How to get rid of floor creaking

What to do to stop the floor creaking? Why does a creak occur? Most people who have wooden floors in houses and apartments torment such issues. Wood flooring is the best choice, like other flooring materials it has its own advantages and disadvantages. When the life is nearing the end, the tree begins to signal this. There are many known methods aimed at preventing squeaking. It is possible to cope with this task independently, special skills in the field of construction are not required, it does not take a lot of time. This problem requires attention, it must be fixed.

Causes of floor creaking

If there is a creak of floorboards, it is advisable to establish its cause before starting repairs. Most often, the creak is caused by design features. Several options are known that were used to form the flooring in old houses and apartments:

1. Logs or wooden bars with a pitch of about 40 centimeters were mounted on the concrete coating. They were lined with plywood or chipboard, and on top of them sheets of fiberboard were laid.
2. Wooden boards lay on the logs fixed on the concrete floor.

Both options imply the presence of horizontal logs, which are bars of wood with a thickness of not more than 4 cm, which were used as the basis for flooring sheathing. The bars were used to form the required technological indent from the concrete surface, due to which the floor “breathes”. The top layer of the nails was nailed to logs or beams. After a certain time of use, the nails began to loosen, the boards became deformed and a creak appeared. Logs or beams are also loosened, due to which the density of the fastening of the floor with a concrete surface is violated.

How to determine the creak location

To this end, the assistant actively moves on the floor, in areas of the formation of noise, the load on the coating of wood is accentuated. Places where noise is formed are circled in chalk or a marker. As a result of the study, a squeak map will be compiled.

What to do to get rid of the creak of the floor

A complete replacement of the flooring is the perfect way out of this situation. This method of solution involves significant financial and time costs. Professional wizards share several simple and effective options.

1. It is possible to eliminate the creak with the help of wooden wedges nailed from below between boards and lags. Before nailing them, it is necessary to determine the zones in which the creak is formed so that the entire surface of the floor is not knocked out. To work, you will need a hammer, a damper and wedges made of wood.
2. A temporary and costly method is the use of polyurethane foam. It is used in situations when several floorboards creak and there is assembly foam left from repair. It foams between lags and boards, where the foam expands and hardens, acting as wedges. Over time, the destruction of the foam is observed, the creaking of floorboards resumes.
3. If the boards are on a concrete base, metal anchors are used. This is an effective but expensive way. To repair the floor will require at least 200 anchors. If we take into account the fact that concrete and metal are almost eternal materials, decay of the boards will begin much earlier than the construction deteriorates.
4. If during a visual inspection of the surface there are no swelling and cracks, and the floorboards squeak, plywood can solve the problem. She spreads under the boards. At the same time, its thickness should be taken into account. Its thickness should not exceed 12 millimeters, otherwise the creak will not be prevented.
5. The cheapest way, and laborious at the same time, you will need to evaluate absolutely all the logs and floorboards that have failed, replace, loose ones - tighten, and then fix it with self-tapping screws.
6. Using a sealant made of wood chips, varnish and paint, the existing cracks are poured, after solidification a wooden wedge is formed. It is possible to make such a sealant at home. For this you need wood chips, varnish and paint. The mixture is prepared in the following ratio of components: 4: 1: 1. Mix thoroughly and can be used. Slots must be filled to the level of the boards.
7. An effective and easy way to eliminate gaps. A cord made of synthetic material or an ordinary rope is used, PVA is saturated with glue and then the gaps are closed with their help. Then PVA glue needs to be mixed with the crushed sawdust. Over the cord, the resulting putty will gouge cracks, while it is necessary to leave an insignificant tubercle. After the glue has hardened, it must be carefully cut with a knife. After a few days, the glue will dry completely.

In each case, an individual decision is made on how to deal with the creak, the choice is yours!

Video: how to eliminate parquet creak