Squeaky Or Creaking Floorboards

What's happening?

A squeak is friction. Two pieces of timber that should be held tight are rubbing against each other as your weight moves across them: a board against a joist, a board edge against its neighbour, or a nail shank working in an enlarged hole. Timber shrinks as central heating dries it out over the years, and shrinkage is what opens the tiny gap the movement needs. That is why squeaks arrive gradually, get worse in winter, and are more common in older houses with cut nails than in modern screwed or glued chipboard decks. Where a plumber or an electrician has lifted boards and refixed them badly, squeaks appear along that run within weeks.

What usually causes it?

• Boards nailed rather than screwed, with the nails now loose in enlarged holes
• Timber shrinkage from years of central heating leaving boards slightly proud of the joists
• Boards lifted for pipework or cable runs and put back without being properly refixed
• A joist that has twisted or dried out, so the board no longer bears evenly across it
• Board edges rubbing at a tongue-and-groove joint where the boards have shrunk apart
• Pipes or cables clipped tight under a board and knocking against it as the board flexes
• Chipboard deck sheets whose glued joints have failed at the tongue

Is it dangerous?

A squeak on its own is a nuisance, not a hazard. It becomes a warning when it comes with a soft or springy feeling underfoot, a board that visibly dips, or a squeak on a staircase tread: those point at a fixing or a structural problem rather than simple friction, and they should be looked at.

Can I fix it myself?

You can often stop a single squeak from above. Locate the joist by the line of existing nail heads, then drive a countersunk screw of the right length through the board into the joist beside the loose nail. Before you drill anything, remember pipes and cables run in notches through joists: check with a detector and keep away from anything running along the board rather than across it. Talcum powder or a proprietary lubricant worked into a rubbing board joint quiets edge squeaks. Do not fire long screws blind into a floor with underfloor heating.

When should you call a flooring fitter?

Call a flooring fitter when squeaks have spread across a whole room, when there is a carpet, laminate or engineered floor over the boards that has to come up cleanly, when the board feels soft as well as noisy, or when you cannot fix from above without risking pipes. A fitter will lift and refix properly, and will tell you whether the deck itself needs replacing rather than screwing down.

What will the flooring fitter actually do?

• Walk the floor to map every squeak and identify whether it is board-to-joist, board-to-board or a services knock
• Lift the covering carefully where the boards are under carpet, laminate or engineered timber
• Scan for pipes and cables before fixing, and re-clip any services that are knocking
• Refix boards to the joists with screws, packing any joist that has dried or twisted out of line
• Replace boards or deck panels that have split, cupped or lost their tongues, and relay the covering

Who fixes this

• Floor repair and board replacement

Questions people ask

Sources & References

1. NHBC Standards, Chapter 6.4: Timber and concrete upper floors
2. BS 8201: Code of practice for installation of flooring of wood and wood-based panels
3. British Woodworking Federation