3 Reasons Your Wood Floor is Squeaking

All Flooring Install explains the three reasons your wood floor is squeaking. Contact All Flooring Install to ask any questions.

You may love your hardwood floors for their beauty and appeal, but you may be annoyed if you find an area of your flooring that squeaks when you walk on it. It can be infuriating, but it is actually quite common. Of course, those squeaks usually come at the worst times, such as at night when you’re trying to sneak something from the fridge.

Good news is, there is a reason and many times a solution to your squeaky floors.

Here are some of the top reasons your wood floor is squeaking:

1. Problems With the Subfloor

The subfloor could be to blame for your squeaky floors. Uneven subfloors often lead to unwanted squeaks because they create a space between the subfloor and the top floor, which allows for movement. Uneven floors can also cause friction with the base structures or joists that hold it up.

Your subfloor’s quality may also be the root cause. If you have an old, inefficient or water damaged subfloor, noises can result. When a subfloor can’t be repaired because it has suffered too much damage (i.e., moisture infiltration), it can’t adequately hold nails and or other fasteners, resulting in shifting and creaking.

2. Joist Issues

Joists are horizontal framing structures that span an open space. Joists comprise the framework and base of your floors and add stability to the subfloor. Stable joists prevent movement; unstable joists are loose and will cause movement. Whether your joists are warped due to moisture or were improperly installed in the first place, they could be to blame for all those squeaks you’re hearing.

3. Seasonal Changes

If your floor doesn’t squeak all the time, just during certain times of the year, this is due to seasonal changes. Wood expands and contracts with variations in temperature and humidity. In winter, dry air could be causing your floors to contract and squeak, because it adds more movement in the planks. You should hear an improvement when the humidity levels return to a more stable level, which is between 40 and 60 percent.

What to Do About It

If you don’t really want to live with the squeaks any longer, there are things you can do to remedy the situation. Call in a hardwood floor professional to troubleshoot the issue and come up with a plan to repair it. Sometimes, it’s not a simple fix, so be prepared for a costly repair or replacement job. Depending on the issue at hand and your available budget, you may decide to just live with a few squeaks!

Contact All Flooring Install

To book your hardwood flooring consult with one of our pros, contact us in Richardson TX at 972-679-3172. We are skilled in repair and installation of all kinds of flooring, from solid to engineered hardwood. We also sand and finish, do stairs and perform undercuts. Our team will get to the bottom of your squeaky floor problem in no time!