the creaky floors in our 20yo "new build" have been the bane of my life. I tried everything, even completely reboarding my sons bedroom, still didnt fix it, his room is still terrible. Then I had an idea. The top landing was the worst in the house. I removed all the boards and placed (and screwed) very tight fitting 4x2 braces between the joists where possible. It completely fixed it. So when we decorated our daughters room I did the same and it fixed that too, but I only cut strips out of the flooring to access the joists and allowed easy patching of the flooring I'd removed. Success again.
“ T-Nerves “ 🤣😂 I love the extra effort you make to construct mock ups to clearly demonstrate the job , brilliant! Excellent AS ALWAYS, thank you Stuart 😁👍
Stuart - you have me staying awake now keeping my ears open listening out for squeaking floorboards, even though I live alone, in a bungalow with concrete floors!
Great video Stuart! You can get PU adhesive in cartridges that will fit a sealant gun, with the smaller nozzle than the gorilla glue bottle it’s probably possible to force the adhesive under the 4x2 without drilling it. For those asking the knife / scraper is a tough built which you can get from Toolstation here in the UK.
My late father (who was a joiner) always maintained that squeaks could come from any wood moving up and down on a nail. He recommended using screwnails all the time, to stop such movement (threaded all the way to the head). Separately, if you ever need use of a heavy weight, fill a basin with water. One kilogramme per 10cm cube.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video Stuart, I have a squeaky floorboard that drive us nuts. I didn't want to screw through any pipes or cables so learnt to live with it. But these tips may just be the answer. Thank you.
Thanks for this video, I had issue with wall and floor… I actually put the straw of a can of WD40 under skirting and sprayed lots under the full length as at the time I didn’t have an idea how to cure it! It worked perfectly, in 5 years since I did that, it’s not squeaked again… however, if it returns, I will be using glue idea now I have that in my knowledge. I have a similar squeak on the landing, and as I’m changing the carpet, I am going to venture to see if it’s the wall meeting, or the boards. Thanks again , love this channel.
What an excellent piece this was. Ive been plagued with squeaky floorboards our 25 year old house, my wife says if we bought a new one it'd go away - but seems not when even newbuilds suffer. I even bought one of these "screw through the carpet" kits which seemed like a good idea at the time but Im glad I never tried it after seeing this video. Last week we had an ensuite remodelled and when the boards were up it was sobering to see where the pipe runs were - it would be very easy to go though one using that method. Really liked the watered down PVA idea and gorilla glue which I am finding more and more useful. Thanks Stuart for these videos, you have become a go to watch on TH-cam and though Id rate myself a competent DIYer theres always more to learn and I have. Cheers (Ive hit like and subscribe). Oh and get yourself a new broom!
Fantastic video Stuart, thanks. My 2.5 yr old house is prone to these, at least i understand what is happening now, i will probably wait a few years till i need to redecorate before fixing it though, i cant imagine getting the skirting board out without a bit of if damage
Never considered these solutions before... you're an absolute star. Thank you so much for your useful, inspiring an entertaining videos. The little utility knife looks a nice piece of kit....
Very much appreciate the effort you put into creating these videos Stuart, your mock-ups are a great help in explaining the issue ! If a "builder" was asked to fix it, if they bothered to carefully remove the skirting as you did, they would have probably just used expanding foam or caulk squeezed in under the wall plate, and maybe a packer or two ! Again I wasn't sure I'd find much new in this video, but it's always worth watching your content Stuart, great work, keep it up - glad it's no longer getting on your...... !
I’ve also used 3 tubes of fix-a-floor to fill a 1m2 bouncy void under newly laid ‘glued’ engineered oak flooring on ‘level’ screed, via multiple 2mm holes at wood knots… worked perfectly and couldn’t see the holes even before I filled them.
I have been in my new build for about 6 years now, and the floor and the bathroom next door have been creaking whenever you walk on them. Screwed them down, and it didn't stop. Watch your video and got some foam expanding adhesive from screwfix. I have put it in between the wall and floor both in the bedroom and bathroom. Bingo it works. Many thanks as I wouldn't have thought of it.
I've been using a product for years on wooden boats/boat building for fixing creaks and cracks. Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure. Same idea as watered down PVA in that it's super thin and gets sucked into joints. It has the added benefit of being waterproof. So I use it on external woodwork (windows, doors, etc. Anyway great vid.
that's a very handy pocket knife/scraper thingy :) Well put Stuart! We don't have squeaky floorboards in newbuilds in Belgium because our floors are all concrete, but still enjoyed watching!
Perfect timing, our new build (2 years old) has just started to develop a couple of creaks and I was wondering how to solve it with the latex-leveled underfloor. Will investigate these possibilities for the creaks, thanks!
You could knock wedges underneath the baseplate. Put the glue onto the join once it has been lifted and drive the wedge though it. You might have a gap below the skirting and not need to remove anything excep carpet guffins
I also thought wedges and glue. The glue and mating surfaces probably won't bond very evenly because there's no way to prepare them properly, but I still think it would create more mechanical stability. I imagine that expanding glue would give way eventually to the movement as people walk by, but maybe not? Stuart knows his was around such matters after all. 🤷♂️
I stayed in a holiday home where the stairs were squeak-free, that felt like the height of luxury to me and was almost my favourite part of the house! I've been in so few houses where there wasn't some kind of squeaky stair, such a common and annoying problem.
Excellent video Stuart. My daughter's bedroom has a squeaky floorboard and I waited twenty five years until she moved out before I thought about fixing it. It's now the dog's room so I might wait a bit longer yet.
Really useful video, I've got a squeaking split stair tread I tried to fix before but seems to have come back, I ended up using pu glue and then trying pocket hole stitch it together
Your timing is exemplary. We moved to a new build a couple of years ago and have had this exact issue, its starting to drive me mad. I shall be giving your PVA solution a go soon!
my house was built pre ww2 with traditional floorboards and i have found talcum powder in the cracks works well where i want it to - the stairs and bedroom floors i prefer to squeak.
I had a similar problem with creaking floorboards right next to internal stud partition walls and realised it was the nails "inside" the wall that had loosened and were riding up and down and causing the noises. I tried all kinds including the expanding glue trick here but nothing worked. I eventually resorted to using a hacksaw blade under the skirting boards to cut through the nails. I was worried that the walls may start to move but they are still rock solid. I ended up doing about 10 nails in various locations and all the creaking and squeaking is now fixed.
I dealt with squeaky floors in a number of old houses, and in every case the problem was caused by the nails in the floorboards. In these cases I removed a few planks to get an idea of what’s underneath, and drove screws through the planks into the joists at the squeaky parts. You do have to look into the void though, to avoid screwing into a conduit. In my current home, that is a job and a half…. There is a thin board covering the floorboards, nailed on with (I kid you not) a few 100 nails per m2. Going to take a day just to get that mess out.
My old dad (RIP) was mortally offended by a squeak in my bedroom floor when I was a kid in the 70s. He took it as an affront to his manhood and fiddled with it for years, before going all gung-ho and driving some 3 inch screws through the floorboards. The last one was screwed in, and the final half-turn resulted in 'PSSSSSSSSSS' as he pierced the gas pipe to the convector heater below the window. Cost him £20 in old money to have a gas fitter replace the punctured pipe, and lecture him about 'being careful where he screwed' 🤨
What would work best on a 60/70 year old houses stairs. Every one creaks and I can actually see the movement of the tread. Would the watery PVA work or would the expanding glue work best. I was going to add a couple of screws to the treads as well as any glue solution.
Great video as usual Sir. Could you do one tackling squeaky floor boards but the old fashioned style? My house is from the 70’s and so has the usual plank type of boards, but where plumbers and sparkles have had boards up over the years, my entire upstairs is just ridiculously noisy. We have old carpet so I want to sort this problem before we get new carpet put down. Cheers mate
Anyone who is into model railways will tell you, add a drop or two of washing up liquid to the PVA/water mix which brakes the water tension and lets it flow and penetrate better
Hi Stuart, watched this vid, loved your stuff but what really suprised me is that "stanley" knife that swivels, i want one! I had a look on your link but don't know which one it is, thanks
I have particle tongue-and-groove board with oak hardwood flooring glued together on top. Just outside the bedroom there is a horrible creak. Given the oak is glued together, and the particle board is inaccessible, it’s difficult to know what is causing the issue without some destructive investigation. I wonder if the syringe technique would work “blind”.
Cork floor tiles on floorboards? Should I drill some holes through the cork tiles (seems like I'll miss the board joints) - or get underneath the house and squeeze up. Or do I just put up with the horrendous noise until I remodel the kitchen for The Beloved?
Great video Stuart, as always! Your next mission should you choose to accept it is to show me how to fix 3 quite large and certainly noticeably long bubbles that have appeared in my living room carpet. The carpet was laid about 20 years ago and is in otherwise good condition but in the last, say 5 years, 3 long bubbles have developed and grown in size to the point where they must be either repaired (somehow), or the whole carpet replaced with a new one. In your vid you said a carpet that has been laid for a few years "relaxes". Meaning it is no longer held in a stretched position on the gripper strips. So is my bubble problem caused the 'relaxing' of the carpet? And can it be fixed as a DIY project or does it require a skilled carpet fitter to re-stretch it back unto the gripper strips?
Had to do this for all the chipboard flooring in our entire house. It had been nailed only, no glue so floors were bouncy and squeaky. Watered down PVA trick worked really well, then added proper wood flooring screws right next to the nails.
Hi Stuart I have used the tile fix product and it’s excellent . Interesting that the wall stud was not fixed correctly to the floor , which highlights the quality of build that is now a major problem for new home owners . In the rush to build even increasing numbers of houses , I do wonder as to the longevity of many of these developments . And have deep concerns for those who have invested their hard earned money in such poor quality products . Kind regards 👍
Would using plastic packers be another, less destructive and long-lasting option? Skirting board off, and gently hammer in some packers all the way along that joint.
Our house has creaky floorboards throughout. I’ve given up caring and will have to live with them. Not sure what prospective buyers will think when we sell up.
3:46 I love how Stuart puts all his efforts in making these mock ups for the sole reason as to educate us. Awesome!
That delivery of "And before long, they get right on your-... nerves" was just impeccable. 💋👌
the creaky floors in our 20yo "new build" have been the bane of my life. I tried everything, even completely reboarding my sons bedroom, still didnt fix it, his room is still terrible. Then I had an idea. The top landing was the worst in the house. I removed all the boards and placed (and screwed) very tight fitting 4x2 braces between the joists where possible. It completely fixed it. So when we decorated our daughters room I did the same and it fixed that too, but I only cut strips out of the flooring to access the joists and allowed easy patching of the flooring I'd removed. Success again.
Class well done man fair play for persevering to get it sorted
Used your noggin and made up some noggins.
“ T-Nerves “ 🤣😂 I love the extra effort you make to construct mock ups to clearly demonstrate the job , brilliant! Excellent AS ALWAYS, thank you Stuart 😁👍
Very helpful video. Can you do a follow up video on creaking stairs? I have a 1930’s house and the stairs drive me nuts.
Stuart - you have me staying awake now keeping my ears open listening out for squeaking floorboards, even though I live alone, in a bungalow with concrete floors!
Great video Stuart! You can get PU adhesive in cartridges that will fit a sealant gun, with the smaller nozzle than the gorilla glue bottle it’s probably possible to force the adhesive under the 4x2 without drilling it. For those asking the knife / scraper is a tough built which you can get from Toolstation here in the UK.
My late father (who was a joiner) always maintained that squeaks could come from any wood moving up and down on a nail. He recommended using screwnails all the time, to stop such movement (threaded all the way to the head).
Separately, if you ever need use of a heavy weight, fill a basin with water. One kilogramme per 10cm cube.
There's an alternate reality where Stuart didn't start a DIY channel, and isn't absolutely elated at his house needing random jobs doing in it
Thanks for taking the time to make this video Stuart, I have a squeaky floorboard that drive us nuts. I didn't want to screw through any pipes or cables so learnt to live with it. But these tips may just be the answer. Thank you.
Thanks for this video, I had issue with wall and floor… I actually put the straw of a can of WD40 under skirting and sprayed lots under the full length as at the time I didn’t have an idea how to cure it!
It worked perfectly, in 5 years since I did that, it’s not squeaked again… however, if it returns, I will be using glue idea now I have that in my knowledge. I have a similar squeak on the landing, and as I’m changing the carpet, I am going to venture to see if it’s the wall meeting, or the boards.
Thanks again , love this channel.
What an excellent piece this was. Ive been plagued with squeaky floorboards our 25 year old house, my wife says if we bought a new one it'd go away - but seems not when even newbuilds suffer. I even bought one of these "screw through the carpet" kits which seemed like a good idea at the time but Im glad I never tried it after seeing this video. Last week we had an ensuite remodelled and when the boards were up it was sobering to see where the pipe runs were - it would be very easy to go though one using that method. Really liked the watered down PVA idea and gorilla glue which I am finding more and more useful. Thanks Stuart for these videos, you have become a go to watch on TH-cam and though Id rate myself a competent DIYer theres always more to learn and I have. Cheers (Ive hit like and subscribe). Oh and get yourself a new broom!
12:34 Did anyone else find it incredibly satisfying when the hammer taps synchronised with the music?
Fantastic video Stuart, thanks. My 2.5 yr old house is prone to these, at least i understand what is happening now, i will probably wait a few years till i need to redecorate before fixing it though, i cant imagine getting the skirting board out without a bit of if damage
such an informative video and actually you've tackled something people may not even realise, genuinely thank you
Never considered these solutions before... you're an absolute star. Thank you so much for your useful, inspiring an entertaining videos. The little utility knife looks a nice piece of kit....
It's a "ToughBuilt Scraper Utility Knife"
Very much appreciate the effort you put into creating these videos Stuart, your mock-ups are a great help in explaining the issue ! If a "builder" was asked to fix it, if they bothered to carefully remove the skirting as you did, they would have probably just used expanding foam or caulk squeezed in under the wall plate, and maybe a packer or two !
Again I wasn't sure I'd find much new in this video, but it's always worth watching your content Stuart, great work, keep it up - glad it's no longer getting on your...... !
Stuart, what about the watered in pva glue, you didn't show the result, did it work?
I've used fix-a-floor on the loose tiles in my kitchen, brilliant product, would highly recommend
I’ve also used 3 tubes of fix-a-floor to fill a 1m2 bouncy void under newly laid ‘glued’ engineered oak flooring on ‘level’ screed, via multiple 2mm holes at wood knots… worked perfectly and couldn’t see the holes even before I filled them.
I have been in my new build for about 6 years now, and the floor and the bathroom next door have been creaking whenever you walk on them. Screwed them down, and it didn't stop. Watch your video and got some foam expanding adhesive from screwfix. I have put it in between the wall and floor both in the bedroom and bathroom. Bingo it works. Many thanks as I wouldn't have thought of it.
I've been using a product for years on wooden boats/boat building for fixing creaks and cracks. Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure. Same idea as watered down PVA in that it's super thin and gets sucked into joints. It has the added benefit of being waterproof. So I use it on external woodwork (windows, doors, etc.
Anyway great vid.
that's a very handy pocket knife/scraper thingy :) Well put Stuart! We don't have squeaky floorboards in newbuilds in Belgium because our floors are all concrete, but still enjoyed watching!
Perfect timing, our new build (2 years old) has just started to develop a couple of creaks and I was wondering how to solve it with the latex-leveled underfloor. Will investigate these possibilities for the creaks, thanks!
I’ve found my summer DIY job on my 5 year old new build!! Great video, thank you!
You could knock wedges underneath the baseplate. Put the glue onto the join once it has been lifted and drive the wedge though it. You might have a gap below the skirting and not need to remove anything excep carpet guffins
I also thought wedges and glue. The glue and mating surfaces probably won't bond very evenly because there's no way to prepare them properly, but I still think it would create more mechanical stability. I imagine that expanding glue would give way eventually to the movement as people walk by, but maybe not? Stuart knows his was around such matters after all. 🤷♂️
I stayed in a holiday home where the stairs were squeak-free, that felt like the height of luxury to me and was almost my favourite part of the house! I've been in so few houses where there wasn't some kind of squeaky stair, such a common and annoying problem.
A lot of great tips for this problem thanks for posting this one it’s been helpful
Really like seeing things for the first time, excellent content and edit
That scraper knife is really handy- not seen one of those before
its at toolstation £19, just wonder how long the mechanism lasts
I need a knife/ scraper like that...
Whats it called? Must have in my toolkit.
Excellent video Stuart. My daughter's bedroom has a squeaky floorboard and I waited twenty five years until she moved out before I thought about fixing it. It's now the dog's room so I might wait a bit longer yet.
Really useful video, I've got a squeaking split stair tread I tried to fix before but seems to have come back, I ended up using pu glue and then trying pocket hole stitch it together
That's another great video Stuart. You've taken a lot of time to explain this. Thank you
Your timing is exemplary. We moved to a new build a couple of years ago and have had this exact issue, its starting to drive me mad. I shall be giving your PVA solution a go soon!
Excellent video Stuart. All your videos are very helpful.
Very good video, what was that knife / scraper tool called you were using when you cleaned up the glue? It looks like a great useful tool.
This video is great value in a small package. Thank you.
I will use this glue to fix my stairs, and this knife to get rid of the excess! Thanks!
my house was built pre ww2 with traditional floorboards and i have found talcum powder in the cracks works well where i want it to - the stairs and bedroom floors i prefer to squeak.
Love the utility Knife Stu. Can you let us know what and where to buy please 🙏🏻
Great advice as always. Cheers.
Brilliant ideas Thank you for sharing, very interesting and informative as are all your videos,thanks again Stuart
Great piece of investigative DIY
Very useful tips Stuart,thanks for the video.👍👍
I had a similar problem with creaking floorboards right next to internal stud partition walls and realised it was the nails "inside" the wall that had loosened and were riding up and down and causing the noises. I tried all kinds including the expanding glue trick here but nothing worked. I eventually resorted to using a hacksaw blade under the skirting boards to cut through the nails. I was worried that the walls may start to move but they are still rock solid. I ended up doing about 10 nails in various locations and all the creaking and squeaking is now fixed.
Did you consider using a number of suitable sized Packers in the gap instead?
I dealt with squeaky floors in a number of old houses, and in every case the problem was caused by the nails in the floorboards. In these cases I removed a few planks to get an idea of what’s underneath, and drove screws through the planks into the joists at the squeaky parts.
You do have to look into the void though, to avoid screwing into a conduit. In my current home, that is a job and a half…. There is a thin board covering the floorboards, nailed on with (I kid you not) a few 100 nails per m2. Going to take a day just to get that mess out.
My old dad (RIP) was mortally offended by a squeak in my bedroom floor when I was a kid in the 70s. He took it as an affront to his manhood and fiddled with it for years, before going all gung-ho and driving some 3 inch screws through the floorboards. The last one was screwed in, and the final half-turn resulted in 'PSSSSSSSSSS' as he pierced the gas pipe to the convector heater below the window.
Cost him £20 in old money to have a gas fitter replace the punctured pipe, and lecture him about 'being careful where he screwed' 🤨
What is that swivel knife you have there please? Where can I get one?
12:18 What kind of sorcery is this knife, Stuart? It looks very useful.
i need this.
EDIT: Found it. "Toughbuilt Scraper Utility Knife"
What would work best on a 60/70 year old houses stairs. Every one creaks and I can actually see the movement of the tread. Would the watery PVA work or would the expanding glue work best. I was going to add a couple of screws to the treads as well as any glue solution.
How would you tackle a squeaky staircase?
Could you not also shim the gap instead of the foam glue?
What kind of knife was that at the end
Great video as usual Sir. Could you do one tackling squeaky floor boards but the old fashioned style? My house is from the 70’s and so has the usual plank type of boards, but where plumbers and sparkles have had boards up over the years, my entire upstairs is just ridiculously noisy. We have old carpet so I want to sort this problem before we get new carpet put down. Cheers mate
How did you drill the new holes so accurately in the skirting board to re-attach to wall?
Brilliant video, Sir. Thank you.
Like that Stanley knife. What make is it?
If it's a Stanley knife ......well duh
could you use SBR on the floorboard to stop squeaking?
Another great video! But...please add a link to that fancy knife/scraper as I can't find it in your Amazon section. Thanks!
Great job and clear explanation .👍
Anyone who is into model railways will tell you, add a drop or two of washing up liquid to the PVA/water mix which brakes the water tension and lets it flow and penetrate better
Where did u get there stanley knife/scrapper from please brilliant video love watching them
Hi I wondered where you got your Stanley knife from
Hi. Awsome job. Great idea. 👍 Take care.
Hi Stuart, watched this vid, loved your stuff but what really suprised me is that "stanley" knife that swivels, i want one! I had a look on your link but don't know which one it is, thanks
That’s an interesting knife. Where did you get it from?
Hi that was a fancy stanley knife not seen one of them before
good information video. thank you
Excellent advice thank you
Great video.
I have particle tongue-and-groove board with oak hardwood flooring glued together on top. Just outside the bedroom there is a horrible creak. Given the oak is glued together, and the particle board is inaccessible, it’s difficult to know what is causing the issue without some destructive investigation. I wonder if the syringe technique would work “blind”.
thank you so much!
Can you please leave a link for that super scraper/knife tool?
I suppose spray on expanding foam would also work in this type of scenario?.
Cork floor tiles on floorboards? Should I drill some holes through the cork tiles (seems like I'll miss the board joints) - or get underneath the house and squeeze up. Or do I just put up with the horrendous noise until I remodel the kitchen for The Beloved?
What knife did you use to cut the foam ?
Great video
We have this issue but it's the metal studs was reported from new they cut the bottom of the plaster board of but never really solved it
Would the glue work on squeaky laminate?
Thank you for your hard work and advice ❤💯🇮🇪💪🙏📿🙏📿🙏📿🙏📿📿
Great video Stuart, as always! Your next mission should you choose to accept it is to show me how to fix 3 quite large and certainly noticeably long bubbles that have appeared in my living room carpet. The carpet was laid about 20 years ago and is in otherwise good condition but in the last, say 5 years, 3 long bubbles have developed and grown in size to the point where they must be either repaired (somehow), or the whole carpet replaced with a new one.
In your vid you said a carpet that has been laid for a few years "relaxes". Meaning it is no longer held in a stretched position on the gripper strips. So is my bubble problem caused the 'relaxing' of the carpet? And can it be fixed as a DIY project or does it require a skilled carpet fitter to re-stretch it back unto the gripper strips?
Had to do this for all the chipboard flooring in our entire house. It had been nailed only, no glue so floors were bouncy and squeaky. Watered down PVA trick worked really well, then added proper wood flooring screws right next to the nails.
Hi Stuart I have used the tile fix product and it’s excellent . Interesting that the wall stud was not fixed correctly to the floor , which highlights the quality of build that is now a major problem for new home owners . In the rush to build even increasing numbers of houses , I do wonder as to the longevity of many of these developments . And have deep concerns for those who have invested their hard earned money in such poor quality products . Kind regards 👍
Would using plastic packers be another, less destructive and long-lasting option? Skirting board off, and gently hammer in some packers all the way along that joint.
Really great video
I trust you put the last piece of underlay back at 12:42?
What glue is that??
Our property's 3 years old ad well. The stairs squeak badly where the house bashers used concrete gripper and blew the backs out all the stairs
You are the best 😊
Is that you John Wayne? keep it up channels like this keep my business of doing it right and doing it once going strong.
Nice knife.
@@PAUL-yv2kk might be talking about that switching blade scraping knife (Toughbuilt Scraper Utility Knife)
Hey what’s that magic knife?!
Great tips as always Stuart.
i think thats the Toughbuilt Scraper Utility Knife
Amazing!!
Squeaky stairs are my biggest problem - any tips?
👍👍👍. Thanks
Cool !
Our house has creaky floorboards throughout.
I’ve given up caring and will have to live with them.
Not sure what prospective buyers will think when we sell up.
9:01 at that point just drive some screws down through the wall base plate into the floor.
I would have added screws into the holes drilled for the glue before the glue dried.
12:05 knife flips
me: pikachu face
0:00 - I don't think I will. Unless parquet and / or tiles can morph into floorboards. 😉