There are several areas of squeaky floors in our house. Really, really squeaky (or creaky).

One area does have access to the basement beneath it (it's our family room floor which is right above the boiler room, so we have easy access to the joists), but the other area is the bedroom/hallway on the 2nd floor (above the family room, coincidentally or not...).

In any case, is it worth trying any of the various diy fixes I've seen online (and if so, what do you recommend), or just call a floor company to take a look?

Both floors are original hardwood to the 1969 Colonial style house.

Thank you.

 

I would definetely attempt to solve the problem myself. If doing any fixes where you drive screws up from below double check the screw length to make sure they don't protrude through the floor above.

 

So the first think you need to figure out, is it the hardwood floor or is it the sub floor. That is going to dictate the repair.

Sub floor repairs are harder because it can be more expansive than a local hardwood noise.

You can look at repairs from underneath, screws, wedges glue where as a noisy hardwood board is simple, a small pilot hole and finish nail, followed by some color matching wax filler.

The other thing to consider, you cant make all the repairs at once. It takes time locating them, fixing them, then confirming it was the actual spot needing the fix.

After I replaced all my flooring I still find an occasional spot, especially with the weather change after 3 years.

 

Thanks, but for the portion that we have to do from 'above' (since it's the second floor and I'm not about to tear apart the ceiling of the first floor), are there good diy options?

 

I've used this:
https://www.squeakyfloor.com/squeak-...RoCwGAQAvD_BwE
You have to cover the holes with a little putty afterward and it's important to note when you use it that you need to be standing over the spot - like drilling between your feet - to make sure your body weight is pushing the two surfaces together as the screws will not pull them tight, only hold them that way.

 

And as I indicated

You still need to figure out what's causing the noise, once that is confirmed there are several different options.

 

Thanks so much. How do I figure out if it's the floor or sub floor? I kind of think it's the subfloor, as it doesn't feel like the floor itself is moving or whatnot, and stepping on one small area can make a very large noise that seems to be coming from all around, not just that one tiny spot.

 

They can be elusive!

First, do you actually have subfloor? Not sure how the construction was back in 69, pull up a floor vent, assuming you have one, and see what is there! What does it look like from basement?

 

Basement ceiling has plywood subfloor, so I assume it's the same between 1st and 2nd floor.

We don't have floor vents (we have baseboard heating and ceiling vents for central a/c).