How to Fix a Squeaky Floor

This is another great article taken from DoItYourself.com:

Some people think that a few squeaks in a floor give a home character, to others squeaks are a major pain in the neck. If you agree with the folks who think floors just shouldn’t make any noises, you may be in luck. As long as you have access to the underside of that squeaky floor, you can probably fix your squeak. Unfortunately however, if you have finished ceilings below your squeaky floor, your chances of being able to fix it without taking on a major project are hit and miss.

What causes squeaky floors?

Floors squeak because something is moving. The main culprits are:

• the edges of sheets of subfloor rubbing against each other (because loose nails are allowing the boards to move)
• rubbing between tongue and groove wood that has dried a little over time leaving a gap for movement
• floor joists shrinking away from floorboards overtime leaving a small gap that squeaks when you put weight on it. The fix is simple, stop the movement and you will stop the squeak. You stop the movement by nailing or screwing the boards, shimming under the joists or adding bracing between the joists. The challenge is to figure out the cause and get access to fix it.

To read the entire article, follow this link:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/silencesqueakyfloor