The stairs in my 1927 home are really noisy – creaking, squeaking, etc., as you walk up or down. They had shag carpeting, which muffled the sound somewhat. Now that the carpeting is gone, the sound is unbearably loud.
Since I have access to the underneath of the staircase (since it goes over my basement stairway), is there a good way to reinforce the steps or stringers to lessen the noise? The staircase appears to be made completely out of oak — and in very good condition, except for the noise.
The previous owners had 7 kids in the house, so I think the stairs took a beating for a number of years. With just two of us now it sounds like a haunted house.
Thanks for any advice.
Replies
Does the stair have wedges underneath the treads and behind the risers to hold them tight (look from below), is it nailed together, or what?
There are no wedges of any kind that I can see. Some tread nails have missed the stringer, but otherwise they look pretty good.
If it were me, I'd probably carefully disassemble the entire stair, and reassemble it with glue and screws, possible some other refinements as well depending on the specifics. All that squeaking is wood against wood and wood against nails.
Hey, I'll come and do it for ya, visit my brother and wife and nephews in Brooklyn at the same time. Haven't been out there since '99.
Same situation as you in our 1920's house. I screwed the risers to the back of each tread from the uderside of the stairs, predrilling and countersinking first. 3 screws in each.
Then glued 2x2 pieces to the underside of the top of the riser to the tread above it and also to the underside of each tread to the stringer on both sides. Used carpenter's glue without screws - goop it up good, schmush the piece of 2x2 back and forth to get a good bond, the friction should hold it in place until the glue sets.
Completely solved all noise issues with the stairs and stiffened them us as well.
Thanks for such quick advice.
If you've got a Kreg jig, you might try pocket screwing it together from underneath.Andy
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If it were for a client I'd probably disassemble and rebuild. However if it were my house I'd go another route.
At a farm & ranch store, or anywhere animal medications are sold they will have syringes in all sizes with needles ranging from mild to huge. I'd get a dozen smallish syringes with as many of the largest needles. Then pick up a few small drill bits that closely match the needle.
Just start drilling a few holes in areas prone to noise and inject some polyurethane glue into the joint or intersection of the boards. Some places will simply have cracks that the needles can be poked into for a glue injection.
A shop vac can be put on one side of a center stringer and glue placed on the other. The suction will pull the glue between the joint.
Polyurethane glue works best since it wants to expand a bit, better filling the gaps.
It might be surprising how easy it is to drive away the squeeks.
before you inject the glue use yur Kreg Jig and put in screw slots for toe screwing the treads to the stringers...
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A complete tear out and re-assemble would likely lead to several large problems unless you are a competent carpenter and able to repair or forsee any damage. If ballustrades are attached to the stairs, it can be complicated.
First of all you need to isolate the squeaks. Are the treads squeaking or the stringers?
If you stand on a tread and changing your weight from one side to the other causes the tread to squeak, the tread is loose. Small pieces of trim can also rub against risers and skirts, causing quite a bit of noise.
Attaching blocks with a glue like PL-Premium or PL-400 and nails, screws to the underside of your staircase would stiffen the stairway without causing any noticable change above, but you would need to carefully clean, scrape or sand the areas before installing the blocks. Accumulated dust and dirt could interfere with bonding.
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