My Stairs Are Squeaking - How Do I Fix Them?
If you live in an old house, squeaking stairs are usually
part of the package. If you've lived in an old house long enough, the
squeaking stairs are a clear sign that someone's walking up or down
them. Nobody gets to sneak up and down the stairway in an old house.
If you're stairs are squeaking, there's a good chance that something's
loose or broken. The squeak is coming from two pieces of building
materials rubbing together. The most common stair squeak is going to be
a piece of wood rubbing against a nail.
Here's what usually happens. The stair treads are nailed to the stair
stringers and over time could become loose. This could happen when
either the stair stringer starts to shrink or the stair tread does. It's
usually going to be the stair stringer, since most stair treads are made
out of plywood, oriented strand board or hardwoods like oak.
If the stair stringer shrinks, it will separate from the stair tread
leaving a gap between the bottom of the stair tread and the top of the
stair stringer. The only problem with this is that the nail doesn't
move, but the stair tread does as people step on the stair tread, it
will move up and down rubbing against the nail.
If this is the case, you can usually fix the squeaking stairs by going
underneath the stairs and driving small wedges between the stair
stringer in the stair tread. Applying some type of construction adhesive
or attaching additional blocks to the stair stringer and stair tread can
eliminate your problems
Squeaking stair treads usually don't create safety hazards, but it can
be extremely irritating for most homeowners.