Gene Austin
Hartford Courant

Q: I recently moved into an older home with hardwood floors that squeak badly. How can I stop the noise?

A: The squeaks, of course, are caused by wood rubbing against wood or nails when the floor is walked on. You have the best chance of fixing the squeaks if there is unobstructed access to the floor from below — a basement without a ceiling or a crawl space, for example. Go into the basement and have someone walk on the floor overhead. Mark the squeaky areas on the subfloor (the layer of boards or plywood under the finish flooring) with chalk. Examine these areas closely for gaps between the top of joists and the underside of the subfloor; the gaps could be permitting the wood to move.

Gaps can usually be filled with thin wood wedges, available in packs at some home centers and lumber yards. Pieces of cedar shingles can also be used. Put some glue on the top side of a wedge and drive it into the gap with a mallet or hammer. This could stop some of the squeaks.

Right-angle metal brackets can also be used to treat squeaks. These are screwed to the joist and subfloor to add rigidity. In some cases, additional wood or metal bridging might have to be installed between joists to reduce movement.

If there isn’t access to the floor from below, the best option is to re-nail some of the flooring in squeaky areas. For best results, nail into joists, which are normally spaced on 16-inch centers. Use flooring nails or finishing nails with small heads, 2 1/2 inches long. Drive the nails in pairs, angling them toward each other in V patterns to give a better grip. Drill pilot holes through the flooring, slightly smaller than the diameter of the nails, to avoid splitting the wood. Use a nail set to drive nail heads slightly below the surface and fill the holes with colored putty to match the wood.