We all know how beautiful a bamboo flooring or wood floor installation can be, they literally transform a home and are so versatile when it comes to pairing your decor and furnishings. But what happens when your wood floor starts squeaking and you have to tiptoe around your own home like some sort of criminal? Well, don’t despair, we’ve teamed up with a leading online flooring retailer to discuss a few simple steps that you can take to prevent your home sounding like a haunted house..

One of the most common and easiest things to fix is loose nails, this is a surprisingly common source of squeaky floors. When the nail comes loose it adds a bit of flexibility to the floorboard which means that it can move as you walk over it. As a result of this it will creak as as it rubs against other board. So if you do discover any loose nails then then simply fix them back into place or replace them with new ones to make sure your floor is extra secure, as well as being quieter too.

Another quick fix and what seems a bit like an old housewives tale is to use talc! Now you may turn your nose up at this method but it can help to remove any moisture that is causing the boards to rub together and ultimately squeak when you walk across them. As you are probably aware, wood flooring reacts to changes in temperature and moisture, so what you may discover is that your floor develops a creakiness at certain times of the year due to changes in the weather. Simply sprinkle some talcum powder over the noisy part of the floor and this should prevent them from creaking as it will remove any excess moisture from the board.

If you have gaps running along an entire joist then you could fill it with construction adhesive. By working the adhesive into the gap then you are no longer allowing the floorboard the space to move or make any noise. This method is recommended for those who aren’t beginners when it comes to DIY and we would always recommend contacting a flooring install services contractor, which can be found on this website, https://factory-flooring.uk, if you are unsure about anything.

Of course, the above two methods are merely a quick fix, if these don’t work for you then you may need a more permanent solution. This method is more for fans of DIY and it requires a little more knowledge of where the source of the creak actually is, if it is above a joist then you may be able to add some more screws that should give it extra stability and reduce the movement that creates the noises in the first place. If you are planning on adding screws to your floor then you will need to ensure that you drill a pilot hole* first to avoid splitting the wood and ruining the entire floor!

*Pilot hole = A preparatory hole that is drilled to allow easier passage of a larger object, for example a screw.

There may be an array of products available that state they can stop your floors from squeaking but we would always recommend trying these low cost methods before spending money on something that may not necessarily work.