What to do when floors creak. What to do if wooden floors creak without disassembling the coating. Possible options for dealing with creaky floors

Squeaky floorboards are the most common problem in homes with hardwood floors. Its appearance can be caused by various reasons, and it occurs not only in old houses, but also in new buildings. To get rid of an annoying sound, it is not at all necessary to start a large-scale repair: there are several simple ways that will help you quickly and cost-effectively eliminate any squeaks. To begin with, it is necessary to establish exactly why the boards will be fastened together, and only then choose a way to strengthen the wooden floor.

In new floors, creaking usually appears due to violations of the installation technology or the use of low-quality wood for logs and flooring.

Old floors usually begin to creak due to wear and tear of individual structural elements, shrinkage of wood or the base itself.

The most common reasons are:

weak fastening of boards- if nails or self-tapping screws are used that are smaller than necessary, very soon such fixation weakens, and the boards come off the lag. In addition, metal fasteners rust, become thinner, their caps come off;
no gap around the perimeter of the room- fluctuations in temperature and humidity cause expansion of the material, and if the boards are laid without a gap from the wall, they swell in waves, begin to rub against each other and creak;
tree shrinkage- over time, the boards dry out and move freely on the nails, making squeaks. The lags also dry out, the gaps between them and the boards increase, the floor begins to sag;
lags are not level- due to height differences, when laying the coating, deflections are formed and, as a result, the floor creaks underfoot. The same thing happens if leveling pads made of soft materials are laid under the logs. Under load, such linings are compressed, reduced in size and lead to subsidence of the structure;
raw wood- drying of the material after laying leads to deformations of the logs and boards, weakening of the fasteners, friction between the floor elements.

In older buildings, the creaking of wooden floors can be caused by subsidence of the foundation, which affects all elements of the structure. In such situations, simply strengthening the boards is not enough, and the only right solution is a major overhaul.

How to identify the cause of the squeak

To effectively eliminate the problem, it is necessary to correctly determine the cause of creaking floors. To do this, you need to examine the places where a creak is heard, check the tightness of the connections by intense pressing. If nail movements are observed or individual floorboards “walk”, the problem lies in the loosening of the fasteners. If the boards are knocked down firmly, but the flooring sags when pressed, this indicates a deformation of the lag or subsidence of the soil under the base.

The building level or rule will help you find the problem area: creaking usually occurs in places of the greatest differences in height. In this case, it is best to remove a couple of floorboards and look under the flooring: this way you can accurately assess the state of the log, their degree of wear, and the quality of the rough base.

Wall squeaks are often caused by improperly fixed or cracked skirting boards. Carefully inspect them, pressing with your hand in several places, check if the nails come out of them when pressed, if there are any cracks in the material. To make sure there is a gap between the boards and the wall, it is worth carefully dismantling one of the plinth fragments.

Methods for eliminating creaking

So, when the cause is determined, you can choose the best method of strengthening the floor. There are several effective methods that have long been proven in practice by home craftsmen.

Ways to strengthen the structure	Causes of the squeak	Peculiarities
	Small gaps in decking, loose end connections	Minimum labor costs and financial investments with high efficiency
	Gaps between the base of the floor and the joists	The method is expensive, but very reliable.
	Loose connection of floorboards to joists	Economical and fast method, no need to spend a lot of effort
	Worn material, drying of floorboards, presence of large cracks and other damage	The method is long and laborious, but it allows you to effectively eliminate squeaks and other defects.
	The presence of wide gaps in the flooring as a result of drying out	The method is effective and durable, but requires some experience and physical effort.
	Small gaps in the floor, loose fit of elements	Expensive, but fast and easy. The method allows you to remove the creak for a maximum of 3 years
	Deflection of the boards due to the large distance between the lags	Easy to perform, but not suitable for high traffic areas

We strengthen the floor with our own hands

You can strengthen the floor in any of the listed ways yourself, since special knowledge is not required for this and it is enough to be able to handle tools. Consider the popular strengthening options in detail.

Use of dowels or wedges

This method is great for those cases when the flooring is still strong and even, but there are small gaps between the floorboards. There are two options for solving the problem.

Wedge reinforcement. Wedges are cut from wooden slats according to the size of the gaps in the floor. With a knife or spatula blade, the slots are cleared of debris, vacuumed. Wet cleaning cannot be done - the tree must be absolutely dry. The wedges are coated on all sides with carpentry glue and tightly hammered into the cracks. If gaps or small indentations remain along the edges, they must be filled with glue mixed with sawdust in a ratio of 1: 4. Now you need to wait until the glue dries, remove everything superfluous with a planer, and thoroughly sand the surface. Finally, a water-repellent primer should be applied and the floor repainted.

Dowel reinforcement. At the joints of the floorboards in the place of the gap at an angle of 45 degrees, holes are drilled through both boards. The drill is selected according to the diameter of the dowels. The resulting dust and chips are removed, the dowels are covered with glue and hammered into the holes until they stop. After drying, the protruding parts of the dowels are cut off, the repaired areas are cleaned and leveled with putty on wood.

Anchors

If the creak appears due to a loose connection between the lag and the rough base, the best solution is to strengthen the structure with anchors. For this you will need:

roulette;
drill with a crown and a drill for wood;
anchor bolts and key;
putty.

Step 1. In the room, skirting boards are removed, dust and debris are swept out.

Find areas where the floor sags. Now you need to determine the location of the lag under the boards and measure the distance to the concrete screed. Logs are easy to find by nails - they go in rows across the floorboards. Stepping back about 5 cm to the side, a small through hole is drilled in the board and a piece of wire is inserted into it until its end rests on concrete. Measure the length of the wire and add 3-4 cm to the result.

Advice. If the nails are hidden under putty and a layer of paint, an ordinary magnet will help to detect them. By running a magnet along the floor surface, you can easily identify a number of fasteners and set the location of the log.

Step 2 Along the fastening line of the nails, a log is drilled through the floorboard in several places and deepened into the screed by 35-40 mm. Holes are made according to the diameter of the anchor bolt.

Step 3 They put a crown on the drill and drill a recess in the floorboard for the bolt head, clean it of dust.

Step 4 The bolts are inserted and tightened with a key until they stop, tightly tightening the floorboard and the log with the base.

Step 5 Small cracks in the boards are sealed with an adhesive mixture with sawdust, recesses under the bolt heads - with putty on wood.

As a rule, such strengthening helps to permanently remove squeaks and deflections of the floor. On top of the boards, you can lay chipboard, OSB, plywood or lay linoleum.

Pulling the floor with screws

To tightly connect the flooring with the logs, you need to use self-tapping screws of a slightly shorter length than the total thickness of the floorboard and logs. To determine this thickness, dismantle part of the plinth and take measurements through the gap. It is even more convenient to do this through a hole in the floor by removing one of the boards. Measurements are taken from the flooring surface to the rough base on which the logs rest.

For work you will need:

screwdriver or drill;
wood screws with a diameter of 3.5 mm;
waterproof putty;
tape measure and pencil;
hammer.

Advice. For a quality connection, you need to choose self-tapping screws, in which the thread does not reach the head. Such fasteners allow you to tightly pull the logs and boards together, unlike standard self-tapping screws.

Step 1. In areas where the flooring walks underfoot, determine the location of the lag along the nails. If the boards on top are covered with plywood or chipboard, you need to remove the plinth from one of the walls in order to see the ends of the log and outline the lines on the floor surface. If the lags are not visible from under the boards, it should be done differently.

Since the boards are laid perpendicular to the lags, you need to look at which side the ends of the floorboards are, step back a few centimeters and drill a through hole. If the drill easily passed through the floorboard, make a few more holes, moving further and further away from the wall in a straight line, until the tool hits the log. Mark this point with a pencil, then determine the location of the adjacent lag in the same way. As a rule, they are stacked in increments of 40-60 cm. Having found it, they put another mark and measure the distance between them. Having learned the laying step, it will not be difficult to find the rest of the logs.

Step 2 Along each log, you need to drill holes every 10-15 cm. In order not to go astray and get past the beam, it is best to mark up. Having found the location of the extreme lag at one end of the room, they determine it in the same way at the opposite wall, and then connect the marks with a straight line. The remaining lines are drawn parallel to the first at the desired distance.

The drill should not be placed perpendicular to the board, but at an angle, while it should enter through the floorboard into the log by about ¾ of its thickness. So that the fasteners do not loosen in a short time, the diameter of the drill must necessarily be less than the diameter of the self-tapping screws.

Step 3 The holes are cleaned of wood dust and screws are screwed in, deepening their heads into the floorboards by 1-2 mm. Old nails do not need to be removed if they are held firmly enough. The hats protruding above the floorboards should be hammered and drowned into the wood with the help of a chisel. Loose or rusted nails must be removed, and a self-tapping screw is additionally screwed next to it.

Step 4 They take putty on wood and carefully apply it to the boards with a spatula, covering the recesses from the fasteners. After drying, these areas are sanded with sandpaper, dust-free, primed. Now it remains only to paint the floor or lay the finish coat.

Video - Quick floor repair

If the floor creaks due to wear and tear, the methods described above will not work. More radical measures are needed here, that is, a bulkhead of the floor. To work, you will need a standard set of tools: tape measure, level, nail puller, hammer, drill, screwdriver.

Step 1. The baseboards are dismantled first, then the boards are removed one by one using a nail puller. To prevent the tool from leaving dents on the floorboards, it is recommended to use small wooden linings. Since most of the boards will be laid back, for convenience, they should be numbered from the back. Each floorboard is carefully inspected, all the nails are removed, carefully stacked on top of each other. Heavily damaged boards are discarded; it makes no sense to lay them in place.

Step 2 After dismantling the flooring, they begin to check the log and the draft base. If there are cracks in the screed, they need to be embroidered and repaired with fresh mortar. Cracked or rotten logs are removed, the rest are checked by level and, if necessary, leveled with linings.

Step 3 After removing debris and dust, proceed to the installation of the coating. The floorboards are alternately laid on the logs, focusing on the affixed numbers. A 10-15 mm wide indent must be made from the wall. Self-tapping screws can be screwed into the holes left by the nails, but only if they are not broken. Screw the fasteners at an angle to the board, so the connection will be more reliable.

Lay the floorboards, knock them out with a mallet, fix them with self-tapping screws

Step 4 If the paint on the floorboards has worn off in places and the appearance of the coating leaves much to be desired, you can sand the surface. Processing is carried out at least twice, first using sandpaper with a large grain, then with a fine one. This will achieve maximum smoothness of the coating, refresh it.

Step 5 After grinding, the floor must be vacuumed and a layer of protective primer with antiseptic properties applied. Now the surface can be painted or varnished.

Video - How to varnish a wooden floor

Often the boards dry out so that wide gaps form between them. At the same time, the floorboards are still quite strong and even, and there is no particular need to change them. In such a situation, you need to compact the flooring by fitting the old boards together and adding a few new ones. You can rally boards in different ways, we will consider one of the most accessible and simple methods.

For work you will need:

screwdriver;
mallet;
several wedges carved from wood;
plank;
small trimming timber;
wood screws.

Step 1. Carefully dismantle the skirting boards and remove the nails from the floorboards. Deformed or cracked boards are discarded, as they can break into pieces during rallying.

Step 2 The edge board from the wall is laid on the logs, leaving a mandatory gap of 10 mm. Fix the floorboard by screwing the screws at an angle to the surface. You can use nail holes if they are not broken.

Step 3. Lay a few more floorboards using the tenon-and-groove connection method.

Step 4 They take a wedge, put the narrow side against the floorboard, press it on the side with a piece of bar. The bar should lie on the log. After making sure that the wedge is tightly adjacent to the board, the bar is fixed on the log with two self-tapping screws.

Step 5 The wedges are fixed in two or three places, depending on the length of the board. Make the distance between the wedges as equal as possible so that the flooring is rallied evenly. Next, they take a plank, put it on the end of the wedge and knock it out with a mallet. Having completed with one wedge, move on to the second and so on.

Step 6 Having completed the padding, they take a screwdriver and fix all the laid floorboards to the logs with self-tapping screws - 2 on each log.

Step 7 Continue laying flooring. Self-tapping screws are carefully unscrewed from the support bar, the wedge is removed, the next 5-7 floorboards are laid. Again, apply the wedge to the extreme board, fix it with a bar and repeat the steps described above.

When all the boards are laid and solidified, there will be a wide gap between the flooring and the wall, which will fit 2-3 more floorboards. They are laid in the same way, pre-fitted to size, and screwed to the logs with self-tapping screws.

Video - Way of tightening the floor boards

Foam filling

If the coating does not need serious repairs, and the boards do not hold together much, you can use foam. Everything is very simple here:

the floor is cleaned of debris and dust, the gaps between the boards are cleared;
take a balloon with mounting foam, insert the end of the tube into the slot and blow it out;
having filled all the gaps, allow the foam to dry, after which its excess is carefully cut off flush with the surface.

If plywood is laid on top of the boards, the areas where creaking is heard are drilled through in several places and blown out in the same way. After cutting off the dried foam, the treated areas are cleaned and wiped from dust. After that, it remains only to paint the floor or lay the topcoat.

Prices for mounting foam "Macroflex"

mounting foam macroflex

Supports from self-tapping screws

It is easiest to strengthen sagging boards with self-tapping screws, but only on condition that the load on the floor is not intense. It should be noted that this method of strengthening is only suitable for floors on a concrete screed. If the logs are installed on the ground, the screws will not be able to serve as a reliable support for the boards, as they will fall through, and the creak will only intensify.

How reinforcement is performed:

determine sagging boards;
guided by the heads of the nails, they mark the location of the lag with chalk;
drill a hole in the center of the deflection at the same distance from both logs;
screw in the self-tapping screw and cover the recess from the head with putty.

The number of screws for one deflection depends on the distance between the lags: up to 40 cm, one fastener is enough, from 40 to 50 cm - 2 screws, more than 60 cm - 3 screws. It is better to cut the sharp ends of the hardware with a grinder so that they rub the concrete less under loads.

Video - How to strengthen a wooden floor so that it does not creak

Wooden floors are beautiful and environmentally friendly, but they have one significant drawback. Over time, they cause many problems with their squeak. There are several options for what to do so that wooden floors do not creak in a house or apartment. The simplest one is nothing. The creak of the floor does not affect the strength of the structures, so nothing interferes with the operation of the premises. This is an option for lazy owners who are willing to put up with minor inconveniences. If there is a desire to deal with a creak, it is necessary to begin actions by finding out the cause.

Causes of the squeak

Various causes of wood floor creaking

The main reason that the wooden floor creaks is the deformation of the boards, their displacement and friction against each other. Deformations always occur over time. There may be several reasons for this:

Natural aging process. With the fact that the properties of the material deteriorate over time, nothing can be done. This process happens all the time and for any material. But for raw materials of natural origin, a little faster than for synthetic ones. The aging of wood can only be slowed down by protection from all possible negative influences.
Violation of laying technology. When building a wooden floor along the joists along the perimeter of the wall, a gap must be provided to allow the boards to expand unhindered under the influence of temperature changes and load. If this gap is not provided for when expanding, the boards will fit snugly against each other and friction will occur, causing creaking.
Drying out of wood. The normal moisture content of wood for building structures is 12%. At low air humidity, this value decreases and the boards shrink in size. Such a violation of the design can also lead to creaking.
Violation of fastening technology. With poor-quality fastening, the nails under load come out. With unreliable fastening, all elements of the floor cake are loosened, a creak appears. If measures are not taken in time with one creak, the matter is not limited, in the end the entire structure will collapse.
High humidity in the room. The process is the reverse of shrinkage. Wood reacts very strongly to changes in the microclimate in the room. If the humidity exceeds the norm, the boards begin to swell and expand. Friction leads to creaking.

All these reasons are related to the characteristics of the material. Eliminating them is almost impossible (except for violation of technology).

To prevent, you can do a thorough treatment with protective compounds and maintain a constant recommended humidity in the room.

But it won't prevent aging. In addition, maintaining constant humidity is an extremely laborious undertaking.

Troubleshooting

Before you remove the creak of a wooden floor, you need to find the most appropriate way to do it. Troubleshooting can be done using the following steps.

Mounting foam is not strong, so it can fix the boards only for a while

The composition is able to penetrate even the smallest cracks, filling them. Even those who have never dealt with repair work can make repairs using mounting foam. To eliminate creakiness in this way, you need to follow the procedure:

take mounting foam in a cylinder;
lead the tube into the space between the ceiling and the floorboards;
squeeze out the required amount of material;
wait for drying.

The creak is eliminated by fixing the wooden elements. Mounting foam is not a strong enough material, so it can fix the boards only for a while. After that, repairs will need to be carried out again.

Wedge padding

Such repairs can only be done with a slight wear of the floor boards. If the damage to the flooring is strong, the actions will be ineffective.

To solve the problem, wooden wedges are made. They are driven between boards in emergency places. Elements will prevent mobility and friction of the boards.

Anchoring

The principle of fastening anchors to eliminate creaking on the floor

This method of fixing the floor boards will allow you to remove the creak from the concrete floor.

Metal anchors require reliable fastening, which cannot be provided by a wooden floor. The disadvantages of the method include its high cost. Repairs must be done in the following order:

using a perforator or drill, a hole is prepared in the ceiling;
a dowel is installed in the hole;
the anchor is driven without disassembling it into details;
I fix the floor boards to the fixed anchor bolt.

Using self-tapping screws

Options for eliminating creaking on the floor

The use of self-tapping screws is suitable if the place of the creak is located between the floorboards and the logs located under them. The most difficult task in this case is to determine the location of the lag without disassembling the floor. This should be done in this order:

dismantle skirting boards around the perimeter of the room;
determine the direction of the lag;
along the walls located across the lag, their location is marked with long and thin metal rods;
the rods stuck on both sides are connected with a cord, thus creating markings for work.

Self-tapping screws are needed 2-3 cm less than the total thickness of the boards, flooring and log. You can determine this by placing a thin metal ruler in the gap between the boards. Next, you need to fix the floor structures with self-tapping screws along the stretched cord. Fastening is carried out on 2-3 self-tapping screws located close to the center of the log. Fixing should be done with the same step.

plywood laying

Before you eliminate the creak of a wooden floor with plywood, you need to make sure that it is even. If the base is uneven, the method is not suitable. Plywood sheets are selected with a thickness of at least 12 mm. Plywood is laid out on boards and fastened to them with self-tapping screws. Fastening pitch - 15-20 cm.

Plot Replacement

The event is time-consuming and quite costly. Suitable for those cases when the boards are badly damaged and the use of other methods is pointless. The floor in places of creaking is opened, dismantled and replaced with a new one. It is recommended that nails be avoided as fasteners, as they can again lead to squeaking. Self-tapping screws are used.

The process of eliminating squeaks with plywood

Carrying out the necessary and correctly selected repair measures will allow you to forget about the creaking of the floor for a long time and ensure the comfort of living.

A large number of people are faced with such a problem as floor creaking. Let's try to figure out why the floor creaks, what are the causes of this phenomenon. Basically, this trouble is typical for wooden floors, and the final laminated coating. For floors from this problem is absent, but bare concrete is not found in residential premises. There are several main reasons why we hear this unpleasant sound when walking. Knowing about them, you can eliminate the creak yourself.

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Causes of floor creaking

Both the old floor and the newly laid floor can creak, although this is a more typical problem for the old coating.

The most common reason is the use of low-quality material in the manufacture of the floor. Boards and logs made of such materials begin to dry out quickly, shrinking in size. This increases the gap between the canvases, which serve as a source of creaking.
Another popular reason for creaking is the lack of a layer between plywood and joists (the base of the floor consists of a bar on which the finish coat is laid). An excellent solution to this problem is the laying of a waterproofing layer between the timber and the coating, which will also perform the function of protecting against extraneous noise.
If the parquet floor creaks or, then this happened as a result of its improper installation.
Improper installation of boards and beams leads to a regular displacement of the ends relative to each other. As a result of this, a rather loud creak occurs.
The lack of technological space near the walls also leads to creaking of the floor.
Too much thickness of the plywood sheet, boards and lags. It must be remembered that the distance between the lags should be within 40-60 cm, and the thickness of the plywood should be 2 cm. If the board is laid, then its thickness should be 4 cm.

The floors creak - what to do video:

Removing squeaky wood floors

So let's look at how to fix this issue. First of all, a complete floor replacement comes to mind and, probably, this is really one of the solutions, but with a big minus. The financial costs for such work and the purchase of material will be maximum. Therefore, we will not delve into all the nuances of a complete replacement of the coating and consider simpler options. There are several simple ways to eliminate creaking that can be used by the residents themselves.

Driving wedges

If the floor creaks due to improper fixing of the boards to the bars, then here's what you need to do in this situation. The creaking occurs due to the contact of the boards with each other and in order to eliminate this moment, it is necessary to hammer the wedges into the space between them so that the distance is 20 cm. If the reason lies in the friction between the beams and the boards, then the wedges are driven into the space between these parts ceiling.

Using mounting foam

There is a method in which mounting foam is used to remove the squeak. Its filling is carried out in the interfloor space and due to the expansion it forms a fairly rigid cushion that prevents the floor from creaking. But this method is expensive and short-lived, since the foam collapses after a long load and the filling must be done again.

Application of anchors

One of the most reliable ways, but only if the base of the floor is a concrete slab, is fastening with anchors (a hex bolt that, when tightened, fastens with expanding petals). As we have said, this method is very reliable. But its problem is that it involves a lot of labor. After all, in order for the reliability of the flooring to be beyond doubt, you need to use up to 200 anchors that are twisted by hand. In addition, such an amount of fasteners can cost a pretty penny. Do not forget that the fasteners must be completely recessed into the floorboard.

The creaking is due to a loose fit of the coating

Use of plywood sheets

A fairly reliable way to eliminate floor creaking in an apartment is to lay plywood over a wooden floor. Plywood sheets are usually used with a thickness of up to 12 mm, and the laying is done on glue. In this case, the creak will go away, if not forever, then for a long enough period for sure.

Fastening with self-tapping screws

A common way to deal with squeaking floorboards is fastening with self-tapping screws. They are twisted into floorboards, connecting with a lag. The disadvantage of this method is to correctly determine the location of the lag and not fall into the voids. In addition, you need to make sure that there are no communications in the places of fastening with self-tapping screws. Do not forget that the screws in the floor must be completely sunk.

You can fix the place causing the creak

laminate floor

A very popular flooring is laminate flooring. It is a beautiful and durable material, but which also has the misfortune of squeaking. Let's look at why the laminate creaks. There are three main causes of creaking:

Floor with uneven surface.
There is no gap between the skirting board and the laminate.
Debris getting under cover.

uneven surface

Even small bumps and depressions can lead to a creaking floor from a laminate. In this case, the coating strips begin to rub against each other and make an unpleasant sound. To fix this problem will have to spend a lot of effort and money. After all, for this you will have to completely remove the coating and make a screed or apply a filler floor. Permissible curvature for laying laminate is within 1 mm per 1 sq.m. In addition, to eliminate the creak of the laminate, you can use cardboard, which is placed under the creaking place. But this often cannot be done, since only part of the coating will have to be lifted.

Fixing boards with screws

Elimination of other causes

Troubleshooting the other two problems is easier. Laminate creaks - what to do if the reason was the lack of a gap between it and the plinth? After all, this distance should be equal to 10 mm, and therefore, to increase the gap, you need to remove part of the laminate in the place where the creaking occurs and, having cut the panel, increase the gap. The ingress of debris or sand under the laminate is a typical problem of unscrupulous installers. It could easily be avoided by simply carefully removing the base and wiping it with a damp cloth. But if this is not done, then in the future, to eliminate the cause, you will have to remove the coating, carry out a thorough cleaning and lay it again.

Parquet floor

The popular parquet flooring is similar to a conventional wooden floor, absorbing all its advantages and disadvantages. One of them is that the parquet creaks the same way as the wood floor and the reasons for this creak are also similar. As you know, the tree absorbs moisture very well and is prone to drying. Therefore, as a result of these phenomena, the parquet board is deformed and creaking occurs.

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Such an annoying floor defect as a creak is in any case unpleasant. Anything can be the cause of it: initially incorrect installation, poor-quality material, splitting of planks, loosening of nails, leakage, parquet drying out, uneven screed under the boards, which leads to skew at the joints. Something definitely needs to be done about this. Because not only is the creak unbearable to hear, it can also mean that the coating wears out quickly.

Anything with a wooden component will creak due to various problems. In the descending price category - this is parquet, floorboard, parquet board, veneer board, laminate. How to ensure that the floor does not disappoint, will be discussed further.

Option 1. Cardinal

Complete replacement of a wooden floor to the base is an expensive and long option, but in general the most advantageous. The creak will go away for a long time, and walking on the floor will only give pleasure - physical and aesthetic. Especially if it is a soft cork floor or self-leveling floor.

Option 2. Good old

If there is no desire to waste time and energy, you can do the easiest way - to buy a carpet. There are a great many of them on the market - large and small, thick and thin, expensive and cheap. With the effect of soundproofing, this flooring option will slightly weaken the nasty sound. Naturally, the creak will remain, but because of the carpet it will not be heard so much.

Option 3. Switching

You can simply move the boards by doing it yourself, or, much better, find craftsmen willing to take on the task. This is especially true if the floors are swollen during a leak, the boards are swollen and rub against each other. It is useless to dry them and wait until they return to normal. The floor should be dismantled, the boards should be dried and re-adjusted, after sharpening in some places. Or replace the ones that don't fit at all. The process is long but effective.

Option 4. Backfill

You can eliminate the creak without losing the appearance of the boards and without major repairs. If the boards rub against each other, then there are cracks and gaps. By pouring graphite powder with talc into them, it is possible to achieve a reduction in the level of creaking to a minimum. Another idea is to drive in wedges to close the gaps as well.

Option 5. Jellied

The space between the boards and joists can be filled with mounting foam so that the creak disappears as soon as it hardens and fixes all loose elements. But this option is very short - with a strong amplitude of oscillations, the foam is still deformed and destroyed.

Most, probably, the owners of houses or apartments where wooden floors are laid, faced the problem of creaking floorboards. This phenomenon can be caused by various reasons, and it can manifest itself in both old and new buildings. It seems to be a trifle - but it acts annoyingly. And for people with a particularly sensitive psyche, creaking can generally cause an unpleasant neurosis.

There are many ways to get rid of unpleasant, nerve-wracking sounds. It does not necessarily require a major overhaul. How to remove the creak of a wooden floor on your own, without resorting to the services of a master, will be discussed in this publication.

Possible causes of creaking

Before proceeding with the repair of a wooden floor, it is necessary to determine the cause of the appearance of unpleasant sounds. And they arise most often due to the friction of structural parts against each other:

Loose fasteners. If the board is fixed to the joists with nails, then over time the holes in the wood around them can widen. Both the impact of loads and the drying of the tree contribute to this. In order for a creak to appear when walking on the floor, sometimes it is enough for just one of the nails to loosely press the board to the base.
If, when installing the boards, the master saved on nails, nailing them only in the middle, then the floorboards can begin to “walk” in the transverse direction. At the same time - to rub against neighboring boards, causing an unpleasant sound.

Another mistake made when installing the floor. There is not enough clearance around the perimeter of the room between the wall and the flooring. With changes in temperature and humidity, the material expands. And if the technological (deformation) gap is small or absent altogether, the boards rest against the fixed surface of the wall. They begin, even if imperceptible visually, but still deformation. That is, new friction nodes appear and, accordingly, a creak.

If for some reason the board is deformed - bent outward or inward, then an unpleasant sound also occurs when the load is applied. Another argument to the fact that the boards must be fixed as securely as possible.
If the boards are securely fastened and do not cling to each other, and the floors still creak, then the problem may be in the lags. The beam could dry out and warp over time, resulting in friction against the floor slab.
If the floors are old, then it is quite possible that the beams or logs could rot in some areas. At the same time, the boards fixed on them sag and touch the adjacent rows of flooring, creating friction centers.
If the floors have been recently laid, then the cause of the creak is most often the non-compliance with the installation technology. Or - the use of low-quality lumber for arranging the floor - boards or timber. For example, insufficiently dried boards were purchased and put into action without proper processing. When they dry out, they deform, the fasteners loosen and friction occurs.
When installing the lags, they were not set exactly to the level. Due to differences in their height, deflections are formed when the coating is loaded. Another reason is that the step between the lags is chosen too large, not corresponding to the thickness of the floorboards.
If nails or self-tapping screws of insufficient length are used for fastening, then the fixation of the board weakens over time. The floorboard moves away from the lags, and lowers when loaded. This also results in a creak.
Annoying sounds can also appear if soft leveling pads were laid under them when laying the logs. They are compressed over time, which leads to uneven subsidence of the entire structure.
In older buildings, floor deformation can occur due to subsidence of the foundation of the house. In such cases, there is no way to do without a large-scale overhaul.

So, in order not to make mistakes and not complicate the work, it is worth considering a step-by-step reconstruction of the floor. It should be noted right away that today there are quite a lot of tools that can greatly facilitate construction work. However, in this case, the master uses improvised devices to rally the boards, which everyone can make on their own.

Illustration Brief description of the operation to be performed
The first step is to remove the boardwalk.
First you need to remove the skirting boards. If they are going to be reused, then they must be removed very carefully. It is best not to pull on the baseboard itself, but, having found the fixing nails, remove them with a nail puller.
To determine the location of the nails, the plinth must be carefully pry off the wall with a pry bar. When separating the lath, the nails will immediately reveal themselves.
It is even easier if the plinth is fixed with self-tapping screws - they are simply unscrewed with a screwdriver.
Further, using the same mount, boards are removed from the lags.
If they are in good condition, and you plan to put them back, you need to try not to damage them. The boards also rise slightly from the lags, that is, the nails will also be pulled out a little along with them. When they become noticeable, they can be easily pulled out with a nail puller. Thus, the board will remain intact.
When removing the boards, it is recommended that they be numbered immediately, so that after repairing the lags, put them in place in the same sequence.
Cracked and rotten boards also need to be numbered, but put aside. This is in order to then make new ones on them and put them in place of those that have become unusable.
When the boards are removed from the frame, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the base. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to determine the cause of the creak.
Next, a thorough revision of the base and lags is carried out.
If cracks are found in the concrete base, they are recommended to be expanded, cleaned, primed and sealed with a cement-sand mortar or a special repair putty. The following work can be done only after the repair mixture has solidified.
If, during the inspection, damaged logs are found, then they must be replaced, since, perhaps, it was because of them that the floors creaked.
If the lags are too large, then it is best to add additional elements to the frame. The step between the lags should be no more than 600 mm. When installing them, 80 ÷ 100 mm should be retreated from the wall.
Old logs or new ones, in any case, they must be leveled in one plane. To align them, you will need a long, about 1.5 ÷ 2 m building level, or a shorter one and a rule. Logs are checked for evenness of installation, both in width and length of the room.
If necessary, they can be lifted using rigid spacers of the required thickness or special adjustable anchors.
After the logs are set in one plane, they must be rigidly fixed to the base. To do this, holes are drilled in the logs and gaskets, as well as the concrete base, through which anchor or dowel fasteners are screwed or driven in.
If you had to make a complete reconstruction of the floor, then it makes sense to insulate and soundproof the structure.
To do this, a waterproofing material is laid on the floor surface and fixed on the logs.
A heater is laid on top of the insulating membrane - it can be mineral wool, foam plastic, slag or expanded clay.
By the way, expanded clay will be the best option for a private house, since rodents do not live in it. It is especially good to use fine fraction expanded clay.
From above, the insulation is closed with a vapor-permeable membrane, which will allow moisture to leave the insulation and prevent villi from mineral wool or dust from other insulation materials from entering the premises.
All film coatings are fixed on the logs with staples and a stapler.
Now you can move on to returning the old boards to their place, and replacing some of them with new ones.
Boards must be mounted so that there is a minimum distance between them.
Installation begins with board number one. It is laid perpendicular to the lags and well leveled, as they will set the direction for all other floor boards.
Between the first board (both along its length and from the ends) and the wall there should be a technological gap of 8 ÷ 10 mm. This distance will help keep the coating intact during the thermal expansion of the material.

If the fastening of the board to the joists will be carried out with nails, then it is recommended to hammer them at an angle to the surface of the board, so the fixation will be more reliable.
Self-tapping screws are screwed vertically. For arranging floor boards, you should choose self-tapping screws that have threads that do not reach their caps. They will more reliably hold structural elements together.
In order not to split the board when screwing in the screws, it is recommended to drill holes for them in advance with a thin drill.
The upper part of the hole must be expanded (countersinked) so that the screw head is flush or 1÷2 mm below the main surface.
The board is screwed with two or three self-tapping screws to each of the lags.
The second and subsequent boards, before fixing them, must be pulled together.
In this case, the master applied the technique of compacting the flooring with a spacer wedge. A wedge can be made independently from a bar by sawing it at an angle.
In addition to it, you will need a piece of board (thick plywood) against which the wedge will rest.
This stop is screwed to the log at a distance of 20 ÷ 25 mm from the laid board with four self-tapping screws.
Further, a wedge is inserted between the fixed stop and the board.
A bar is attached to its wide side, which is hit with a hammer. The beam is necessary in order not to hammer the wood of the wedge, as it will be needed to compact all the floorboards.
The wedge, when it is tamped, will move forward, acclimating the last board to the previous one. When they are maximally interconnected, the last board is fixed to the lags with self-tapping screws.
In the same way, the rallying of all floorboards occurs.
If the last floorboard does not enter the space between the penultimate board and the wall, it must be marked and sawed off the excess part along its entire length.
The marking of the board should be carried out at the place of its installation, taking into account the fact that a technological gap should form between it and the wall.
It is desirable to cut the cut at an angle so that the lower surface of the board is 8 ÷ 10 mm less than the upper plane.
Thus, a ventilated space will be created between the wall and the board.
Having laid the last board in place, it must also be pulled to the main cover. This process is carried out using a pulling bracket and a hammer. After the minimum gap remains between the boards, the last floorboard must be immediately fixed to the logs with self-tapping screws.
Now you can check the floors for creaking. To do this, it is necessary to walk on it and press on the surface with your feet, making an effort, especially in previously problematic areas.
If the installation is done correctly, then there should be no creaking.
After all the boards are returned to their place, it is recommended to sand the floors. This process is especially relevant when a thick layer of paint has accumulated on the floorboards during the period of operation, which gives the surface a sloppy look.
Grinding, or rather, scraping, is best done using a special machine. This device can be rented for a while, or you can invite a master to work with his equipment.
It is advisable to clean the surface of the floor from paint completely, to bare wood.
Further, the floors must be treated with an antiseptic primer, which will protect the material from biological damage and create good adhesion for the coloring layer.
Even if you plan to lay plywood or OSB on the boards, the primer will still not be superfluous.
The installation of the plinth is carried out after the plywood flooring and decorative coating or before painting the wooden floor.
How to properly perform this stage of work is described in detail in a special publication of our portal.
* * * * * * *

Now, knowing the options for eliminating unpleasant squeaky sounds that occur when moving on the floor, you can start checking the boardwalk. Then, having determined the cause of their occurrence, you can safely proceed to repair work, choosing the most appropriate method.

It should also be noted that the complete reconstruction of a wooden floor is a long and laborious process. And especially in those cases when you don’t know what to expect after dismantling the boards. Therefore, if the owners decide to make a major overhaul, then you should correctly assess your experience in this area of work, weigh your capabilities. Perhaps it would be wiser to entrust this task to professionals who will deal with such a problem much faster and more competently.

In conclusion, we suggest watching a short video in which a home craftsman shares his quick and effective method of getting rid of squeaking floors.

Video: How to eliminate the creak of a wooden floor yourself

Illustration	Brief description of the operation to be performed
	The first step is to remove the boardwalk. First you need to remove the skirting boards. If they are going to be reused, then they must be removed very carefully. It is best not to pull on the baseboard itself, but, having found the fixing nails, remove them with a nail puller. To determine the location of the nails, the plinth must be carefully pry off the wall with a pry bar. When separating the lath, the nails will immediately reveal themselves. It is even easier if the plinth is fixed with self-tapping screws - they are simply unscrewed with a screwdriver.
	Further, using the same mount, boards are removed from the lags. If they are in good condition, and you plan to put them back, you need to try not to damage them. The boards also rise slightly from the lags, that is, the nails will also be pulled out a little along with them. When they become noticeable, they can be easily pulled out with a nail puller. Thus, the board will remain intact. When removing the boards, it is recommended that they be numbered immediately, so that after repairing the lags, put them in place in the same sequence. Cracked and rotten boards also need to be numbered, but put aside. This is in order to then make new ones on them and put them in place of those that have become unusable.
	When the boards are removed from the frame, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the base. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to determine the cause of the creak. Next, a thorough revision of the base and lags is carried out. If cracks are found in the concrete base, they are recommended to be expanded, cleaned, primed and sealed with a cement-sand mortar or a special repair putty. The following work can be done only after the repair mixture has solidified. If, during the inspection, damaged logs are found, then they must be replaced, since, perhaps, it was because of them that the floors creaked. If the lags are too large, then it is best to add additional elements to the frame. The step between the lags should be no more than 600 mm. When installing them, 80 ÷ 100 mm should be retreated from the wall.
	Old logs or new ones, in any case, they must be leveled in one plane. To align them, you will need a long, about 1.5 ÷ 2 m building level, or a shorter one and a rule. Logs are checked for evenness of installation, both in width and length of the room. If necessary, they can be lifted using rigid spacers of the required thickness or special adjustable anchors. After the logs are set in one plane, they must be rigidly fixed to the base. To do this, holes are drilled in the logs and gaskets, as well as the concrete base, through which anchor or dowel fasteners are screwed or driven in.
	If you had to make a complete reconstruction of the floor, then it makes sense to insulate and soundproof the structure. To do this, a waterproofing material is laid on the floor surface and fixed on the logs.
	A heater is laid on top of the insulating membrane - it can be mineral wool, foam plastic, slag or expanded clay. By the way, expanded clay will be the best option for a private house, since rodents do not live in it. It is especially good to use fine fraction expanded clay. From above, the insulation is closed with a vapor-permeable membrane, which will allow moisture to leave the insulation and prevent villi from mineral wool or dust from other insulation materials from entering the premises. All film coatings are fixed on the logs with staples and a stapler.
	Now you can move on to returning the old boards to their place, and replacing some of them with new ones. Boards must be mounted so that there is a minimum distance between them. Installation begins with board number one. It is laid perpendicular to the lags and well leveled, as they will set the direction for all other floor boards. Between the first board (both along its length and from the ends) and the wall there should be a technological gap of 8 ÷ 10 mm. This distance will help keep the coating intact during the thermal expansion of the material.
	If the fastening of the board to the joists will be carried out with nails, then it is recommended to hammer them at an angle to the surface of the board, so the fixation will be more reliable. Self-tapping screws are screwed vertically. For arranging floor boards, you should choose self-tapping screws that have threads that do not reach their caps. They will more reliably hold structural elements together.
	In order not to split the board when screwing in the screws, it is recommended to drill holes for them in advance with a thin drill. The upper part of the hole must be expanded (countersinked) so that the screw head is flush or 1÷2 mm below the main surface. The board is screwed with two or three self-tapping screws to each of the lags.
	The second and subsequent boards, before fixing them, must be pulled together. In this case, the master applied the technique of compacting the flooring with a spacer wedge. A wedge can be made independently from a bar by sawing it at an angle. In addition to it, you will need a piece of board (thick plywood) against which the wedge will rest. This stop is screwed to the log at a distance of 20 ÷ 25 mm from the laid board with four self-tapping screws.
	Further, a wedge is inserted between the fixed stop and the board. A bar is attached to its wide side, which is hit with a hammer. The beam is necessary in order not to hammer the wood of the wedge, as it will be needed to compact all the floorboards. The wedge, when it is tamped, will move forward, acclimating the last board to the previous one. When they are maximally interconnected, the last board is fixed to the lags with self-tapping screws. In the same way, the rallying of all floorboards occurs.
	If the last floorboard does not enter the space between the penultimate board and the wall, it must be marked and sawed off the excess part along its entire length. The marking of the board should be carried out at the place of its installation, taking into account the fact that a technological gap should form between it and the wall.
	It is desirable to cut the cut at an angle so that the lower surface of the board is 8 ÷ 10 mm less than the upper plane. Thus, a ventilated space will be created between the wall and the board.
	Having laid the last board in place, it must also be pulled to the main cover. This process is carried out using a pulling bracket and a hammer. After the minimum gap remains between the boards, the last floorboard must be immediately fixed to the logs with self-tapping screws. Now you can check the floors for creaking. To do this, it is necessary to walk on it and press on the surface with your feet, making an effort, especially in previously problematic areas. If the installation is done correctly, then there should be no creaking.
	After all the boards are returned to their place, it is recommended to sand the floors. This process is especially relevant when a thick layer of paint has accumulated on the floorboards during the period of operation, which gives the surface a sloppy look. Grinding, or rather, scraping, is best done using a special machine. This device can be rented for a while, or you can invite a master to work with his equipment. It is advisable to clean the surface of the floor from paint completely, to bare wood.
	Further, the floors must be treated with an antiseptic primer, which will protect the material from biological damage and create good adhesion for the coloring layer. Even if you plan to lay plywood or OSB on the boards, the primer will still not be superfluous.
	The installation of the plinth is carried out after the plywood flooring and decorative coating or before painting the wooden floor. How to properly perform this stage of work is described in detail in a special publication of our portal.