Creaks wooden floor in the apartment: the causes, ways to solve the problem

Very often a person who has a wooden floor in the house faces such a nuisance as his squeak. There may be many reasons for this. When the floor creaks, that is, the coating becomes unstable, we can say that it is necessary to carry out some work on the tree.

The main reason for such an unpleasant sound may be the drying of wood or its decay. In fact, there are many autumn factors. If the wooden floor squeaks, then you definitely need to restore its noiselessness. For this, many methods are invented.

Causes of squeaking

To get started, you should understand the main causes of this unpleasant sound. If a wooden floor squeaks in the apartment, then a similar sound arises due to the friction of the floorboards with each other. It does not matter how well the coating was laid. Over time, in any case, it begins to deform under the influence of external factors. These include:

1. Aging of wood. If the floor in the apartment is made of wood, then over time it will begin to creak. This is a natural process that cannot be reversed.
2. Non-use in the construction of the gap between the floor and the wall. It provides the ability for the tree to expand under the influence of external conditions. When building a wooden floor, it is necessary to take this factor into account.
3. Drying wood. In some cases, boards can not only expand, but also reduce their size due to shrinkage. This factor is also reflected in the coating.
4. Unstable mounting of a wooden floor. If the installers have done work on laying the floorboards is not very high quality, then over time the nails can begin to gradually go out. This can lead to the destruction of the structure, and not just the appearance of squeak.
5. Increased humidity. It has a negative effect on all types of wood. At the same time the boards begin to expand.

So, there can be many reasons. Accordingly, there are a huge number of methods that allow you to get rid of such a negative sound. About them and it is worth talking in detail.

How to get rid of the squeak: recommendations

The number of methods used to combat creaking is approximately equal to the number of causes of it.

Polyurethane foam

This material perfectly copes with the task. Polyurethane foam is suitable for those who have never dealt with the elimination of squeaking or even have no idea how to do it. Most often, the space that is under the floor has a height of at least 9 cm. This means that all the cracks can be eliminated without any particular problems using this material. This allows you to relatively reliably fix all damaged areas of the floor.

It should be immediately noted that this method can eliminate the creak of a wooden floor only for a while. This material tends to collapse and expand. For beginners, it fits perfectly. As long as the foam collapses, you can search for another solution to the problem.

Wedges

They are one of the simplest and most common methods for eliminating squeaking. Here the whole work is that the wooden wedges are hammered into the emergency areas of the floor. As mentioned earlier, the main reason for the appearance of unpleasant sounds is the friction of the floorboards against each other. Wedges fill all voids, thereby preventing such a phenomenon. If the boards are too worn out, then you can forget about this method. It will be ineffective.

Anchors

Metal anchors should only be used if a wooden floor is laid on a concrete base.

Otherwise, there will not be a secure fit. It is worth saying that this method of dealing with squeaking is very expensive. For the work you will need to purchase about 200 anchor bolts. They are not so cheap. Do not forget about the powerful equipment. In this situation, a punch can be applied. He will easily break through both wood and concrete. The dowel is driven into the hole, and then the anchor is driven.

Floor screed

Today, such a fashionable concept as a floor screed, is increasingly entering the life of ordinary people. Screed wooden floor implies a complete reconstruction of the entire coating. Here we are talking about replacing problem areas with new ones. In this work is best to use not nails, and screws. With their help more reliable fastenings which do not provoke a crest turn out.

Laying plywood

Today, this method has also become quite widespread due to its simplicity and low cost.It is worth talking about the conclusion of plywood at the base of the floor cake. For work, you need quite impressive and thick sheets of this material. They must be at least 12 mm thick.

Otherwise, the problem will not be solved. Thin sheets are not able to eliminate the creak, and in some situations may be the cause. This method of eliminating squeaking is considered one of the most durable. The costs of its implementation are only in the purchase of sheets of plywood. You can lay them yourself. There is nothing complicated about it.

Self-tapping screws

It is this fastening material that is considered the most common fighter in eliminating squeaks of wooden floor. This method is characterized by low cost and minimal power consumption. This procedure is a point, that is, it does not apply to the entire floor, but only to its problem areas. Here they can be many. All work is reduced to a broach screws. Apply this method is only if there is a cause of unpleasant sound is the friction of the floorboards on the logs.

First you need to find the lag that is the cause of the squeak. It is necessary to screw 2-3 screws into it. After that you can decorate the floor to preserve its aesthetics. For example, it can be covered with linseed oil. It will protect the surface from various harmful external influences and improve its appearance.