Fix Those Squeaky Floors in Your Home

Got a squeaky floor in your home? It can be an aggravation and leave a bad impression on prospective buyers walking through your home. You can fix squeaky floors fairly easily.

Here are some options:

Sprinkle talc or powdered graphite over gaps in wood flooring. If your squeaks are caused by loosened boards rubbing against each other, graphite can act as a lubricant and take care of the squeak.

Face-nail boards back into place. If your squeak is caused by wood rubbing against loose nails, carefully nail them back down.

Shim it. If your problem is a gap between your flooring and joist, get someone to bounce on the squeak while you’re in the basement. When you can see where the gap is causing the squeak, insert a shim in the gap. The shim can either be made of tapered wood or recycled plastic. Don’t make it any thicker than it needs to be; you could cause another squeak.

Nail up through joists. If your squeaks are caused by sagging floor joists making your floor boards flex, you may be able to screw up through the joists and snug down the floor boards. Make sure your screws are a quarter-inch shorter than the depth of your flooring so they don’t penetrate your floor boards. This technique works whether you have wood floors or carpeting in your home.

Screw down the sub-floor. If you need to replace the carpeting in your home, this is a great time to add some extra screws to the sub-floor before the new carpet is installed.

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