creaky stairs -advice please

[mleslie951]

Hi all

I am thinking of putting screws down through the treads into the risers to see if the creaking can be reduced. Can anyone suggest the best type of screw I could use.
thanks

 

[niall Y]

I remember trying to sort out a similar problem for a customer. Their toddler would regularly wake up when they stood on certain creaking treads on the way downstairs. Having isolated the culprits, I glued and screwed blocks from behind from inside the cupboard beneath the stairs, I also replaced and re-glued some of the wedges beneath the treads, as well as fastening in screws here and there. I can't really see that using any specific type of screw would affect things much. It's really is a case of 'suck it and see' when it comes to things like this. I spent a lot of time walking up and down the stairs, testing if things had worked. Needless to say the customer was very pleased with the result.

 

[Droogs]

I found this very useful

 

[Sandyn]

I just did this in my house about 6 months ago. It worked very well. I used part threaded wood screws so that the tread is pulled down on the the riser. I also prepared every hole by pre-drilling and countersinking. I used Sctew-tite screws from Toolstation. They have a very well formed deep thread which grips well. My house is pre 1860, so all made of good substantial wood I had no access to the back of the stair. I don't think that method would work so well on modern MDF construction. I put in a LOT of screws, but no more creaks in the middle of the night. Perfect for burglars!!

 

[Alasdair]

I used Floor tite screws from toolstation. There blue in colour and supposed to be designed for squeaky boards. Easy to use and so far no more squeaks. The product code is TFFT4245 They have twin and single threads and the box says will not work loose.

 

[Nelsun]

I helped our eldest with his very creaky stairs. There was zero access to the underneath meaning options were very limited but, thankfully, it was all wooden construction. Besides screwing down through the treads into the risers and stringers (with clearance holes making sure everything pulled in tight) a pocket hole jig like the Kreg R3 came in handy for tightening up the back of treads into the risers. You can, of coarse, just use a drill bit to make your own pocket holes, but the wee R3 jig made it quick and repeatable... and error proof While not exactly the ideal way to sort out stairs, it got most of them and remained good after 6 months now and a new carpet hides the devastation below!

 

[mleslie951]

I helped our eldest with his very creaky stairs. There was zero access to the underneath meaning options were very limited but, thankfully, it was all wooden construction. Besides screwing down through the treads into the risers and stringers (with clearance holes making sure everything pulled in tight) a pocket hole jig like the Kreg R3 came in handy for tightening up the back of treads into the risers. You can, of coarse, just use a drill bit to make your own pocket holes, but the wee R3 jig made it quick and repeatable... and error proof While not exactly the ideal way to sort out stairs, it got most of them and remained good after 6 months now and a new carpet hides the devastation below!

thanks very much for your advice - much appreciated

 

[mleslie951]

I used Floor tite screws from toolstation. There blue in colour and supposed to be designed for squeaky boards. Easy to use and so far no more squeaks. The product code is TFFT4245 They have twin and single threads and the box says will not work loose.

you advice is very helpful - thanks

 

[mleslie951]

I remember trying to sort out a similar problem for a customer. Their toddler would regularly wake up when they stood on certain creaking treads on the way downstairs. Having isolated the culprits, I glued and screwed blocks from behind from inside the cupboard beneath the stairs, I also replaced and re-glued some of the wedges beneath the treads, as well as fastening in screws here and there. I can't really see that using any specific type of screw would affect things much. It's really is a case of 'suck it and see' when it comes to things like this. I spent a lot of time walking up and down the stairs, testing if things had worked. Needless to say the customer was very pleased with the result.

thanks for your advice. I cant get under the stairs - thats why I was looking for screws with plenty of grip

 

[blackteaonesugar]

I cured our creaks with a combination of screwing down loose treads and also filling all the gaps and cracks with expanding polyurethane glue.
Silent now.

 

[mleslie951]

I helped our eldest with his very creaky stairs. There was zero access to the underneath meaning options were very limited but, thankfully, it was all wooden construction. Besides screwing down through the treads into the risers and stringers (with clearance holes making sure everything pulled in tight) a pocket hole jig like the Kreg R3 came in handy for tightening up the back of treads into the risers. You can, of coarse, just use a drill bit to make your own pocket holes, but the wee R3 jig made it quick and repeatable... and error proof While not exactly the ideal way to sort out stairs, it got most of them and remained good after 6 months now and a new carpet hides the devastation below!

thanks for your helpful advice L

 

[ScottyT]

Always try and get some talc powder in wherever you can if possible. Works a treat for any squeaks and creaks

 

[Rob_Mc]

I sorted my very squeaky stairs a few years back but it involved major surgery ...

I removed the plasterboard from the ceiling and a small wall from the cupboard under the stairs so I could get at the underside of the stairs (see demolition pic above).

I then made an 'L' shape wooden profile by screwing and gluing a length of 4" x 2" to a length of 2" x 2" (think of it as length of very thick angle iron made from wood). This wooden L section was then cut into lengths long enough to fit across the width of the stairs. A piece of L section was then glued to the underside of each stair where the bottom of the riser meets the back of the tread using 5 minute PU glue with a few screws up through the L section into the stair tread to hold it while the glue sets. I then drove 8 screws from above the stairs into the L section, 4 down through the tread and 4 horizontally through the riser.

I then proceeded to fill every visible joint gap on the stairs with 5 minute pu glue. The glue used was;

https://www.toolstation.com/5-minut...jD_QYjDm8aAmK2EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds#full-desc
The advantage of this glue is that it expands to fill gaps, which is a cause of a lot of the noise. The plasterboard was then replaced and made good.

This approach completely sorted the squeaking issue.

 

[Rob_Mc]

I am thinking of putting screws down through the treads into the risers

I had the same initial thought before I decided to go down the 'major surgery' route. What changed my mind was the realisation that the risers were only 9mm thick plywood with no mechanical joint securing the riser to the 25mm thick tread. In fact the only thing securing the riser to the tread was a glued butt joint (no joinery or mechanical fastners), which in my case had failed leaving the back of the tread free to flex against the riser when stepped upon, causing noise and deflection. The amount of flex was noticable, approx 3 - 5mm downwards at the centre of the step. Hence the 'L' shaped wooden support profiles I described earlier.

I suggest you try to understand the construction of your stairs before deciding on a fix. I drilled a small hole (about 5mm dia) in both riser and tread and then poked a piece of wire through to get an approximation of material thickness. I could also tell there were no screws / nails though the bottom of the riser into the back of the tread as I could slide a 6" steel rule down between riser and tread and run it all the way along the width of the stairs without meeting any resistance (on the steps where the glue joint had failed).

P.S. My house was built in 1993.