"Creaking" stairs from 1st floor to 2nd

[gand0lph]

Our house is only 5yrs old but the first 3-4 stairs going from 1st to

2nd floor are starting to make noise. At first I thought it was just me needing to lose some weight but it does it when my daughter and wife go up the steps.

These are carpeted, so what is the best thing to do?

[nielloeb]

I assume you can't get under the stairs. That would be the best, as you can simply screw together the two pieces of wood rubbing against each other and making the noise. Second best is to cut a hole in the wall and crawl under the stairs to do the same. Okay, you probably have to go for option 3. Your local hardware place/warehouse has a kit called "Squeeek No More." Try that.

[Randy]

Probably the stair treads are nailed in place and the nails have backed out a little, allowing the treads to move and squeak when trod upon.

You'll need to pull up the carpet on the offending treads. There are three stringers beneath the stair into which nails have been driven through the tread. You can leave the nails in place, but you'll want to drive in some additional screws to keep the tread locked down against the stringers.

I would insert at least six screws per tread, perhaps 2 1/2 inches long (depending on the thickness of the tread). Make sure the screw is long enough to travel at least 1 1/2 inches past the tread into the stringer. Drill for each screw through the tread (but not into the stringer) with a bit that is just

*slightly* bigger than the threads of the screw. This will prevent the screw from binding to both the tread and the stringer -- allowing the stringer alone to pull the screw head down atop the tread when tightened. Then drill through the same hole into the stringer with a drill bit that is the same diameter as the inner shaft of the screw (smaller than the screw's outer threads). Then drive the screws with a screwdriver (or variable speed drill) that has some torque, since you want each screw to pull the tread down firmly against the stringers.

If the screws are driven close to the old nails, the nails will be less likely to squeak than if the screws are farther away. Or you can just pull the old nails...

Randy