Fixing squeaky stairs is a manageable DIY project that can significantly improve the comfort and quiet of your home. To tackle this issue, it is important to know the correct terminology for staircase components, such as treads, risers, and stringers. To fix squeaky stairs from above, you can use a lubricant like powdered graphite or talcum powder, wedge a piece of paper against the back of the stairs, and screw the treads to the stringers.
To fix squeaky stairs that originate from the sides or back of the step, nail the tread into the stringers on both sides of the staircase. Tap shims into voids between the treads and the stringers and add some glue. Then, screw the stringer to each stud.
To ensure a new lease of squeak-free life, wear appropriate gear, keep your work area free from clutter, and ensure adequate lighting. To stop stairs creaking, follow these steps:
- Screw down loose treads.
- Nail loose treads.
- Use a moulding or quadrant.
To fix squeaky stairs from the front (treads and risers) and back (stringers and supports), use wood screws and screw the squeaky steps down. If possible, glue them and fasten them with screws. Screw on each end and measure to the center.
In summary, fixing squeaky stairs is a manageable DIY project that can significantly improve the comfort and quiet of your home. By understanding the correct terminology and using basic tools, you can save money and improve the overall quality of your home.
📹 No More Creaks! ~ DIY Stair Repair Tutorial
Are you tired of hearing those loud, annoying creaks whenever you walk up your stairs? Don’t worry – with this easy DIY tutorial, …
How do you walk down creaky stairs without making noise?
The use of socks on hard floors can help to prevent the occurrence of squeaking and other noises.
What is an adhesive used to eliminate squeaks on stairs?
To prevent stairs from moving and squeaking, use a good construction adhesive for wood surfaces not finish grade, such as sub treads and risers, and a quality wood glue like Titebond Original for finish grade surfaces like moldings. Finish nail or screw the components in place, and use a good construction adhesive like Loctite PL brand to replace screws. Apply the adhesive liberally and nail it to hold until it dries. For sub-treads, use ring shank framing nails for extra security and durability. These nails are faster and more durable than screws.
Does WD-40 stop creaking?
To prevent squeaking in hinges, re-lubricate them with WD-40, which acts as a lubricant and keeps things greased for a while. Remove dust accumulation on the grease to make it easier to lubricate the hinges and fix the squeaky door. Spray WD-40 Flexible Straw on the hinges, as it has excellent penetrating capabilities and will clean both the outside and concealed parts of the hinges. Use an old rag to catch drips and use the bendable straw for precision application to avoid getting it on nearby surfaces.
Can you use wd40 on squeaky stairs?
To address squeaking in a vehicle, try adding lubricant to areas with friction, such as the meeting points between treads and risers. Apply a lubricant like silicone spray or WD-40 and test the area to see if the squeaking stops. These quick fixes may help, but if they don’t, there may be more steps needed. If these steps don’t work, consider adding support brackets. If these solutions don’t work, it may be time for larger repairs.
Does WD-40 work on creaky wood?
Despite the seemingly hokey name, the author has used WD-40 for years in the trade as a remedy for squeaks.
How do I stop my stairs from squeaking?
To strengthen the joints between the riser and tread of a creaky staircase, attach glue blocks. If the staircase is built into a housed string system, replace worn or missing wedges. Insert small “slip” wedges. Squeaky stairs can be frustrating, especially late at night and early in the morning. The main causes of creaking stairs are the shrinkage of timber treads over time and general wear and tear from frequent usage.
Can you use WD-40 on squeaky stairs?
To address squeaking in a vehicle, try adding lubricant to areas with friction, such as the meeting points between treads and risers. Apply a lubricant like silicone spray or WD-40 and test the area to see if the squeaking stops. These quick fixes may help, but if they don’t, there may be more steps needed. If these steps don’t work, consider adding support brackets. If these solutions don’t work, it may be time for larger repairs.
How do I stop my floors from creaking when walking?
To eliminate the squeaking noise, it is necessary to reduce the friction between the components by applying a lubricant, such as powdered graphite, to the area where the squeaking is occurring. This area should then be covered with paper towels and appropriate footwear should be worn. The lubricant should then be distributed by foot into the grooves between the flooring.
How to fix squeaky stairs in this old house?
To fix squeaky stairs, cut small wooden blocks between the tread and riser, apply wood glue, wedge them into place, and secure them with screws for stability. This DIY project can restore peace and quiet to your home. Before tackling repairs, understand the anatomy of a staircase to pinpoint the source of the squeak and the best fix. A typical hardwood staircase consists of several elements, including the tread, riser, and railings. By following these steps, you can create a tight fit and secure the stairs with screws for added stability.
How much does it cost to fix squeaky stairs?
Squeaky stairs can be repaired for between $100 and $450, typically due to wear and tear on wood. Lubricant can help, or a repairman can identify the cause and tighten the treads and risers. Loose stair rails can be repaired for $150 to $450, and may require adhesives and reinforcing materials. Crumbling concrete steps can be repaired for $150 to $500, and may require the removal of crumbled sections and new concrete to fill the damaged areas. These repairs can be simple or costly depending on the specific issue.
What is the best glue for creaky stairs?
To stop squeaky stairs, use wood glue as the simplest solution, which can be combined with other methods. The cause is usually general wear and tear, with components rubbing against each other after footfall. Movement loosens glue and shims, causing the stairs to squeak. To fix the issue, follow these simple techniques.
To permanently solve the problem, access the causing issue and take up the carpet if the stairs are carpeted. If the creak is from underneath, you may need to fix it from underneath. It’s important to consider how you plan to finish off the stairs, whether it’s relaying the carpet, adding new carpet, or removing it entirely and opting for paint. This will help give your stairs a new lease of squeak-free life.
📹 How To Fix Squeaky Stairs LIKE A PRO But DIY!
In this video I’ll show you how to fix creaking stairs from above, if you don’t have access underneath your squeaky stairs. Ill also …
Probably the best Ryan’s youtube.com/post/UgkxGZedDTcDfgD7fG_uU4esfx_EgxzlY2_1 Plans on building a shed is hardly ever found. And Ryan takes the mystery out of different types of foundation options, etc. He even shows how to build a shed with different designs. Very comprehensive, covering different roofing materials, siding, etc.
My wife took it upon herself to strip the stair carpet today, remove all the gripper rods and sand it down! She’s fantastic. She’s now leaving it to me to varnish and paint but I can’t do that without at least fixing that annoying creak! I thought to myself “I bet that bloke from Skill Builder has done a article!” Well, here I am and thank you once again for a no-nonsense straight forward article and for showing that even skilled guys like yourself can get stuck sometimes. Keep up the great work.
Hi Roger, pocketholes into MDF don’t grab well even with the square drive screws from kreg. The other issue you have is that you’re driving the screw towards the outer edge of the MDF giving the joint very little strength (they’re designed to go the other way AWAY from the edge, not possible in this case). I’d have temporarily fitted some brackets to the upper side of the stairs to pull the stings and treads together, removing when the PU glue had dried. Though I’m all honesty it’s a pig of a job I try to avoid!
As ever, lots of great info! Had this on an RSJ joist from my neighbours squeaking through to mine every time he walked over the back bedroom floor. Drove me mad! In the end I had to wing it with plastic lawnmower blades and silicon gel between the floorboard joists and the RSJ during the 40 minutes I got access to his house while the floor boards were up to figure out where the problem was. I now sleep peacefully.
I have a staircase refurb company and I’m sorry but the only way to fix the damage caused by shit staircase construction or the damage cauased by carpet fitters who are over excited with their carpet bolster is to get underneath and re-glue and screw the risers to the back of the tread and also in many cases replace the shit quality glue blocks with a continuios piece of timber conecting the tread to the riser. Carpet fitters batter stairs when they turn up and nail gripper rods on to the treads and risers and ruin the staircase because it’s quick and they get paid per fit so they snap a load of grippers at 30 inches or so and nail them on with the pre nailed grippers and couldnt give a monkeys if it cracks the glueline between tread and riser. Once that glueline is broken the starcase will make a noise every time you walk up them…end of story. And don’t even get me on the amount of times I have visited a house where the joiner didn’t even stilt under the winders on a quarter turn landing. Hmmmm lovely… mdf risers and treads with no sub frame and a carpet fitter with a hammer = A NOISY STAIRCASE
If a staircase is correctly made it will tighten up as the timber dries out with central heating. The problem is few people make staircases properly and use the correct materials.MDF has no place in a staircase or the crap whitewood pine in the article. Love the article though Roger and keep em coming.. 🙂
Excellent article Rodger—-great explanation of a cure——-I’ve paced the floor trying to formulate a solution to a creaking mahogany open tread staircase, in my own home—and finally managed to solve it with Gorilla glue, and thanks to Amazon,carefully fitting small decorative right angle, drawer brackets underneath each tread, and they are unobtrusive——there is always a solution, to any problem—-Thanks again
IF you are using pocket hole jigs you really should use pocket hole screws. The system works poorly if not complete. They def do not have to be kreg brand, but they work by having a flat shoulder (bottom head) instead of a conical one (which is used to embed into the wood). I’m pretty sure that is your main problem with the blowouts in the back; you really wanted to tighten down that stair and just drove the last few screws deeper than the others. That and the self tapping tip I think is the two main advantages to the proper screws for this particular system. Try it.
I’ll have to give this a go, can’t stand creaky stairs. I wonder if driving a larger screw all the way through the middle of the riser would have allowed you to use the claw side of a hammer to pull the riser in, before doing up the pocket screw? That would mean that the pocket screw only has to hold it rather than pulling it in as well.
I did one of these creaky stair repairs a couple of years ago Roger and like you said mdf has no bite with screws so I screwed blocks of soft wood batten to the risers and treads leaving a good gap between the two to allow them to pull together and being very careful to not actually glue the battens together. I used a thickish PVA from memory and it pulled up a treat. I did notice that the initial problem was caused from no glue being used at all and the tread was also mdf and bright pins also :face-orange-frowning::face-orange-frowning:. Such poor tradesmen walking the streets!!!.
I bet if you make a ( wood board you can screw to the back and hook a clamp to the thread and then pull it before gluing and pocket screw it would work great. The pocket screws are angled so you not only pull it straight in but also upwards thus making it much more likely to stip out before it gets tight. Gap should be almost tight before even starting the screw in the pocket hole.
I enjoyed the no more creaks article. It shows the problems with using MDF in place of good solid timber. I have a house which is about 150 years old and the squeaking gets on my nerves. Old houses tend to move and in dry weather gaps enlarge, then tighten again when it’s wet. I have no access to the underside of the stairs, which makes tightening them up difficult. Thanks again for your article.
Hi Roger, my daughter had terrible squeaking (groaning) floor boards in the back two bedrooms (house 16 years old) the cause wasn’t the floor, it was the wall between the bedrooms squeaking against the floor as the floor moved up and down. The 100% solution was to remove the skirting board and screw the floor plate of the hollow wall down to the floor. That fixed it!!….. P.S. 16 screws went in over around 10ft of wall I may yet have a go at her stairs, thank you!
Not completely related to stairs but creaking floors in my house were driving me mad. I pulled up the carpets and screwed down all the boards. Still same problem. Then realise it was actually the bottom joists of partition walls had been nailed to the floor and were creaking when walking nearby. A few screws at 45 degrees through the skirting, and problem fixed.
Roger does a good job here I’d say. I think he’s a bit generous suggesting that the problem with the risers is due to shrinkage. I think it’s more likely that the folks who made the staircase used pins to secure the riser to the back of the tread. For a proper job they should have used screws. I ‘m a carpenter and I’ve seen the problems this causes so many times. How much more would it have cost to have done it properly in the first place? A pound even? A couple of quid?
I bought one of those kits but the drive is square so can’t be used with cross head screws. When I relook the product photos are of a square drive but I didn’t think this was clear in your article. So in buying this item you also have to buy the screw drive. Should have been clearer as everyone would want to know of the square drive when buying it in the UK
Another way would be to drill (using the pocket jig as before) right through the plasterboard with a small diameter long series drill then from the other side open the hole in the plasterboard to take the screw head and just screw from the other side into the tread, bit of filler and touch up the paint.
EX carpet fitter here. Most new build houses have stickers all the way up the stairs telling you NOT to nail gripper on the riser. I used to pin them on with an electric tacker with divergent point staples, not brads. You can use a lighter hammer, but it’s a pain. I used to hate these cheapo staircases. A 16oz claw hammer will unseat the riser no problem. Getting the gripper to tight on a thicker carpet will do the same when you see a fitter hammering at their tamp to get the 30 oz twist to play ball. I do not miss the trade one bit. As for fitting: always start at the top.
Personally I’ve had the most success fixing this problem by cutting new risers to wedge in on top of the original ones. I’d use a 6mm ply and make sure they’re cut tight and accurate enough so they’re a bit difficult to get in. Make sure they’re well secured with glue and pins/staples and you should be good to go. Usually takes you 3/4 of a day with refitting the carpet
Just a thought, but in that situation I would consider using an L-shaped bracket, not only would it prevent movement between the boards, but if you screw the bracket to the step first, then to the upright, it would surely draw the upright and step together, allowing the glue to dry, once dry cut the gripper into two pieces to sit around the bracket !
Have a 6 month old baby and we only discovered every inch of our house creaks. Doors, floorboards and stairs all creak. Light switches, the kettle and the dog are also much noisier than I ever thought. Came here looking for tips on the staircase, but I reckon I’ll just carry on with the creeping tippy toe walking that I somehow think makes me more quiet when scaling the stairs. 😂
99% UK staircases are made out of cheap, thin and easily splitting plywood(risers) which are secured with few staples and a bit of glue, honestly even with a bucket of glue and tons of woodscrews will just buy you some time before it happens again, the only thing that helped me was getting inder the staircases and making a steel adjustable spars that secure each step😂
I fix creaky stairs and floors every day, when the riser separates from the back of the tread like this I take off the gripper from the tread as you have and drive a 50×4.5 chipboard screw into the gripper on the riser leaving half sticking out. You can then put your expanding d4 into the joint and use your claw hammer to pull the screw that’s sticking out as you drive your fixing in. This usually pulls it in tight. Sometimes you may need to run a multi tool blade in first to make sure the gaps clear and both surfaces will meet flush. Most of the time it’s where the carpet fitters nailed the gripper to the riser which breaks the joint, they should be screwed on. The other issue you get with stairs is the riser into tread rebate has gone and I find you can spike 70mm chipboard screws diagonally through the top of the riser into the tread.
Great solution using pocket screws to pull up the joint. I know a joiner who solved his own squeaking staircase with just the glue and no fixings, but it is a risk, and depends upon the size of the gap. I’ve got three staircases in my house, which were all fitted at the same time when the house was converted some twenty years ago. Two are solid with no squeaks, but one does. No surprise that the one which squeaks is MDF construction and the two that don’t are softwood. Keep up the good work and advice Roger.
As I’m installing my new engineered wood treads with painted white risers over the ‘rough’ stairs, I am taking opportunity to fix my squeaky treads, particularly the upper ones which are by far worst. I was so pleased to find this guide and thought great! Unfortunately the stair builder did a horrible job – as I tried to install the pocket hole screws, most of them were hitting ‘fresh air’ behind the end of the tread. And so there is also very little glue area too. I put glue in anyway and managed to get a few of the screws to pull in, nothing that will carry any load as even those that ‘bit’ are going to be right at the bottom edge of the riser board, but hopefully enough to hold while glue dries (IF there is enough surface contact!). I think I might tackle putting the new treads & risers in slightly differently at those upper troublesome locations: cut the new tread depth about 1/4″ shy of the riser and fill that rear void with contruction adhesive before installing the riser – hopefully that should lock all 4 pieces together at that joint.
It’s a temporary fix at best, and will make the inevitable future repair even harder, Everybody blames carpet fitters, but in reality there’s more damage done by people running up and down the stairs (my teenage son can’t walk up or down a staircase without Everybody in the street hearing him stomping and banging) If it’s worth doing, do it once, properly, it might be slightly more expensive but it’s better than paying twice.
Great article Roger and very helpful but any recommendations on tackling staircase stringers separating? I’ve got a staircase that’s had a bodge job done of props below to support treads where the stringers have splayed and no longer supported some treads. The wedges have dropped out too. One stringer is against a wall the other open to the hallway (similar but mirrored to the staircase in this article). I’m happy to replace some treads but the staircase is original to the 1894 house. Seems it was a ‘property maintenance’ company that did the ‘repair’ not a chippy.
I’ve been asking and waiting for a article on this for ages, thank you for doing this 😊❤ I had to do the backs and fronts (toe) of the stairs aswell, it was very difficult and I had to use a stud finder to give me a rough Guide on where the wood blocks behind the stairs where to screw into. I didn’t think it would help but it did, I missed a few times but it gave me a rough area to screw, not all of the supporting blocks where the same size or position.allow slot of time for trial and error. after doing this and new carpet down, no one is waking up hearing you go around the house. It was so annoying! 😊😅
Use a holesaw, cut a hole in the mdf riser, then you can get your hand in and see if any blocks have popped off. You can easily knock up some new ones then glue and screw them in, that way you will be able to pull the riser back up against the back of the tread, you can make them L shaped, out of 3×1’s. The mdf riser is usually 9mm, your screws wont have much to bite into even with that glue. Good attempt none the less.
Roger, whilst I very much like your articles, the problem, in this case, is that for access most builders insist on scaffolding and so the costs of this repair and the availability of a builder renders your methodology to not to be cost effective. In my case the problems related to the guttering not being constrained and the heat of the sun causing the guttering to walk off it’s seals. This resulted in Chinese Water Torture during rainfall with the leak dripping a full storey onto a conservatory roof. I was forced to use mustard powder delivered on a long pole with a spoon on the end to the displaced joint. Unfortunately this solution only lasts for a year. It is a pain in the btm, but it is cost effective!! As a homeowner I didn’t insist on the British building industry using inferior plastic guttering. If the industry wishes to use this inferior material (I have German metal guttering on my property in France) then it needs to come up with an economical method of repair or be accused of being complicit in Ripoff Britain! I am of course not accusing you of anything like that, on the contrary. I am a keen follower of your most useful and valuable website from a consumer’s perspective and I thank you for your reference to continental systems! Please keep up your good work!
Thanks you so much for this article. As it goes with this type of repair, nothing was straight forward, access from below would have required replastering, and I’m not sure exactly what I used from your article, but there were several things. Knowing the construction of the treads and risers helped me understand how to screw them together, taking care to get the screw in the most effective place without splitting the wood. I had some slightly thicker wood glue that I poked down with a wooden skewer. Now its all screwed together and dried I have no more squeaks!
This is a good resource for me, thanks! It’s great to know that there are multiple ways to get jobs like this done, and that it never comes out perfect every time. Here we often have a product called “Liquid Nails” used as a construction adhesive, I wonder if that would have been the right spot for being able to get into the gap without running down behind it too much.
I would have drilled two hoes in riser near bottom each a third from sides. Then in line with holes fix two steel L brackets to the tread . Fit steel cavity fixings in holes them use 5mm ( if that cavity fixing thread ) studding with nut through bracket into cavity fixing to pull riser beck to tread once glue in position . Either leave to set or now would be a bit easier to hold with pocket screws. Remove metalwork and carpet then covers the fixings left in riser..
Hi ya Roger. I’ve got open stairs. No risers or carpet. We had to fit a child gate top and bottom which has made the staircase come away from the wall and caused a few creaky stairs. What would you recommend doing? I was thinking of doing the same with the pocket hole but on the underneath and screw into the underside of the staircase. Anything you can think of to stop this creek and make the staircase stronger. Much appreciated 👍
That looks like the carpet fitter knocked the mdf riser off then they originally fitter the gripper rods. I was a snagging joiner for George wimpy homes for 20 years. I did 100s of damaged stairs. The stair manufacturers ended up fixing warning stickers to the risers telling carpet fitters to not hammer the gripper rods.. Ideally they should be screwed on.
I need this for my stairs Got replaced from top just before lock down and back to being noisy I have them painted and I can see the gaps appearing 😢 Just unfortunate I haven’t got a scoobies about most of the drilling holes bit But I’ll rematch lots of times make my daughter watch my mother and sisters And we will all get there eventually lol
!!!!!This method is floored,very bad advice.. At least all affiliated links should be removed as making money from bad advice is morally wrong! The only correct step was using pu glue! 1) screw two screws (with flat heads) into the riser, approximately 1/3 in from both sides and 25mm above the tread. 2) tie string around the heads of the screws 3) use 2 G clamps. 4) tie the string to the end of a G clamp and rest the other end of the G clamp on the bullnose off the tread ( step) do this for both screws with both the clamps. 5) Tighten both G clamps until the string is taught ( be careful Not too close the gap up at this stage). 6) now flood the gap with polyurethane glue. 7) Squeeze both clamps at the same time to close the gap. Please note you may not get the gap closed on the outsides of the step. You should have most of the gap now closed up(maybe apart from the outer sides). Use a third centre clamp if two clamps are not sufficient. 8) use a 2 mm pilot drill to create a pilot hole but be careful not to continue the pilot hole into the riser (unless the riser is made of pine). use drywall screws (other screws will work) this will create a similar method to the pocket tool used in the article. Use five screws, equally spaced out across the tread. Screw these in going through the trade and into the riser. Countersink the heads if required. 9) leave clamps in place for glue to go off time depending on the type of PU glue purchased. You can get 5 minute glue. !!!!!A major part of the cure was missed off the article.
Using MDF for risers is ok if you screw them to back of the tread not nail. The reason for gaps is not age but the carpet fitter nailing grippers to risers using hammer 🔨 thus moving riser from back of the tread so when I made staircases I’d screw risers to the treads so this would eradicate your problem. Most of the time I’d use ply for risers. Lastly you be quicker to remove plaster board from back and just screw it job would have been done in half the time without the need for taking up carpet using glue or your fancy gadgets plaster off hammer 🔨 back and 3 screws per tread job done . And I’d have explained to client that’s the best way never a problem again. But blame the manufacturer for not using screws in first place just shabby workmanship. Over and out
You’ll never pull the joint up like that, because you’re drilling at an angle of about 150 degrees to the riser – yet trying to pull the riser back through 180. The way to do it (and there’s no need to remove the gripperods,) is to screw a piece of approx 35mm x35mm timber to the tread, about 35mm away from the tread/riser joint, using 60mm x 5 screws. Drill 3 or 4 holes horizontally in that timber. Dampen the joint slightly, then squeeze in the polyurethane glue. You then screw through that 35 x 35, into the riser, with 70 or 80mm x 5 screws. You can start off with an impact/combi driver – but once it starts to bite, you have to finish it off by hand, to pull it right up. You’ll feel if it’s starting to strip. (You’re effectively using the 35 x 35 as a corner block.) I had three houses to sort like this, several years ago: The site manager had had us fixing the staircases (believe it or not) before the roof was on, because he hadn’t ordered the trusses on time. It was snowing at the time, and the roofs didn’t go on until later in the week. All the risers, on all the staircases, came away from the back of the treads. I had about 80% success with this, and we never had any call backs from customers.
MDF risers,,what the hells up with that,,I would have to disagree with some of this fix, though im sure it will work but given you had a sizable cap I dont know how it could squeak since the tread and riser are not touching,,maybe some quad caulking,,would create a buffer and stay flexible,,I suppose you could have also removed upper tread and screwed through the back side,,
Where the article is showing a problem getting the riser to pull back to the tread with the pocket screws, if you take off the riser carpet gripper and then fix a stretcher plate temporarily onto the tread but leaving a gap of say 5mm from the riser. Then glue up the gap and put screws through the stretcher plate into the riser and it will pull the riser tight to the tread. Once you then do the pocket screws, the stretcher plate can be removed. Not as ideal as taking off the gyproc from the underside but will give a tight fix.
I would have used construction adhesive which is slightly flexible but still so strong it can be used to clue concrete walls together. Therefore no screws needed plus it fills the cracks. Otherwise you would have to use a router to make room for a wooden strip. What’s the only way it would be a tight fit which is needed for PVA glue to work