How to remove the creak of a wooden floor in an apartment?

Wood is a beautiful and environmentally friendly material. However, wooden floors have a significant drawback - they often creak. There are several options for how to remove the creak of a wooden floor in an apartment. However, if this is not critical for you, then you can do nothing. “Singing” has no effect on the strength of the floor, so it does not interfere with its operation. If you have a desire to eliminate the creak of floorboards, then you need to start by finding out the causes of this phenomenon. We will deal with everything in order in this article.

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Why do old floors creak?

The main reason why the wooden floor becomes squeaky is the deformation of the floorboards, their displacement and friction against each other. This is influenced by such factors:

• Natural aging of wood. Nothing can be done about it. The properties of all materials, including wood, deteriorate over time. Moreover, natural materials wear out faster than synthetics.

Important! It is possible to slow down the aging of wood by protecting it with special substances from external influences.

• Incorrect floor installation technology. When flooring wooden floors near the walls, special gaps are provided so that the boards can expand unhindered when the microclimate in the room changes. If such a gap is not provided, then the boards, expanding, too tightly fit together. Hence the friction and creak of the wooden floor.
• Tree drying out. If due to excess moisture the boards swell and increase in volume, then too dry air contributes to their drying out. The optimum air humidity for the tree is 12%. Drying the tree, as well as swelling, makes the floors creaky.
• Poor mount. If the floorboards are not fixed properly enough, then the nails go outside. In this case, urgent need to take action, otherwise - the whole structure risks falling apart.

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Why do new floors creak?

The reason for non-musical sounds made by the new floor is that its plane is not maintained, or the floor beams are unevenly placed. You can check the correct installation using the building level or a perfectly flat bar. If gaps are noticeable during installation, this is precisely the reason.

Squeaks parquet

In addition to improper installation, extraneous sounds can provoke poor-quality or simply raw parquet board. It is useless to attach a parquet board to nails. As a rule, such a “repair” is enough for no more than a month. From the load, the fastening on the nails begins to swing. It is much more effective to use screws instead of nails.

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How to fix the problem?

There are several ways to eliminate the creak of floorboards. You just have to choose the most acceptable option.

Graphite

So, we have determined that one of the main reasons for the appearance of extraneous sounds is the friction of floorboards. How to eliminate the creak of a wooden floor in an apartment without dismantling the floor? To reduce it, mix talcum powder with graphite powder and pour the mixture between the boards.

For all its simplicity, the method is proven and quite effective.

Polyurethane foam

The substance can penetrate the smallest cracks and crevices. In addition, even a person who does not have basic building skills can work with polyurethane foam.

To eliminate the creakiness of the floor, you must act on the following algorithm:

1. Take a cylinder with mounting foam, place the tube between the floorboards and the ceiling.
2. Squeeze out the right amount of construction foam.
3. Wait for the material to dry completely.

Important! Unpleasant sounds disappear due to the fact that the wooden elements are fixed. However, this is only a temporary measure. Polyurethane foam is not particularly durable. After a short time, repair work will be needed again.

Wedges

The wedging is effective if the floorboards are slightly worn. If the degree of floor wear is large, the method cannot be applied.

Make wood wedges and drive them in problem areas between the floorboards. The mobility of the boards will be limited and the creaking will cease.

Anchoring

This method is effective if the ceiling is made of concrete. Metal anchors must be securely fastened. This can not be achieved with wooden floors. With a concrete base, the method pays off.

Important! The disadvantages include a relatively high cost.

The procedure for removing floor creak is as follows:

1. Using a drill or punch, prepare a hole in the concrete slab.
2. Install a dowel in the hole.
3. Fasten the anchor bolt.
4. Fix the problem floorboard to the anchor bolt.

The use of screws

The method is effective if the squeak is caused by poor-quality fastening of floorboards to the logs. The most difficult moment is locating the lag without first dismantling the floor. You can do this this way:

1. Remove the plinth around the perimeter of the room.
2. Locate the lag.
3. On walls across the lag, mark their location with thin and long metal rods.
4. Connect the two opposing rods with a cord. Marking for work is ready.
5. Self-tapping screws are needed 2-3 cm less than the total thickness of the logs and boards forming the flooring. Now it remains to fix the boards with screws along the marking line.
6. The boards are mounted on 2-3 self-tapping screws - they must be placed as close as possible to the center of the lag. The fixing step must be done the same.

Plywood laying

The method is suitable exclusively for even floors, so you must first verify this. The thickness of the plywood sheet must be at least 1.2 cm. The plywood sheets are laid out on the boards and fixed with screws with a mounting step of 150-200 mm.

Important! A guaranteed elimination of extraneous sounds can be achieved by spreading 300 mm strips of dense fabric (overcoat cloth) across the floor with an interval of 400 mm. You can lay plywood on top.

Replacing floor areas

This is not an easy and expensive event. It is used as a necessary measure if the boards are badly damaged. They open the floor in problem areas, disassemble and lay a new one. It is advisable to use self-tapping screws as fasteners, since the floor, fastened with nails, will soon begin to creak again.

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How to eliminate the creaking of the floor from the chipboard in the apartment, without disassembling the floor?

Floors made of chipboard are suitable for rooms with low traffic. Over time, the fasteners weaken, and when walking on such a surface, a creak appears. Of course, replacing the coating with a more modern material is the best option, but it requires significant financial investments. Eliminating floor squeaking from particleboard is a less costly option:

1. First, decide which of the plates creaks.
2. Drill holes in the problem area and measure their depth. You will need screws longer than the hole in length.
3. Now screw the screws into the holes.
4. After the self-tapping screw rests on the concrete, stop screwing in to avoid raising the flooring.

Important! An even simpler method is to screw a few screws along the perimeter of the creaking plate. As a rule, such a repair is guaranteed to last for 2-3 years.

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Stock footage

Which way is better to remove the creak of the floor - depends on the causes of the appearance of extraneous sounds.Therefore, in any case, initially analyze the causes of the problem, and then determine which method you will use and how long-term results you need.