There could be many reasons your floor is suddenly squeaky. It is a very common issue with simple solutions in most cases. However, a squeaky floor can also be a symptom of a greater problem with your home’s structure. Structural problems are usually not major causes of squeaky floors, but once you’ve ruled out the easy fixes, you might need to call in an expert to help investigate further.
By taking all these factors into account, you can make an educated guess about the reason behind your squeaky floors. Here are some of the most common reasons you should consider:
Changing Seasons
In our cold Ottawa winters, we have to keep our homes heated while the outside temperature is very cold. This causes the air inside the home to become very dry. Wood is very porous and sensitive to humidity. In dry conditions, it shrinks.
When the season changes and spring starts, the air inside the house returns to normal humidity. The wood expands again, but this time; it is more loosely attached to the subfloor. The loose attachment causes squeaks in your floor.
If you face either of these situations in your house, the issue is likely to be moisture and changing air humidity rather than a structural problem. It helps to keep a humidifier going in the winter to help keep things more consistent overall.
The Subfloor Isn’t Properly Installed
Another common reason for creaking floors is an improperly installed subfloor. The subfloor might have poor alignment. This causes spaces between the flooring and subfloors, which then squeak when you walk over them.
The Floor Joists are Damaged
If the floor joists are uneven, the subflooring that rests on them will be uneven too. And then the nails used to hold the subfloor down might become loose over time because of the uneven joists. When you walk on the floor above it, the loose nail rub on the wood or the subfloor rubs on the floor joists to make the squeaking sound.
The floor joists could also become cracked. This often loosens nails in the subfloor too. Contractors can block floor joists at different points to make them secure. And of course if the blocking is improper, the joists can move and cause creaking. This is very typical of homes with crawl spaces and multiple floors.
The Flooring Didn’t Acclimate to the Environment
Floor installers should leave the flooring to acclimate with the environment for some time. If the installer was hasty and didn’t allow time for this process, the flooring will continue to move and acclimate with your house on top of it. This results in undesired expansion and shrinkage of your flooring and might be why your floor is squeaking.
There Is a Problem With Your Home’s Foundation
Creaking floors are a sign of issues with your home’s foundation. That also means your home might experience structural damage. A foundation shifts, moves, and settles over time due to various factors such as expansive soil and moisture. Your flooring and subflooring does not always adjust properly to these changes.
If your foundation moves, it can stress or damage your flooring. It can even pull out the nails that secure it, and then cause your floor to creak. If your foundation settles unevenly, not only will your floors creak, but you will have many other structural problems as well.
Here are some signs to look out for, to determine if your squeaky floors are caused by structural damage:
- Your foundation was built on clay soil
- The floors of the pier and beam foundation in your house move when you walk on them
- The floors of your home are becoming uneven, and their slope is getting steeper
- There is a gap between your floor and the wall
- Your tiles are cracking. This happens because they are brittle and the floor beneath them is moving.
- You can see horizontal and stair-step cracks in brickworks
- There are cracks in the corners of your doors and windows
- You can see a gap between the ceiling and the wall
- The sheetrock of your wall is cracking, and your wallpaper has wrinkles
- Your doors and windows are sticking
- The walls of your foundation are bulging
- You can see offset cracks that stick out at one end
- Your squeaky floors are getting louder
- More parts of your floor are creaking over time
You Have a Pier and Beam Foundation
Your floors might creak because you have a certain type of foundation in your home. This does not always mean that there’s structural damage or any specific foundation problem. However, a pier and beam foundation does make it more likely that your floors will creak.
A pier and beam foundation experiences more movement than other types of foundations like the concrete slab. This movement is not always problematic, but it can cause your floorboards or subflooring to rub against each other. The fasteners securing your floors may become loose. However, if your pier and beam foundation is sagging, then you have a structural problem on your hands and a squeaky floor will be the least of your problems.
The Post Tension Slab Foundation Was Improperly Installed
Many modern homes have post-tension slabs as their concrete foundations. If the post-tension cables of the slabs are not tightened properly, problems with your foundation and flooring can arise. Leading the way to that annoying squeak.
The Takeaway
Your floors might squeak because of many reasons. The most serious cause is structural problems. But they are not always the culprit. If you suspect foundation damage, hire a professional to solve the problem as early as possible.