How to Fix Squeaky Floors: A Comprehensive Guide

Ugh, I hate squeaky floors and you probably do too. I’m going to show you a really simple way to fix this that you can do right from your floor joists. Now, in my case, as I move along, you can see that the squeak follows this path, kind of a front to back path. In my basement, the utility closet is the one area where I can see the direction the joists run. The real problem we’re seeing here is that some of these screws have missed their mark, causing a lot of the squeaking.

Identifying the Source of Squeaks

Generally speaking, your air registers are going to be in between two joists. So in this case, the joists are running right here and right here. Once you’ve identified that, I’m going to use this kit called Squeak No More. I’ve been using this one for years for different squeaks throughout the house. I can vouch for this; it works really well. This kit has everything you need to fix the squeaky floor, with the exception of one item, a drill. One kit, one drill, and you’re ready to go.

Understanding the Squeak No More Kit

These screws are special screws. As you can see, there’s a little weak point right here above the threads. That’s where these things will actually snap right off, which is part of the genius of this system. They drive down into your carpet and floor, holding the floor together the way we want it to, and then you snap the head right off. In my case, I’ve noticed that when I push right about here, it sounds like the squeaking is coming from over here.

I’m not exactly sure where the studs are, so I’m going to run a few tests with my joist finder screw and see if I can locate the stud in this area. I’ll try one here. The key is when you put it in a couple of inches, if you put it in reverse and it spins freely, it hasn’t grabbed onto anything past the subfloor. So, I’ll take this one back out.

Locating the Joists

I’ll leave a screw right there to indicate that that’s the spot we’ve checked already. Move over about an inch. When I put it in reverse that time, it reverses back out, which might mean we have something. Just to test, I’ll move over a little bit. I can’t get that one to spin freely, so we’ve got a joist lining up right about here. I’ll move the screw over here to indicate where our joist is.

Using the Tripod

Next, we’re going to use the tripod and this bit. Essentially, we’ll put the tripod right over the center, putting the screw into that hole where we identified the joist. This bit has a collet or bushing right on the end, serving as a stopper. It stops the screw from going too far in, getting it to just the right height where we can snap off the head.

It’s important to put your weight down on the board, pushing the floorboard, the subfloor onto the joist. When you screw it down, it’s already in contact and holds in place. Drive it all the way in. That went in nicely. I’ll leave that one there as a visual indicator. I’ll put a couple more, probably about five inches on either side, depending on how severe the squeak is.

Final Steps to Silence the Squeak

Ah, do you hear that? Me either! There’s nothing! That got the squeak. If you have more, you can leave these exposed for the moment. You can use a measuring tape to measure out typically 16 inches to one side or the other to find a stud. If you go over 16 inches, there will likely be another joist. Once you find one joist, it’s usually easy to find the rest and take care of those squeaks for good.

Breaking Off the Screws

With these three screws in place and the squeak taken care of, we need to get rid of these screws. This tool has a stopper with a gap you can put in, knocking it to one side or the other, breaking off the screw head at the weak point. The cool thing is there’s no indication of it. You can step on it, put your hands on it, put all your weight on it, and you won’t feel a thing. It’s grabbing onto the subfloor, not the padding or carpet. Just break them off.

Fixing Squeaks in Different Floor Types

If you’ve got a squeak in a hardwood floor, softwood floor, laminate, or linoleum, you can still use this kit. It comes with a separate template for hard flooring, for non-carpeted areas. Use the taller one for softwood, the shorter one for hardwood. It has the break-off area, just like with the carpet.

With hardwood, drive the screw into here, and it will snap itself off at the right height. You’ll end up with this piece to toss. With softwood, drive it in until the bushing stops it, and it will stick up like the ones on the carpet. Use the breaker to break it off and get rid of the head. It’s the same principle.

Dealing with Small Holes

With any of these, you’ll end up with a small hole, only about a 16th to an eighth of an inch deep in your hardwood or laminate flooring. To take care of that, use a wax crayon meant for those things and smooth over or patch those holes. If you look down in the description, I have links to both those wax crayons for hard flooring and the Squeak No More kit. This costs about $25 in the U.S., and in my opinion, it’s well worth it.