Picture this: you recently installed new flooring, and it looks great! After a while, though, your steps across this surface are accompanied by that unmistakable creak. What should be peaceful moments at rest become a symphony of squeaks that annoy everyone in your home. Squeaky floors, sadly, are one of the most common and frustrating flooring issues homeowners face. The good news, however, is that those annoying squeaks don't have to be permanent. Understanding why floors squeak, how to prevent them, and what solutions are available can help you restore the quiet comfort you deserve. This guide will cover everything you need to know about silencing squeaky floors once and for all.
Understanding the Root Causes
First things first: what's actually happening when your floors squeak? The simple explanation is that squeaks are the sound of friction -- two surfaces rubbing against each other as you walk across your floor. Contrary to what many homeowners assume, however, the problem isn't always with your beautiful hardwood, vinyl, or laminate flooring, and the biggest culprit behind squeaky floors is often your subfloor.
Recall that your subfloor plays a crucial role in the stability and longevity of your flooring. Its job is to provide a stable base, and in order to do so, its surface should be clean, flat, dry, and mechanically sound. Any compromise to these conditions can result in problematic outcomes…
- Your Subfloor Isn't Clean? | For optimal performance, your flooring needs to sit directly atop the underlying subfloor. Dust, dirt, and debris can create tiny gaps and voids between your flooring and subfloor, creating uneven contact and unequal stress on different areas, leading to movement that can create squeaks.
- Your Subfloor Isn't Flat? | Without a flat surface for your flooring to rest on, your planks, in addition to showing telltale physical signs like bumps and dips, can start to move up and down, shifting to the point of creaking and squeaking.
- Your Subfloor Isn't Dry? | When it comes to flooring, moisture tends to make things worse, as it can cause flooring material to expand and contract. As a result, flooring in environments with excessive subfloor moisture can warp to the point of shifting and squeaking.
- Your Subfloor Isn't Mechanically Sound? | If your subfloor is loose or decomposing in areas (common issues for wood subfloors) the resulting friction movement when you walk about can lead to squeaking.
And when all three of these potential issues arise? It could lead to a cascade of catastrophe. Imagine installing some beautiful hardwood atop an unlevel subfloor riddled with debris and prone to moisture buildup. The combination of unevenness, gapping, and persistent dampness elevates the likelihood of that floor reaching its squeaking limits.
Addressing the Root Causes
Thankfully, preventing squeaky flooring, and the other issues that can arise from poor subfloor prep, simply requires you to get your subfloor up to par prior to having your floors installed. As we alluded to previously, the three operative words are clean, flat, and dry…
1. Getting Your Subfloor Clean
You wouldn’t paint a masterpiece on a dusty, dirty canvas, would you? The same principle applies to flooring. Any existing debris acts as a buffer between your new floor and the subfloor, preventing full contact and creating stress points. So, be sure to:
- Sweep and Vacuum: A thorough sweeping removes loose dust, dirt, and small particles. You can follow this up with a shop vacuum to suck up anything that’s clinging. Don’t skimp – get into corners and along the edges, too!
- Remove adhesives & residue: Old carpet padding, staples, and adhesive residue are common culprits. Use a floor scraper to remove as much as possible, and for sticky residue, a solvent can be helpful.
- Check for signs of damage: Moisture can lead to mold and mildew. If you suspect this, address it before flooring installation. This often requires professional remediation.
2. Ensuring Your Subfloor Is Flat
Even minor imperfections in your subfloor can translate to major problems with your finished floor. A little bit of unevenness isn’t a guaranteed squeak, but it significantly increases the likelihood. To mitigate this possibility, you should:
- Assess the flatness of existing surface: Use a level to check for dips and humps. Mark any areas that deviate more than ¼ inch over a 6-foot span.
- Sand or plane slight bumps: For minor imperfections, sanding or planing can smooth out the surface. This is a more common practice with plywood subfloors, however, and not concrete ones.
- Employ some strategic shimming: If you have isolated bumps, you might be able to shim them down with thin wedges before installing your new flooring.
- Consider self-leveling compound: For larger areas needing significant leveling (more than ¼ inch deviation), self-leveling compound is your best bet. It's a liquid that you can pour over your subfloor that will spread evenly and creating a flat surface (provided you follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully).
3. Keeping Your Subfloor Dry
Subfloor moisture is perhaps the most pernicious enemy of flooring. It can cause warping, buckling, and ultimately, squeaking, so before installing any flooring, a moisture test is essential. We recommend:
- Addressing moisture sources: If the moisture content is too high, you need to find and fix the source of the moisture. This could be a plumbing leak, condensation, groundwater intrusion, etc. Regardless of the source, though, take care not to proceed with flooring installation until your moisture levels are within their acceptable range.
- Repair damage prior to flooring installation: During your moisture assessment, you may notice sections of subfloor that are soft, rotted, decomposing, etc. These must restored prior to your flooring installation if you want optimal results.
- Acclimation: Even after addressing moisture issues, allow your new flooring to acclimate to the environment for the time specified by the manufacturer. This process helps to ensure stability and prevent future warping or squeaking.
Remember That Prep And Installation Are Key
Squeaky floors don't have to be a permanent frustration in your home. Understanding that most squeaks originate from inadequate subfloor conditions, rather than the flooring itself, helps focus your efforts on the right solutions. Prevention remains the most effective strategy for optimal flooring performance, and that includes proper subfloor preparation, appropriate underlayment selection, adequate expansion gaps, and quality installation materials create the foundation for squeak-free floors from the start.
At Lumber Liquidators, we're committed to helping you achieve the beautiful, quiet floors your home deserves. Our professional installation services, quality products, and expert guidance ensure your flooring investment provides years of satisfaction. Visit your local Lumber Liquidators showroom to discuss your flooring needs and learn more about how our installation and services can streamline your next project.
