Squeaky floor

What It Means

A squeaky floor creaks when you step on one spot, often because the subfloor has pulled away from a floor joist and the parts rub as they move. The fix is to stop that movement. With access from a basement or crawl space you can work from below with shims, construction adhesive or screws; otherwise you work from above with a squeak repair kit or finishing nails driven into the joist.

How It Sounds at Home

• "That board by the bathroom squeaks every time."
• "You can hear anyone walking down the hall at night."
• "I'll go down to the basement and shim it."

The Breakdown

From below (basement or crawl space)

1. Buhata's own suggestion: have someone walk on the squeaky spot while you listen and watch from below to find it.
2. If there's a gap between the top of a joist and the subfloor, coat one end of a wood shim with construction adhesive and slide it in an inch or two. It doesn't need to go all the way; tap it with a hammer if it won't slide.
3. If a longer stretch is loose, run construction adhesive along the joint between joist and subfloor.
4. For a squeak in one spot with no gap, drive screws up through the subfloor from below. Buhata's own suggestion: pick screws short enough that they can't poke through the finished floor.

From above

• Under carpet, a squeak repair kit uses special scored screws: find the joist with the kit's tool, set the fixture over the joist, drive the screw through the carpet and snap its head off so it stays hidden.
• On hardwood, use a kit made for hardwood floors.
• Another option under carpet is to roll the carpet back where you can, find the joists with a stud finder, and drive a finishing nail through the subfloor into the joist at the squeaky spot.

Try it today. Walk each room slowly and mark every squeak with a piece of painter's tape. The marks tell you which room to start with and how many kit screws to buy.

Good to Know

Before driving any screw or nail into a floor, check what runs under it: pipes, wiring and ducts often run between joists (Buhata's own suggestion). A floor that sags, feels soft or bounces is a different problem from a squeak, and Buhata's own suggestion is to have a licensed contractorLicensed contractorA contractor who holds the license your state or local government requires for the kind of work being done, which you can check before you hire. See more look at it.

Related Terms and Categories

• Squeaky door hinge

  A door hinge that creaks or squeals as the door swings. The usual fix is to take out the hinge pin, clean it, lubricate it and put it back.

• Drywall patch

  A repair that fills a dent, crack or hole in drywall with spackling or joint compound, often over a mesh patch, then sands, primes and repaints it.

• Punch list

  A list of the small unfinished or faulty items left at the end of a building or remodeling job that the contractor must fix before the work counts as done.

• Indoor humidity level

  How much moisture the air inside a home holds, given as relative humidity. EPA advises keeping it below 60%, ideally between 30% and 50%.

• Licensed contractor

  A contractor who holds the license your state or local government requires for the kind of work being done, which you can check before you hire.

Home maintenance and repairs