How to eliminate floor creaking on wooden logs

Wooden floors are very popular lately among people living in apartments or private houses. Firstly, it is a very attractive material at an affordable price, and secondly, it is safe. But they have one drawback - with prolonged use, squeaks appear.

The creaking of the floor on wooden logs can occur for many reasons, but the most basic are:

• aging or shrinkage of wood;
• errors were made during installation;
• high level of humidity.

 There are several ways to eliminate floor creaking on wooden logs.

Method number 1 "Mounting on anchors or screws"

Fixing to anchors helps to strengthen the wooden flooring, which is laid on concrete floors, but as for fixing on self-tapping screws, then it will be effective if the location of the problem area is between the flooring and lags.

Method number 2 "Contraction of the flooring"

The flooring is tightened either by wedging the boards from the wall, or by a special device for tightening. After all, tightly laid boards increase the rigidity of the floor structure and thereby help to quickly cope with the creaks that have appeared.

Method No. 3 "Use of wedges" 

If the cause of the creak is centered, then it is necessary to wedge the boards using wedges. To do this, it is necessary to clean the board with sanding paper, pick up the racks of the right size with a sharpened bottom edge, process them with glue, and then drive it with a wood hammer. The final step will be the alignment of the top of the rail with a planer.

Method No. 4 "Filling with polyurethane foam sealant or adhesive composition"

If creaking occurs, even if the logs are securely fixed, then in this case it is recommended to fill the voids with polyurethane foam sealant or specialized glue. In the board next to the problem area, you need to make a through hole into which the mounting foam is introduced. As soon as the foam hardens, the surface must be cleaned.

Method number 5 "Replace the flooring with plywood or chipboard" 

This method does not require disassembling the floor. It is enough to lay plywood or chipboard (sheet thickness 12 mm) on top on a wooden base and glue with special glue.

Method No. 6 "Mounting using a fastener - dowel"

This method is suitable if the creak in the boards appears due to high humidity in the room. To do this, an adjacent passage of 45 degrees is made in neighboring elements. A dowel treated with an adhesive is introduced into the resulting hole. Next, you should repeat the same steps only in the opposite direction and wait until the glue hardens to cut the dowel flush with the board.

Method number 7 "Replace logs"

If the cause of the creaking was a partial or complete wear of the boards, then in this case, lumber needs to be replaced, which is provided for in two options: light and major repairs. For the first option, you need to partially disassemble the problem area and replace it. As for the second option, here it is already required to completely remove the furniture from the room, remove the skirting boards, door trim and reassemble the elements.

So, if the floors creak, then first of all it is necessary to find the cause of the creak, and only then proceed to eliminate them. After all, as practice shows, most of the causes of the creak can be removed independently.