floors from creaking in this case is to fasten the boards to one another.

Will need long drill, wooden dowels and the following sequence of actions:

  • Make a hole in the board under acute angle so that it reaches the adjacent board.
  • Cover the dowel with PVA glue and drive it into drilled hole. It should penetrate about 50% of each board.
  • The second hole should be made in the other direction in a nearby board after 200-300 mm. Thanks to this, the dowels will support the boards in the same way as tongue-and-groove ones.

Deformation gap

A 10 mm gap should be provided around the entire perimeter in case of temperature changes. If you have removed the baseboards and found wedges under them, they must be removed. If there is no gap at all, then you will need to remove the outer boards and shorten them, and then attach them back.

Loose logs

If, after checking, it turns out that the joists are not installed entirely correctly, then in such cases, it is often necessary to re-construct the floor, be it in an apartment or private house. There are cases when this problem arises in a specific place, it is easier to solve it - you just need to remove part of the sheathing and replace the pads under the joists or on them.


It is worth noting that the logs should not be fixed to the base, thus deteriorating the soundproofing qualities of the floor.

Thickness of boards and spacing between joists

If the wooden floor in your apartment creaks, what should you do if this happens when you move across it? This happens when the board is laid too thin or the distance between the lags is insufficient.

You should take the dimensions of the problem floor and compare them with the required indicators. If the difference is very large, then you will need to redo the floor, providing it with intermediate boards to ensure sufficient structural strength.

The problem can be partially solved by adding additional supports between the joists, but you need to understand that this solution is temporary.

You will need to do the following:

  • Large screws will be needed to ensure the boards are securely fastened together.
  • The length of the screws should not be less than the distance from the top of the board to the concrete screed.
  • Make a hole with a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw. The excess length of the self-tapping screw must be cut off.
  • The self-tapping screw should be screwed in until it reaches the concrete base.
  • Self-tapping screws must be cut so that they are not sharp, otherwise they will quickly damage concrete screed and will no longer support sagging boards.


Bottom line

It is worth remembering that laying flooring over a squeaky floor will not save the situation; annoying sounds will not go away. In any case, measures will be needed to restore the floor; it is better to do this in advance.

For those without construction education and experience home handyman information becomes relevant about why a wooden floor creaks, usually after several years of use. The reason is the lack of stable geometry of the structure, loosening of its individual elements, leading to a decrease in strength.

The structure of a wooden floor (subfloor or floor covering) is completely repairable, so you can get rid of squeaks in any case, but using various technologies.

Before removing creaking wooden floors in an apartment or house on our own, it is necessary to understand the causes of sounds. Creaking occurs due to friction of individual structural elements with each other:


Finally, logs or beams can rot in certain areas; part of the boardwalk attached to them touches adjacent boards attached to sections of the beam, which has retained its spatial geometry.

Important! If the floor creaks due to the boards bending underfoot (they touch each other), then you will need major renovation(dismantling) boardwalk. You will have to either reduce the pitch of the lags or increase the thickness of the board.

There are several ways to get rid of squeaking, depending on the purpose of the floor (finishing from tongue-and-groove boards or edged boards of the subfloor), its design and the hardware used (nail or self-tapping screw).

Remedies

To get rid of the creaking of a wooden floor on your own, you need to restore its structure according to technology:

  • any lumber can change geometry (drying out, warping) when humidity changes, so treatment with an antiseptic and periodic impregnation with the same liquid during operation is necessary;
  • the logs must be firmly fixed to the base, and the boards must be tightly pressed to them with self-tapping screws or nails with a screw notch;
  • To level the logs horizontally, it is prohibited to use wooden wedges; you should use TWO polymer wedges with a corrugated surface in the set;
  • the pitch of laying the logs should be calculated depending on the operational loads and the thickness of the sub/finish floor board in order to avoid critical deflections;
  • each board must be fastened with two screws to one joist to ensure a stable position in the transverse direction.

Advice! The most difficult option is considered to be the dismantling of the flooring and its re-laying after inspection of the lumber. In order not to completely open the floors to provide access to rotten bars, holes and hatches can be cut out.

In other words, all methods of getting rid of creaking floorboards come down to additional fixation wooden elements to each other with self-tapping screws, pins or wedging. Less commonly, the internal cavity is foamed to provide a large supporting surface or laid on top of plank flooring sheet materials, distributing point loads evenly over their entire area.

Fixation with self-tapping screws/anchors

If the home craftsman does not know what to do to eliminate the squeak, the method of additionally fixing the boards to the joists is most often intuitively used. This scheme is only suitable for fully preserved joists with normal support on the base. If the logs are hanging on the boards (the wedges have fallen out, the lumber has dried out) or are partially rotten, this technology will not bring results.

In addition, when fixing the flooring elements, you should take into account the features of the hardware:

  • a self-tapping screw with an incomplete thread - presses the tongue against the joists without a gap, since the smooth part “falls” into the hole made by the threaded part of the hardware;
  • self-tapping screw with full thread - rigidly fixes the position of the board relative to the joist with the existing gap, since the engagement force is very high, both inside the wood of the joist and the board.

Therefore, there are three ways to fix plank flooring elements with self-tapping screws:


Important! The last two methods are less reliable compared to the first, therefore they are used in emergency cases.

IN hard rocks It is impossible to recess the heads of the screws in wood; it is necessary to make a “sunk hole” with a countersink. To do this, you can use a similar self-tapping screw, cutting off the head with a hand engraver (1.5 - 2 cm in length) and using the same tool to make inclined notches like a milling cutter.

Cover tightening

The flooring boards are laid close to each other and have a thickness of 2–5 cm. Therefore, by compressing the dried material against each other in separate areas, you can increase the rigidity horizontal design, and get squeaking eliminated at no additional cost. There are two methods for this:


Important! In both cases, existing nails or screws must be removed from the boards before screeding to allow horizontal movement of the deck elements.

Wedging

If the defective area is located far from the wall, it is difficult to tighten wooden floors using the previous method. Therefore, the flooring boards are wedged in place using the following technology:

  • the floorboard is sanded;
  • a strip of the required width and length is selected, its lower edge is sharpened with a wedge;
  • the lath is coated with PVA glue and driven in with a wooden mallet;
  • the upper plane is processed with a plane, then polished.

As a result, the boards are pressed tightly against each other, pointwise applied loads are distributed over a large surface, the lamellas stop “walking,” and sounds disappear.

Foaming and injection

If the base on which the logs are laid is sufficiently strong, experts recommend the following method to eliminate squeaking in the boardwalk:

  • drilled into the board through hole diameter 5 – 6 mm;
  • through it, the internal cavity near the defective area is filled between the lags with polyurethane foam;
  • After drying, the foam turns into a supporting pad, dramatically increasing the support area.

The technique is suitable for emergency cases, but is not highly reliable for a number of reasons:

  • when loads are applied, the foam shrinks under the board, the creaking returns after a while;
  • filling closed cavities is fraught with the risk of the floor covering/subfloor sticking out, since it is necessary to leave at least 1/3 of the space for secondary expansion of the foam when hardening;

Important! Unlike insulating a house, it is better to use household polyurethane foam for floors. Its density is higher, and the thermal insulation characteristics in this case do not matter.

The extrusion method is more reliable when, instead of mounting foam, the cavity is filled with an adhesive composition that hardens in air (epoxy and polymer resins).

But this method is suitable for filling small cavities, since epoxy glue is quite expensive.

Plywood flooring, chipboard

Another, but with many limitations, way to eliminate the creaking of a wooden floor inside a home is sheet flooring:


The main disadvantages of the technology are:

  • if the plywood joint is on a creaking board, this will only aggravate the situation;
  • wood-containing boards are expensive and increase the repair budget;
  • plywood and chipboard are not facing materials, so additional decoration will be required.

Therefore, plywood flooring is used to eliminate the creaking of boardwalks extremely rarely.

Dowel fastening

The veneered board is joined lengthwise in adjacent rows locking connections. U edged boards There is no tongue and groove, so its geometry is more susceptible to changes when humidity changes. Therefore, information on how to make a dowel connection to correct the indicated defect is useful for the home craftsman:

  • a blind hole is made in adjacent boards at 45 degrees;
  • cylindrical wooden detail– the dowel is coated with glue and driven into this hole;
  • the operation is repeated in the opposite direction, as in the lower diagram;
  • After the glue has dried, the dowels are cut along the plane of the board.

Important! The quality of the joint depends on the immovability of the boards relative to each other at the time of drilling.

Replacing boards and joists

In case of significant physical wear and tear, it is necessary to replace all lumber so that joists and boards do not creak:


This is the most expensive option; you will need to remove all the furniture from the room and dismantle the trim.

Preventing squeaks when laying wood floors

You can avoid the occurrence of unpleasant sounds from friction of wood against wood or metal at the stage of installing the boardwalk. To do this, it is enough to lay absorbent material on top of the joists and use adjustable floor technology.

Soundproofing by joists

The home handyman will not have to disassemble the boardwalk if you cut off the logs from the edged/tongue board:


At the same time, the acoustics of the ceiling will be further improved and protection from getting wet will be provided.

Adjustable floor technology

Without experience, figuring out why a tongue-and-groove flooring board or subfloor turned out creaky is very difficult. Therefore, manufacturers produce an adjustable floor system in which the likelihood of third-party sounds is reduced:

  • the logs are mounted on studs passed through the block;
  • with carving they are set at a single horizontal level;
  • the protruding threaded part is cut off with an angle grinder.

Lumber absorbs moisture less, ensuring natural ventilation, there is no rigid fixation of wood to concrete. Even if boards incorrectly fixed to the joists begin to creak, repairing the defective areas is much easier, since there is no need to open the entire floor.

Thus, the characteristic creaking of the boardwalk can be eliminated with your own hands by additionally screwing in self-tapping screws, foaming the internal space underneath, wedging, or other specified methods.

Advice! If you need repairmen, there is a very convenient service for selecting them. Just submit in the form below detailed description work that needs to be done and you will receive offers with prices from construction teams and companies by email. You can see reviews about each of them and photographs with examples of work. It's FREE and there's no obligation.

Especially when it comes to wooden materials.

There are several reasons for this problem, but if desired, it can be easily dealt with on your own.

One of the most important reasons is the deformation of the material while the drying process is underway.

If initially the humidity was more than 12 percent, then over time warping cannot be avoided.

Lack of optimal performance often leads to this.

There are other reasons that lead to this:

  • The strength of connections has been reduced. Gradually, the fastening elements begin to loosen. At the same time, the tightness of the individual parts made of wood begins to decrease.
  • Reducing the gap connecting the boards to the walls. For a squeak to appear, even small force friction.
  • The appearance of rot and fungus. They appear where there is constant support high level humidity. As a result, the material continues to deform further.
  • The rigidity of the structure was weakened. The free movement of parts relative to each other begins if their fit remains free.

The creaking also appears due to mistakes that were made during. Of the most common, it is worth noting:

  • A situation where the logs are installed incorrectly, and too much distance is created between the load-bearing beams.
  • The choice of thickness regardless of the operating conditions.

The algorithm for subsequent actions to correct the problem is chosen depending on what the cause was.

Tools and accessories

The type of repair work determines what equipment will be needed in the future. The minimum list of tools will consist of:

  • Drills. Needed to create holes.
  • Marker or chalk. Other types help to mark places where additional fastenings are required.
  • Axe. Will be needed when adjusting beams or wedges. Otherwise, they will not be able to boast the correct, appropriate size.
  • Hammer. Fixes individual elements if nails are used together with it.
  • Hacksaws for sawing board linings.
  • A nail puller, without which it is impossible to understand how to prevent the floors from creaking in the apartment.

You may also need additional equipment such as cement or a mixture for plastering, glue or dry wood, self-tapping screws, and bars.

What methods to use

Completely going through a floor built on a wooden base is the longest and takes the most effort.

It is chosen if too many defects appear on the surface.

And if they cannot be gotten rid of by carrying out only local work.

In this situation, a full check of the elements that have been damaged becomes mandatory.

If necessary, they are replaced with new ones. If the floor is laid on concrete base, then the procedure will look like this :

  • They start by securing the lag to the base from. To do this, you need to take a drill with a drill bit for working with a wooden base. And a hammer drill. Thanks to these tools, holes are created with the most accurate and suitable dimensions.
  • Then you need to drive the anchor into the hole using a hammer. The part needs to be opened.
  • After that it fits itself batten. We use a hacksaw or an electric jigsaw so that there is no connection with the structure near which the structure is fixed.
  • We fix the floorboards on the joists. Self-tapping screws are used for this. The hats must be recessed until they are level with the floor itself.

It’s easier to get rid of the problem without disassembling the structure. It is suitable for both regular boards and parquet boards.

We work with regular wooden floors

Wooden wedges can be used if creaking occurs due to the fact that the boards are poorly secured or deformation of some areas. Wedges are driven into the space between the floorboards. This helps eliminate friction, even minimal friction.

If the damage is more serious, then self-tapping screws are used for additional fastening.

  • First you need to identify the areas that have become sources of unpleasant sound. They are marked with ordinary chalk.
  • Next are the areas where the logs are located. The nails in the entire structure are taken as a guide. Or you can remove the boards that are in the extreme position.
  • Holes are drilled in the floorboards, with a pitch of no more than 15 centimeters between parts. Compared to self-tapping screws, the diameter of these holes should be 1-2 millimeters smaller.
  • It is easy to screw the boards to the joists if you have a screwdriver or drill with an appropriate attachment on hand. The caps should be recessed, but only slightly.

If the cause of the creaking is poor fixation of the lags, then the latter require additional fastening. To do this, take anchors made from.

The method is known to be effective, but it is also labor-intensive. And it is used if the base of the coating itself is made of concrete. 1 meter is the minimum distance at which anchors should be located from each other.

Simplification of work is facilitated by the use of drills and hammer drills high power. Thanks to special equipment holes are drilled through the material, special efforts not included.

What to do with parquet

Parquet is one of the types of wooden floors.

Over time, an unpleasant squeak may also appear inside this material.

Repairs must be carried out point by point, since the coating itself consists of separate parts.

Work begins with determining the place where unpleasant sounds appear.

Deformed areas are marked so as not to get confused about their location later. Only after this do they move on to the next operations, for which you will need a large-volume syringe without a needle, cement with:

  • A hole is drilled in the middle of the creaking plank, very carefully.
  • Creating a cement mortar with the same consistency as milk.
  • Place the mixture inside the syringe. Afterwards, check the force and extrusion process.
  • Diluting with water will help to cope with the thick mixture. A small amount of cement is usually added to the liquid one.
  • The next step is to immerse the syringe in the hole with preliminary preparation. Then they proceed to pouring the solution itself, in small doses. The air is not able to escape if you do not take breaks while performing actions.
  • The hole must be filled entirely; until this point, filling continues. Those who are interested in how to prevent floors from squeaking using foam can act in approximately the same way.

All you have to do is wait until the material dries completely. And then you need to make sure that the creaking has disappeared. The surface is sealed with mastic or a special putty for wooden bases.

This is necessary so that no trace remains of the work done that may be noticeable to prying eyes. Last stage– polishing.

Polyurethane adhesive can become an excellent alternative for cement mortar when performing this type.

Polyurethane foam sometimes they are also used to fill the space under damaged planks and strengthen the structure. But this is usually only a temporary measure.

It is not recommended to immediately work on all areas that produce squeaking. You can begin working on the following elements only after the effectiveness of the method on the previous ones has been verified. Sometimes it becomes necessary to completely re-lay the parquet if the squeaking does not go away.

Watch the video on what to do if the floor creaks: