this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2025
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Home Improvement

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I've got creeky floors under carpet (relatively new building). I don't own the place but the creeks and squeaks bother the hell out of me at night when I'm trying to not wake up the pup.

Didn't see any particularly useful advice online so any thoughts are appreciated.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Drive a screw into it. This is far easier to do with a carpeted floor since the screw head (and hole) is not as noticeable. Be aware not to have any screw heads sticking up anywhere when done. They do also make special screws that will snap the head off once sunk. Thus leaving no major visible trace, but you could use normal screws as long as you got them flush.

Try sinking the screw down on or near a squeaky spot in an attempt to tighten it up. You'll need that screw to hit a floor joist as well to have something for the floor surface to tighten to. Sink one screw and test. If it didn't help, back it out and try elsewhere nearby. It helps if you can identify the joist pattern for your floor.

You could also try from below the floor assuming access was available. But in that case, I'd also use caulk/glue from there too to help quite things down.

I would not do anything from above for a finished wood floor. Too easy to mess it up and your landlord would charge you for the damage. It is potentially do-able with finish nails, skill and careful precision (which I lack).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago

Sounds good. Given its creeky all over the place, I'll probably try mapping out the joists first. I'll (hopefully) post an update after my attempt.

Thanks for the advice!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago

Trim screws have small heads so they are even less noticeable. That's what I've been fixing my squeaky floor boards with.