Squeaky stairs

[Drew Cutter]

I ripping the carpet out of my house. The house is around 50 years old. The stair has several squeaky (where you put your foot). What make a floor squeaky and what is the fix ? These are solid oak stairs.

[Lawrence]

The nails have come loose over the years. Then the tread rubs against the stringer causing the squeak. Pull the old nails with a cats claw. Then replace with a screw in the same hole. That should hold it tight.

[Drew Cutter]

So it better to go with screw over nails . Do i use a stud finder to local the center of the stringer ? I don't see anywhere on the stair trend for the old nails. Most of squeak is in the front of the step. I need to also buy a floor squeak kit.

[Lawrence]

There has to be nails or fastener of some kind on the two edges where stringers will be. It might be covered with trim. If there is/are a central stringer(s) then the nail should be in the exact center or equi-distance from the edges.

Give the tread some raps with a hammer and you should be able to reveal the location of any central stringers and their fasteners. Removal of the nails is not really necessary since screws can be installed in between the nails. It is always wise to pre-drill for screws especially if the nails are not removed.

If the squeak is only one step and fastener replacement don't work then you might be able to replace that one step entirely to solve the problem. It is possible for the board itself to cause the squeak and not the failure of the fastener though not common.

another solution, if the stairs is accessible from underneath then yu can: 1. hit it with a hammer from underneath to pop up the nails or

1. use wedges between tread and riser if no fasteners are used in your stairs or if the treads are bowed.

Some high quality stairs are constructed where there may be no fasteners on the tread at all. The treads and riser can be let into the edge stringers with dados and glue, no fasteners. If your was covered with carpet then it is probly not in this category.

[Drew Cutter]

I was talking to a friend about wood floors. They felt that wood floors were harder to keep clean. What products would you suggest to seal/stain the wood floor ? i.e low maintenance cleaning , etc

[Lawrence]

Most use polyeruathane on wood floors. Other options are available but none as durable and impact/scratch resistant that poly. A pro can usuually do a better job of finishing a floor than a diy'er.