DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi All,

Novice here. We have moved into a new house with horrible creaks and squeaks on stairs, landing and in my daughters room.

Is there any easy way to reduce these. Would only have access from top by lifting carpet?

We have no DIY experience and not the most practical.

Would it require a professional? If so who? And would it be expensive?

We are due to get better underlay and carpets.

Thanks

Hi jodi2325,
If your house is new get the builders back to correct these problems.
If it's an established house new to you, the stairs can be glued and wedged from underneath to reduce creaking, the floor will need to be exposed to establish what to do. Screws can be added through the floor into the joists but there is always a danger of hitting a pipe or wire.
Regards S

The most famous example lies within Nijō Castle. Built in the 17th century, Nijō Castle is a large fortification in the old Japanese capital, Kyoto. Dry boards naturally creak under pressure, but these floors were designed so that the flooring nails rubbed against a jacket or clamp, causing chirping noises. This is to stop anyone creeping up on you.

But like you we would prefer they did not creak, so we had plywood laid on top of existing floor to both stop creaking and going through the floor.

Our floors are some type of fibre board, and in the late 70's and early 80's the floor boarding idea was new, before that we had tongue and groove boards made of wood, often pine, and builders it seems often selected the wrong grade of floor boarding, many cases of beds going through the floor.

The is a lubricant called "Stop Creak" designed for floors, it says "Lubricates modern "Click" flooring and joints where wood on wood contact causes creaking" but it depends on what type of floor you have.