How to get rid of floor squeak

What to do to stop creaking floor? Why does a creak occur? Such questions torment most people who have wooden floors in houses and apartments. Wood flooring is an optimal choice, as well as other materials for the floor it has its own advantages and disadvantages. When the useful life is nearing its end, the tree begins to signal this. There are many ways to prevent the squeak. It is possible to cope with such a task independently, special skills in the field of construction are not required, it does not take much time. This problem requires attention, it must be eliminated.

Causes of floor squeak

If the floorboards creak, it is advisable to establish its cause before the repair. The most common cause of squeak are design features. There are several optionswhich were used to form the flooring in old houses and apartments:

1. Lags or bars of wood with a pitch of about 40 centimeters were mounted on the concrete pavement. They were sheathed with plywood or chipboard, and on top of them were sheets of fiberboard.
2. On the logs, fixed on the concrete floor, lay wooden boards.

Both options imply the presence of horizontal lag, which is a bar of wood with a thickness of not more than 4 cm, which were used as the basis for flooring plating. The bars were used to form the required technological distance from the concrete surface, due to which the floor “breathes”. The top layer of the lining nails nailed to logs or beams. After a certain period of use, the nails began to loosen, the boards became deformed and a creaking appeared. Lags or beams also become loose, which causes the density of the floor with the concrete surface to be broken.

How to determine the location of the squeak

To this end, the assistant is actively moving across the floor, in areas of education noise stress on the coating of wood is emphasized. Places where noise is formed are outlined with chalk or a marker.As a result of the study a squeak map will be made

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

Complete replacement of flooring is an ideal way out of this situation. This solution involves significant financial and time costs. Professional masters share several simple and effective options.

1. It is possible to eliminate creaking with the help of wooden wedges nailed between boards and lags. Before you nail them, you need to determine the areas in which the creaking is formed, so as not to tamp the entire surface of the floor. For work you will need a hammer, doboynik and wedges of wood.
2. A time and costly method is the use of foam. It is used in situations where several floorboards creak and there is a foam left over from repair. It foams between the lags and the boards, where the foam expands and freezes, performing the function of wedges. Over time, the destruction of the foam is observed, the creaking of the 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 practically eternal materials, the rotting of the boards will begin much earlier than the structure deteriorates.
4. If at visual inspection of the surface no swelling and cracks are observed, and the floorboards are creaking, plywood can solve the problem. It creeps under the board. It should take into account its thickness. Its thickness should not exceed 12 millimeters, otherwise the creaking will not be prevented.
5. The cheapest way, while laborious - you will need to evaluate absolutely all the lags and floorboards that failed to replace, loosening - pull up, and then fix it with self-tapping screws.
6. With the help of a sealant made of wood shavings, varnish and paint, the existing cracks are poured, and a wooden wedge is formed after solidification. Such a sealant may be prepared at home. To do this, you need wood chips, varnish and paint. The mixture is prepared in the following ratio of ingredients: 4: 1: 1. Mix thoroughly and can be used. The gap 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 ordinary rope is used, they are saturated with PVA with glue and then with their help, gaps are closed. After that, PVA glue should be mixed with crushed sawdust.On top of the cord resulting filler caulk gaps, while it is necessary to leave an inconsequential 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 scratch, the choice is yours!

Video: how to eliminate creaking parquet