How to Fix a Squeaky Board

Go below the floor if you can. If the floor is above a basement or crawl space, you can make the needed repairs from underneath the floor. If your squeaking floor is on the ground floor and your home has a basement, you may be able to see the floorboards from below by going downstairs, getting up on a ladder or step stool, and examining the boards.

Working below the floor makes it easier to locate the source of the squeak, especially when you can get someone to walk on the floor while you're listening below.

Call to your friend upstairs once you're in the basement and on the ladder or step stool. Ask him to walk across the floor until you hear the squeak. Tap on the floorboard from the bottom when you hear the squeak and then ask your friend to walk across the board again. Once you have determined for sure where the squeak is located, you can take the necessary steps to fix it.

Coat a thin wood shim with carpenter's glue and gently tap it into the space between the subfloor and the joist. The shim should be thin enough to fit into the space between the floor joist and the subfloor. Tap the shim into place with the rubber mallet. The shim serves to brace the floor and prevent squeaking.

Find the joist closest to the squeaking board by marking the spot where the board is emitting the noise and then measuring from that spot to each joist. if you cannot access the floor from the underside, place the depth control fixture from a commercial squeak repair kit directly over the joist. A depth control fixture helps stabilize the floor and prevent it from squeaking. This fixture is the main component of a commercial repair kit and is marked as such in the kit.

Drive one of the screws through the fixture using a screwdriver. Remove the fixture, tip it sideways and place the screwhead in the top of the fixture. Rock the fixture from side to side until the screwhead snaps off below the subfloor surface.