Over time, wood floors can make a creak. This can annoy residents of a house or apartment. It is also worth noting that such a nuisance indicates the rapid wear of floorboards. Therefore, you need to solve the problem promptly. How to eliminate the creak of a wooden floor will be discussed in detail below.
Squeak Reasons
There are several reasons why the floor creaks. What to do to eliminate a creak? First you need to understand what caused this nuisance. Squeaking occurs when boards or panels begin to rub heavily against each other. Such a sound can occur when lag and floorboards interact.
One of the reasons for this phenomenon is the incorrect installation of the floor covering. In this case, the creak will begin to sound when walking almost immediately after finishing work. The material is poorly fixed on the base. In this case, the work will have to be redone. Boards need to be well ground to each other.
Often, several years after the repair, the owners begin to notice that the wooden floor in the apartment is creaking. What to do in this case? It is necessary to determine whether the humidity in the room is normal. If this indicator is high, you need to take the necessary steps to reduce it. Boards, being a natural material, absorb moisture. Because of this, they swell. As a result, the surface of the finishing elements of the floor begin to rub more against each other. This creates a creak.
If the house is new, noise when walking can occur due to the natural shrinkage of the structure. This means that when planning the construction work, such features were not taken into account. In this case, the creak will appear literally in the first year after the construction of the house. It is necessary to leave a gap near the edge of the walls. This is necessary in order to avoid such troubles.
Low-quality materials can creak. They have jagged edges, were dried incorrectly. Other causes of such troubles can be:
- splitting of planks or lagging of boards from the lag;
- drying boards;
- breakdown in the groove area;
- nails and screws loose;
- wear of the material, the development of decay processes in the boards.
Having determined the reason why the boards creak, it will be possible to eliminate the noise. It is not always necessary to disassemble the floor covering completely. Only in some cases cardinal actions are required.
Using wedges
How to eliminate the creak of wooden floors without disassembling? The most common cause of an unpleasant sound is the poor fixation of the boards to the lags. In this case, you can try to eliminate the creak by scoring wedges between these elements of the floor construction. This becomes possible if there is access to the floor from the back (for example, from the basement). To do this, take a small flat board. With a hammer, it is driven between the lags and the floor covering on the back side of the outer surface.
If there is no access to the lags, you need to act a little differently. In this case, in order not to disassemble the floor, you need to nail the boards to the base structure from above. Having driven nails into the floor, you can eliminate the creak for a while. However, he will return quickly. In this case, the problem will need to be solved radically. It is better to fix the flooring immediately with screws. This is a more time-consuming process, but it will be more efficient.
Sometimes you can eliminate the creaking of the floor without opening it with wedges that drive between the boards. First you need to determine which elements of the flooring rub against each other. Here you will need to drive wedges into the slot with a step of about 17 cm. In this case, the material should not protrude above the floor level. He must be on a par with him.
To do this, you need to prepare a hammer and wooden planks-wedges. Also, in the course of work, a piece of metal bar or a damper will be needed.
Filling foam, other materials
How to eliminate the creak of a wooden floor in an apartment or your own house without opening it? In this case, you can use one of the simple ways. To eliminate squeaking in the gap between the boards, graphite powder should be poured. Instead, you can also use talcum powder.
Some owners solve the problem more radically. They fill the space between the boards with mounting foam. It expands, filling a gap. In this case, the floor becomes more rigid. Squeaking temporarily stops. This is a fairly costly method that is now considered ineffective.
Over time, the mounting foam is pressed and destroyed. The creak will appear again. It is better to use liquid polyurethane. It is harder than polyurethane foam. However, to apply this method, you will need to purchase special equipment. This is an expensive but more effective way. Today, owners of houses and apartments prefer to eliminate the creak using other approaches.
Other ways to eliminate gaps
How to eliminate the creak of the floor from the boards? If the cause of the unpleasant sound was the gradual drying of the flooring, do not rush to carry out repairs. There is a simple but effective way that eliminates the creak when gaps appear.
Over time, the boards can deform, dry out. This situation occurs due to too low humidity in the room. Sometimes the boards are first saturated with moisture and then dry. This also leads to the appearance of gaps between them. The quality of the flooring made of natural wood or particleboard is also affected by temperature changes. Gaps appear between the boards. In this case, you can hammer in wedges or use a special sealant. Experts say the second option is more reliable.
The sealant can be prepared independently. This will require wood chips and paint with varnish. To prepare the sealant, you will need to mix 4 parts of sawdust with one part of the paint and with one part of the varnish. With this composition, all the cracks in the floor are gently smeared. Paint color should be selected in accordance with the shade of the floor covering. This is also true for sawdust.
Considering how to eliminate the creak of a wooden floor covering, one more way to close up cracks should be considered. To do this, you need to prepare PVA glue and a thick rope of synthetic fibers. It must be impregnated with glue. Instead of PVA, ordinary wood glue can also be used.
Next, the rope is laid in the cracks, driving it deep between the boards. When this work is completed, you will need to prepare a putty. To do this, mix 4 parts of fine sawdust with 1 part of PVA glue. With this composition, the cracks in which the rope was laid are treated. On top of the floor surface a tubercle of glue is formed. It should dry. When this happens, you need to carefully cut off the excess material. The floor must be level.
Within 2 days after this procedure, do not walk on the wooden floor. This is one of the most effective methods for cracks. PVA is elastic. In case of deformation of the boards, they will not creak. The gaps will be eliminated. At the same time, the boards adhere well to each other.
Plywood laying
Choosing a method that helps eliminate the creak of a wooden floor covering, one more option should be considered. If the base is even, it is possible to fill plywood sheets on it. This method is less effective. Squeaking may resume over time. However, for some time the problem will be solved. For several years, the creak will not bother the owners of the house.
To do this, you need sheets of plywood 12 mm thick. You can take thinner material if it is laid in 2 layers. The second option is preferable. In this case, the floor will be stronger. Sheets are glued with a special composition to the base. They must be laid at an angle to the direction of the parquet pattern. If a second layer is created, it is mounted on the first so that the joints are in the middle of the bottom sheet.
Metal anchor
There is another way by which you can eliminate the creak of the parquet floor. In this case, you will need to use metal anchors. This method is suitable if the finish made of natural material was mounted on a concrete slab. In this case, each anchor will need to be fixed manually.
First, a small hole is created using a punch. A drill is also suitable for these purposes. But in this case, the work will progress more slowly. You need to drill a hole through the board, lag. It must penetrate the concrete.
A metal cover for the anchor is installed in the resulting hole. The hairpin is screwed directly into it.
The distance between the anchors should be about 1 m. This is one of the effective approaches that allows you to give the floor rigidity. A creak will not appear for a long time. The disadvantage of this technique is the significant investment of time and family budget funds. During this procedure, about 200 anchors will be required in the middle room. They cost about 15 rubles. a piece. At the same time, such a procedure also takes a lot.
The use of screws
If you need to eliminate the creaking of the floor from particleboard, on top of which parquet or wooden boards are laid, you can use a simpler technique. In this case, not anchors, but self-tapping screws are used. This is a spot repair. It is not carried out everywhere, but only in defective places.
Having determined in which areas squeaks are heard, holes with a diameter of 2 mm are drilled here. Here you need to screw the screws with a screwdriver. They must enter the structure of the floor material until it stops. The top can be bitten off or deepened. On top of this place is putty on wood. It should be the appropriate shade.
This technique allows you to efficiently and quickly solve the problem. Therefore, if you want to eliminate the creak of a wooden floor in an apartment or your own house, this option should be considered as one of the best. If in some places the boards were poorly attached to the lags, such a spot repair can remove an unpleasant sound.
The disadvantage of this technique is the fact that it does not allow you to remove the problem with a significant area of problem areas. If you need to go through fasteners along the baseboard, you should not use self-tapping screws. It is better to purchase a dowel with plastic grooves. First, a hole is created for them with a drill. Then a plastic groove is driven into it. A metal screw is inserted into it. Such a fastener should go into the ceiling to a depth of about 40 cm.
It is extremely important in the course of work to determine whether any communications pass under the floor. Their damage can turn into serious troubles. Therefore, before starting work, you need to familiarize yourself with the floor plan.
other methods
There are other ways through which you can eliminate the creak of the floors. In order not to carry out major repairs in the room in the near future, you can fix the boards rigidly with the help of special pins. It is necessary to determine in what places the creak is heard. From the junction of the boards a little retreat. Here they make a hole 1-1.2 cm deep. Between each hole there should be a distance of 10-30 cm.
Need to prepare the round pins. They can be made of wood. The pins are treated with PVA glue. They are driven into a prepared hole. After the composition dries, you need to clean the floor surface. The pin should not rise above it. This procedure will allow you to get rid of squeaks for several years.
One of the easiest ways to solve the problem is to use foam. A hole is drilled in the boards. It should be about 6 mm in diameter. The nose of the cylinder with foam is inserted into it. Next is her blowing inward. This is a simple but less effective way. You can also fix the boards to the logs with hardened screws. The step must be done 5 cm. The operation is simplified by the use of an electric drill.
Screed (bulkhead) of the old floor
How to eliminate the creak of a wooden floor if the coating is already quite old? In this case, you need to sort out the boards. This is a time consuming process. However, its cost will be relatively low.
This technique involves checking not only the boards, but also the lag and other structural elements. If defects are found, they are eliminated. You may even need to replace lags or some boards. Sometimes it is necessary to replace all nails with self-tapping screws. This will be enough to ensure that all structural elements fit snugly together.
If the lags rot, you will need to replace them. If there are defects on the boards (they make a dull sound when tapped), they should be replaced. Sometimes you can get by dismantling only a few floorboards. However, if the material is obsolete, a major overhaul is required.
Old grandfather method
There is another old way with which you can eliminate the creak of a wooden floor. It will allow you to remove creak if the floor surface is relatively flat. It is necessary to spread strips of fabric along the entire length of the room. It can be a material like overcoat. The strips should be 30 cm wide. Lay the fabric at a distance of 40 cm from each other.
Fibreboard sheets are laid on top of the prepared base. They are fixed to the floor using self-tapping screws. This is one of the most inexpensive ways to eliminate squeaks. Noise will not appear in the next few years. Subsequently, you may need to resort to a major overhaul of the floor. However, for several more years he will serve his masters.
Having considered the possible options to eliminate the creak of the wooden floor, you can choose the most acceptable way. In this case, it is necessary to take into account which factors led to the appearance of noise. In this case, it will be possible to choose the most effective way to fix the problem.