Tile floors become squeaky whenever a gap is developed between the supporting joist and the subfloor beneath it. These gaps develop when the nails pop or lumber dries at places. In this case, it even occurs when the subfloor doesn’t get nailed properly.
To learn how to fix a squeaky tile floor, you have to fill all the gaps and then tighten up the subfloor firmly. If you ignore the squeaky tile floors, it may enable tile cracking in no time. This can damage your tile floor and subfloor significantly.
There are many methods to fix a squeaky tile floor. You must determine which one to use according to your choice through error and trial. So, here are some simple solutions to fix a squeaky tile floor as follows:
6 Steps To Fix A Squeaky Tile Floor Without Ripping The Tile
If you want to fix a squeaky tile floor, you must follow a few steps. Otherwise, there is a chance of ripping the tile and permanently damaging your floor. As no one wants to do that to their floors, so here are the steps to follow to fix a squeaky floor without ripping the tile:
Step 1: Pinpoint The Squeaks
To fix a squeaky tile floor, you need to identify the squeak location. To do that, you need someone to walk on the floor. You need to listen and look for the squeak when the other is walking. When you’re done covering the whole floor 2-3 times, you should be able to pinpoint the squeaks.
Step 2: Mark The Squeak Location
After completing the first step, you should pinpoint all the squeaks on your floor. Now it’s time to mark them with a marker pen or other means. This marking will help you fix the squeak easily, and it will miss not a single location thereof. It will also help you pick an order or pattern to fix the squeak based on the marking location.
Step 3: Weight The Squeak
Weighing down the squeaky floor is a great idea to make your fixes effective. You need to weigh down the squeaky floors from above so that they can compress the boards. To weight down the squeak, you can pick heavy books, dumbbell weights, or other hefty objects.
Step 4: Attaching A Brace
The best way to fix this issue is to install a brace when the floors are squeaking because of the loose joists and subfloors. It will secure things as well as eliminate any unwanted and bothersome sound. You can find several joist support products in the market for an affordable price.
But it is better to pick a metal one because that firmly connects between the squeaky subfloor and the joist. You can install these joist and subfloor braces by screwing a mounting plate to the subfloor’s underside.
As you’re attaching it directly under the squeaking position, it will be better to use screws small enough to cover the floor’s bracket holes. Then hook that bracket hole into a rod to attach it to your joist-subfloor. Then use a wrench to tighten the entire mechanism until your subfloor is pulled down to the flush.
Step 5: Installing Wood Shims
Shims are important materials for squaring up any carpeting projects. It also keeps the floors away from any type of squeaking and swelling. It is a thin and small piece of particles that is mostly used for filling the gaps between your floors. You can easily fix squeaks which are the outcome of small gaps, at a cheap rate.
You need to attach a brace and use shims to fill any space between the gaps to do that. When you spot the source of your squeaky floor, purchase a packet of shims and install them between the gaps. Coat the shims using carpentry glue and then push them into the floor gaps directly.
You must be careful doing this to avoid forcing the shims into tiny spaces and the board to back up. Otherwise, it will worsen the squeak or translate it to a different area. You must weigh down the floor while doing this job.
Step 6: Screw The Floor
The final step is to screw the floor using wood screws so that the floors get tightened up properly. Though it’s a primitive way to deal with this issue, it’s undoubtedly the most effective one because nothing connects the floor with the subfloor more securely than the wood screws.
To screw the floor, you have to drill through a pilot hole to the floor according to the size of the screw that you picked. You must make sure that you’re not going overboard with this and come up the opposite side. After the drilling, install the wood screws normally on the holes.
5 Reasons For Squeaking Tile Floor: Understand Why
There are several reasons why a squeak in the tile floor can occur. You should understand the reasons behind squeaking because only then you’ll be able not to repeat those mistakes. When you can ensure that your floors won’t be squeaky anymore. So, here are the reasons for squeaking tile floor as follows:
1. Movement On The Floors
Floors are for moving without a doubt, but they should do this correctly. Ensuring that is also necessary; otherwise, your floors can get squeaky anytime. When the floors face hefty movements, they become squeaky right away. Therefore, it is better to check on the movements on your tile floors. Try not to move hefty things on the floors regularly.
2. Weather Change
If your tile floor is exposed to the weather, a squeak can occur due to weather changing. Though it may seem unlikely, it happens all the time with many people. When the tile floors meet the scorching sun, heavy rain, and cold within a few months, your floors will become squeaky for sure.
Therefore, it is better not to let your floor tiles be exposed to the weather change. If you can ensure that, then your tile floors will hardly get squeaky. So you won’t have to face unwanted squeaking sounds from your tile floors. Heat exposure and extreme moisture both are not suitable for the tile floors.
3. Board Squeaking
Squeaking may not always occur due to the gaps between the floors or tiles. It can also happen because of the board-to-board rubbing. When there is no gap between the board, they will meet each other and rub. This will make an annoying noise every time you take a walk on it.
Most people don’t purchase boards properly and even install them without cutting them to the exact size. This is why the board squeaking happens, and it reduces the durability of your floor as well. Whenever someone takes a walk on that board, you will hear a loud squeaking sound.
4 .Squeaky Subfloor
The main reason behind any squeaky tile floor is the issue with the subfloor. This is why most floor specialists get down to the subfloor directly when hired to fix the squeaky issues. An installer must be careful while attaching the tile floor to the subfloor. Otherwise, he may keep issues underneath it, and then your floor will start squeaking after a few days.
A squeaky tile floor can happen to any type of subfloor. It can happen even with the carpet subfloor. Therefore, no matter what subfloor you are using underneath the tile floor, you need to do it clean and smoothly. If there is a space between the joists and planks, the squeaking will occur after a few days.
5. Lack Of Maintenance
Unless you’re an expert or a professional in this carpeting field, you should never try to do the work by yourself. Because it will create issues like a squeaky floor afterward. Tile floors require proper maintenance to keep the optimum condition maintained.
When there is a lack of maintenance and poor artistry during installing tiles on your floor, the squeakiness can occur anytime. This is why hiring a professional will ensure the job is precise and perfect. It will also keep the hassles like a squeaky floor away from you.
6 Tips To Prevent Floor Squeaks: Effective Ways
Even when you are acknowledged with the steps and ways to fix a squeaky tile floor and know the reasons behind its squeaking, you’ll have the upper hand with the tips to prevent floor squeaks. So, here are a few tips to prevent floor squeaks in effective ways as follows:
1. Fill The Gap Putting A Shim Inside
The best way to prevent your floor from squeaking is by filling the gaps using shims. While installing the tile floor, if you find any gap between them, fill it with a shim. It will play a pivotal role in keeping your floor away from squeaking.
2. Nail A Wood Piece
If you want to prevent your floor from getting squeaky beforehand, you can nail a wood piece into the subfloor while installing the tile floor. A wood piece can help reduce squeaky noise. Therefore, it is good to nail a wood piece into the subfloor while installing the tile floors. No gaps between the floors will remain, and no sound will be coming out of the floors. It will resolve the problem of a squeaky floor from the beginning.
3. Make Wood Blocks
You can also fix a squeaky tile floor by making wood blocks. Wood blocks are pretty effective in covering up the gaps and stopping the noise from the subfloors. It can easily fix a squeaky tile floor by using these wood blocks. When you install them between the gaps and cover all the gaps, your floor won’t be able to squeak.
4. Use Floorboard Lubricants
You can also use floorboard lubricants to fix a squeaky tile floor. They are quite effective on the squeaking floors. Many floor specialists recommend the owners use floorboard lubricants. It is easy to use and apply. Therefore you can even do it by yourself. The other ways need expertise, but with floorboard lubricant, even you can fix the squeaking issue in time.
5. Screw Your Subfloor
Screwing the subfloor with your tile floor can be a good idea to fix a squeaky tile floor. This is most of the professional’s go-to method for fixing a squeaky floor. But this is not recommended for those who want to fix it by themselves. Because screwing the subfloor with a tile floor requires experience, precision, and skill to do that perfectly.
6. Use Adhesive Construction
Using construction adhesive can be a good idea for fixing a squeaky floor. Because those adhesives can go between the spaces of the tile floors and cover them nicely. It will make sure that no noise or sound comes out of it anyway. Even when you put a lot of hefty loads on it or move them, your tile floor won’t squeak. So, you can go with this adhesive construction.
Related Questions:
How Do You Fix A Squeaky Ceramic Tile Floor?
You can fix a squeaky ceramic tile from above and the downside of the floor. It is better to pick a side before going down to the business. Then you can either put some nails to fix the squeaking or screw the floors with the subfloors. Using the lubricant or adhesive construction can be pretty good alternatives.
But you should only choose them when you have to do the fixing by yourself. When you hire a professional, you better go with the first two methods because they are long-lasting and effective. It will ensure that the professional’s work remains intact for a very long time.
Why Is Your Floor Squeaking When You Walk On It?
There can be two reasons behind your floor squeaking when you walk on it. One is because of the gaps between the floor and subfloor, and the other is due to the rubbing of the boards. One occurs when the size of the boards is not similar to each other, and it doesn’t fit properly on the blank space.
The other one happens when the tiling is not done properly. It creates space between the subfloor and floor. Therefore, it always makes noise whenever you walk on it. In both cases, poor work from the workman is responsible for making your floor squeak.
Should You Worry About Squeaky Floors?
You should worry about squeaky floors because they will annoy you and your guests whenever you take a walk on them. Squeaky floors create sound and noise every time someone walks on them. Even the squeaky floors remain uneven, so the movement and walking on the floors are not satisfactory.
You won’t be able to move hefty kinds of stuff from one room to another if the floors are squeaky. It can even embarrass you in front of a room full of guests. Because of all these reasons, it is better to fix a squeaky floor right away. So, you just need to worry and take a step to fix a squeaky floor.
Do Floors Squeak More In Winter?
Weather change is a major reason behind floor squeaking, and therefore floors squeak more in winter. After getting exposed to scorching summer and extreme moisture of heavy rain, tile floors usually start squeaking after that. When the winter arrives, squeaking reaches its peak.
So, most cases of floor squeaking are recorded during the winter season. People mostly hire professionals to do the fixing job to stop squeaking in winter. Therefore, you can say that the floors squeak more in winter.
Will A Rug Help A Squeaky Floor?
A rug might be good as a temporary solution, but a rug won’t help a squeaky floor. When it comes to a permanent remedy, You can easily put a rug over your squeaky floors to avoid the sound and squeakiness. But that won’t be effective for very long because this can’t be a permanent solution as your tile floors remain squeaky.
So, to avoid the squeakiness temporarily, you can certainly go on using a rug. It will help a squeaky floor by stopping the annoying sound only. But the tile floors will remain squeaky. If you are looking for a temporary solution to avoid squeaking sounds, you should put a rug over the squeaky floors.
How Much Does It Cost To Fix Squeaky Floors?
The cost of fixing squeaky floors varies from place to place. As you can do the fixing by yourself and hire an expert to do the job for you, the cost will also depend on the method you go for. But in most places, professionals charge hourly to do this type of job.
When you do it by yourself, the cost will remain only the materials you are buying. But you may need to spend $75-$150 per hour to hire a professional to do this job with all the associated costs.
Conclusion
Every year, many people face the issue of squeaky tile floors throughout the world, but not everyone gets the right solution for it. But here, we have come up with a comprehensive guide that will help you find out the reasons behind the squeakiness and fix them in no time.
All you need to do to fix a squeaky floor is follow this guide properly. Learn all the reasons and fix methods and apply them precisely while fixing them. It should easily fix your problem and provide you with a non-squeaky tile floor.
