Silencing those floor squeaks

Press, 10 May 1979, Page 11

Silencing those floor squeaks

A wooden floor that squeaks at various points is one of the most common home maintenance problems. Floor boards often squeak because of slight movements between them, which allow them to rub against each other. They may have been laid properly in the first place, tightly wedged so

they couldn’t slide against each other, but shrinkage can loosen the joints and permit movement. Shrinkage of the floor joists — the timbers which support the boards — can also occur. Slight settling of the house foundations can also cause stresses and strains which lift a floorboard and allow it to move when walked on.

Another common cause i of sqeaking is the failure ; of the builder to see that ■ the floor joists are laid , perfectly flat and even This means that the boards are not properly supported on each joist, so they spring up and down slightly when walked on. If movement in. the boards is only slight you may be able to cure the trouble by driving extra nails through the boards into the joists. The nails should be driven at an angle, as they will hold better and resist the tendency to spring loose. Screws instead of nails are even better. ■ A temporary cure in some cases is to work powdered graphite, candle grease or paraffin wax into the squeaking joint with a knife blade, to act as a lubricant. This, of i course does not prevent the boards moving, but j may stop squeaks. The best treatment, and I usually a permanent cure, I is to get underneath the floor and drive thin tapered wooden wedges between the squeaking boards and the joists. The wedges force the boards slightly upward and tighten up any springiness in them. It is best to smear the wedges with glue before driving them in so they cannot become loose and fall out. If the squeaking is midway between two joists, it may be necessary to wedge a short piece of scm by 10cm timber between the joists at the spot, and fix it to the joists by nailing. Then pack wedges between the new piece and the boards until they are tight.