How to Fix Squeaky Hardwood Floors

Hardwood flooring is a stylish design element that adds both visual appeal and functionality to your home. When installed properly, it can easily transform a monotone space into a luxurious interior masterpiece. As beautiful as these floors are, they commonly have problems with noise. Squeaky wood floors can easily drive any homeowner crazy, and it may seem like there’s no recourse for it.

Luckily, the causes of squeaky hardwood floors are well known, and there are various corrective actions you can take to help the situation. If you’re looking to identify your issues, and fix a squeaky hardwood floor for good, keep on reading.

What Causes Squeaking Hardwood?

As convenient as it would be to pinpoint one specific cause of squeaky floors, it doesn’t work that way. Excess noise can be due to a large variety of issues, with some even being out of your immediate control. In general, however, squeaky wood floors can be grouped by two main causes:

• Environmental
• Structural

Dry Air Due to Winter

The leading environmental cause of squeaky hardwood is dry and arid wintertime conditions. During the winter, the cooler air can cause an old hardwood floor to contract. This in turn results in larger gaps between the hardwood planks, as well as the subfloor and joists.

With excess play between the boards, your hardwood can now rub up against each other. When this happens, you’ll hear the classic squeaking noise that brings you so much frustration.

Squeaking due to temperature fluctuations can also occur during the summer months. As the temperatures rise and humidity increases, your boards will begin to expand, resulting in the same type of noises experienced during the winter.

Issues With the Subfloor

In some situations, squeaky floorboards can be caused by structural issues with the existing subfloor. In a process called deflexion, your subfloor can separate from the supporting joists beneath it. This is common in homes with an old hardwood floor, as over time the nails lose their original grip. With loose nailing, you’ll hear the subfloor creak every time you make a step in the affected area. Source: Home Inspection Insider

It's also possible that an uneven subfloor in your home can cause squeaking. This is normally due to poor installation. When you have an uneven subfloor, the plywood can separate from floor joists because the nailing isn’t uniform in all places. In more severe situations, the nail gun may have missed the joist entirely.

Floor Joist Movement

Movement in the floor joists is a more serious structural issue that could be the cause of the squeaky spots in your home. If this happens to be the case, you’ll want to have the problem addressed immediately.

Floor joists should not have any flex to them, as they literally support your entire floor. However, situations like dry rot and termite infestation can cause them to have a little extra play which will in turn lead to noise every time they’re walked over.

Planks Not Installed Correctly

Incorrect hardwood flooring installation is a very common culprit of squeaking floors and can happen in both DIY and subpar professional jobs. Normally, the noise produced by this type of workmanship is due to gaps in the planks. If the hardwood is not properly aligned before it’s nailed down, you’ll have air pockets between the floorboards that can rub against one another.

Additionally, failing to acclimate the hardwood before installation can lead to similar issues. If hardwood is installed before it’s adjusted to your home’s environment, it’ll likely it’ll expand or contract later. Most experts recommend you acclimate your hardwood for a minimum of three days before installation, and in some cases even up to two weeks.

Fixing Squeaky Hardwood Floors

As annoying as squeaky hardwood may be, the problem can normally be resolved in a straightforward manner. Your fix for squeaky hardwood floors will depend on which of the above-mentioned causes apply to your home. Some methods are quick and cheap, whereas others will require in-depth repair work. Here are some of the options available to you.

1. Purchase a Humidifier/Dehumidifier

If your squeaking is caused by environmental issues only, running a humidifier or dehumidifier in your home is an easy way to solve the issue.

During the dryer winter months, running a humidifier will pump more moisture into your home, preventing excess contraction in your floorboards. When the weather begins to warm, switching out to a dehumidifier is the best course of action. This will help remove the excess mugginess that summertime always brings and will prevent movement between the planks.

According to The Master Class, try to keep the humidity within 35% and 55% for best results. This will keep your flooring at optimum levels and prevent it from warping or cracking.

2. Replacing and Leveling the Subfloor

This corrective action is best undertaken when you’re redoing the flooring in your home, as it’ll require you to have access underneath the hardwood. If any pieces of the subfloor plywood have come completely unnailed from the joists, replace those pieces entirely.

If your subfloor is uneven and the hardwood planks are not all sitting flush, you can easily level out recessed areas of the subfloor with epoxy. This will help fill in any gaps that are causing the squeaky. However, this fix only works in small sections.

3. Tightening Floor Joists

Issues with the floor joists can be fixed by stabilizing them. If only a few sections of the subfloor seem to have separated from the joists, you can easily fill in the gaps with a shim. Add carpenter’s glue to the shim and carefully place it into the gap, taking care not to force it into place. Adding too large of a piece or hammering it in can easily worsen the gap.

4. Lubricate With Talcum Powder

This creaky hardwood floor repair will only work if the squeaking is confined to the hardwood planks themselves. While it’s not a permanent fix, it’s often considered the most practical and best way to fix squeaky hardwood floors.

Sprinkle the powder into the gaps and joints between your hardwood floorboards and use a towel to rub it in until the cracks are sufficiently coated. This will help reduce any friction caused between the boards, eliminating that pesky squeak.

A stunning hardwood flooring installation can look amazing in a home, but if you’re experiencing squeaking floors, this luxury can easily become an annoyance. Squeaking floors are caused by a host of issues, some preventable, some not so much. Fortunately, in most cases, you can easily fix these issues with the proper materials and a DIY attitude.

However, if the squeaking in your hardwood will simply not go away, it may be best to contact a professional. We're your dedicated flooring experts that’ll be able to handle any installation or repair that your home needs. Check out our entire flooring collection and start your project today.