Publication date: 07/24/2009

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Stop door, floor squeaks with these easy remedies

There are certainly plenty of outdoor things to do during the summer months. How about on a rainy Saturday or Sunday, spending a few hours getting rid of the squeaks in your floors and doors so that the next time you sneak into the kitchen late at night to get a snack, you won't wake up the whole house.

In fact, the topic of squeaky floors and doors is one of the most popular among callers to my radio show year-round. In the summer, heat and high humidity will cause doors and drawers to swell, then stick and bind. Floors that squeak in the summer will just get louder in the winter with all of the dry heat and low humidity.

Fortunately, with a little work and the use of some special products available at most local home and hardware centers, you can eliminate the squeaks in your floors and doors in a day.

The reason floors squeak and groan is due to movement between the floor and the supporting sub-floor, or because nails are rubbing on the sides of the timber as the floor boards go up and down when you walk on them. Obviously, it is easier to fix the squeaks if you have uncarpeted hardwood floors or if you are getting new carpeting and have taken the old carpet out. Then all you need to do is walk around and find the squeaks, and screw down the floor boards to the joists where the squeaks are with wood screws. Then remove the dirt in between the floor joints and sprinkle some powdered graphite between the joints of the squeaky boards as a preventative measure.

It is also easier to fix squeaky floors if your squeaks are on the main floor, and you have access to the underside of the floor in the basement. To do that, have one person walk on the floor where the squeak occurs while you are in your basement. When you locate the squeak, squirt some Goop Carpenters Adhesive and Sealant into the small opening between the sub-floor and the floor joist directly under the squeak, and then hammer in a wood shim with a rubber mallet.

You can also use a product like Squeak Ender, (800) 854-3577, www.squeakender.com. Squeak Ender is made in Warren by E&E Engineering, and are little jack-like attachments that draw the subfloor tight against the joist, thereby eliminating the squeak.

If your floor is carpeted, another product you can try is Squeeeeek No More from O'Berry Enterprises, (800) 459-8428, www.oberry-enterprises.com. This product works by enabling you to actually drive a special screw right through the carpet and into the floor joist where the squeak occurs, and then you snap off the screw below the carpet surface with a special tool with no damage to the carpet.

Doors hinges are another thing in the home that can become squeaky. It's pretty easy to find out which door hinges squeak simply by swinging the door back and forth. Most people think they fix the problem by spraying a little lubricant on the hinge pin. However, that lubricant doesn't really penetrate the entire hinge, and the hinge will squeak again in a week or two.

The better solution is to remove the hinge pin by inserting a flat-head screwdriver under the head of the hinge and then tapping the screwdriver lightly with the hammer. Now clean the hinge with steel wool and then pour a little powdered graphite into the door hinge or spray a silicone based lubricant like Jig-A-Loo, (877) 554-1555, www.jigaloo.com, into the hinge before re-inserting the pin.

Whether you have an older home or one built within the last few years, chances are you have areas in your flooring that squeak, pop or groan when you walk on it and door hinges that make noise when you open or close the door. The best time to do something about it is now.

Note: This article was accurate at the date of publication. However, information contained in it may have changed. If you plan to use the information contained herein for any purpose, verification of its continued accuracy is your responsibility.

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