What Causes Creaky Floors

During the summer months wood tends to expand when exposed to high levels of humidity.

What causes creaky floors.

Loose wooden floorboards are often the cause of annoying squeaks but even carpeted rooms can be noisy if the plywood subfloor isn t firmly attached to the joists. And sometimes begin to hear a squeaky wood floor in our homes. Environmental changes occur from weather changes and humidity. Hence due to damage in floor joists the floor may start creaking as sections of flooring rub together or the nails becoming loose.

Annoying floor squeaks common in many homes typically occur after the house has settled and flooring lumber has dried out and shrunk. This is usually the act of being stepped on. There is however one core cause of a squeaking floor. This will cause creaking in the floors.

As you walk across the floor boards rub against each other or slide against nail shafts to produce a cacophony of squeaks and creaks. Uneven subflooring maybe the problem isn t a loose joist but an uneven or loose subfloor. How do you stop your floor from squeaking. As soon as you turn your heater on you re removing even more of that precious moisture from the air.

It s pretty rare for a wood floor to squeak on its own. Squeaks happen when a house settles and wood flooring dries and then expands. Floor squeaks are caused by wood rubbing against a nail other wood or even ductwork and piping. For floor to squeak it requires some impetus to move and a place to move to.

Cause of squeaky hardwood floors 3. Glued floors come loose or the nails pull loose. If there is a significant differential settlement there are more chances of damage to subfloor which may be the cause of squeaky floor. Signs of foundation problems in your house.

Although any floor can squeak hardwood floors and staircases are the common culprits. Engineered wood floors v. In this case when you put weight on the floor the subfloor rubs against the flooring joists causing the floor to squeak. You ll have several options to stop it.

The opposite occurs in colder weather or winter when the wood shrinks. When this occurs you may want to re attach or secure the floor back down and apply a sealing compound to the flooring which helps prevent this type of problem. Finding the squeak can be difficult but if the squeaking floor is open from below you re in luck. Uneven subflooring can cause gaps between the floor and the subfloor.