Roof, walls & outside
Squeaks, creaks and bouncy boards
Every house has one: the board outside the bedroom that announces 3am snack runs to the whole family. A squeak is timber moving against timber or a nail, and the fixes are cheap and permanent. The one rule: know what is under the board before anything sharp goes through it.
By the Tickover team · Published 3 July 2026 · 4 min read
Why boards sing
Floorboards are nailed to joists, and decades of footsteps work those nails loose. The board lifts a fraction, then creaks as it slides back down the nail or rubs its neighbour. Central heating makes it seasonal: timber shrinks in the dry heated months, so the house gets chattier in winter, the same movement that makes doors stick in summer and opens hairline cracks in plaster.
Stairs creak the same way in a more complicated shape: treads and risers loosen where they meet, and the wedges and glue blocks underneath dry out and drop off.
| Symptom | Usual story | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Squeak underfoot | Board sliding on a loose nail | Talc, then screw to the joist |
| Creak on the stairs | Dried glue blocks, loose wedges | Glue and screw from behind |
| Bounce or a visible dip | Joist trouble: notching, span, rot | Carpenter or surveyor |
| Gaps at the skirting | Seasonal shrink | Cosmetic; fill when decorating |
The fix, in order of effort
Silence a squeaky floor
Find the exact culprit
Walk the room in a grid, mark each squeak with masking tape. Half the battle is knowing precisely which board performs.
Try talc for light rubs
Dust talcum powder into the joints around the noisy board and work it in with a brush. Board-on-board rubbing often goes quiet on the spot.
Scan before any screw
Run a pipe and cable detector over the board and its joist. Pipes and wires run through and along joists exactly where you want to fix. No scan, no screw.
Screw beside the old nail
Drill a pilot, then drive a countersunk screw through board into joist beside the loose nail. Screws grip where nails slide.
Stairs: work from behind if you can
With cupboard access under the stairs, glue and screw small blocks into the tread-to-riser angle. From above, screws through the tread front into the riser, pilot-drilled.
Retest and note what worked
Walk the grid again. Log the fix and date; the next dry winter will audition new boards.
Floor and stair rules
Do
- Detect pipes and cables every time, even for one screw
- Use screws, pilot holes and countersinks, not bigger nails
- Refit carpet and underlay properly after lifting
- Fix stair blocks from underneath where there is access
Don’t
- Do not nail blind into a floor; pipes live exactly there
- Do not sand or drill pre-2000 floor tiles or their adhesive
- Do not ignore a floor that bounces or slopes; that is structure
- Do not squirt oil into floor joints; talc does it without the stains
When a creak is a message
A squeak is cosmetic. Bounce is not. A floor that visibly deflects, trembles the furniture or develops a slope points at the joists, and that is a carpenter or surveyor job, not more screws. If it arrives with new wall cracks or doors going out of square, treat it as one investigation.
Getting the pros in, as a guide
Carpenter, per hour
Derived from typical trade rates
Half-day squeak hunt
Full day, boards up
Derived from standard trade day rates; structural joist work is quoted after inspection.
A morning of carpenter time silences most floors for good, one of the better-value lines in any maintenance budget, and the same small-cheap-early habit the outside survival guide preaches for the far side of the walls.
Need someone to do the work?
Find someone shows local trades Tickover has already scored, so you skip hunting through reviews. You contact them yourself.
Quick answers
Why do my floorboards creak more in winter?
Central heating dries the air, timber shrinks, and boards loosen slightly on their nails, so winter is squeak season. The movement reverses in humid summers. It is normal seasonal behaviour in any timber floor, but each cycle works old nails a little looser, which is why screws, which grip rather than slide, are the permanent fix.
Can I screw down a squeaky board through the carpet?
No. You cannot see board edges, joist lines or fixings through carpet, and you cannot scan reliably through underlay either. Lift the carpet and underlay back, find the joist, scan for pipes and cables, then screw. Blind fixing through carpet is precisely how heating pipes get punctured, and the leak often shows up a floor below, days later.
When is a bouncy floor serious?
When deflection is obvious: the floor dips underfoot, furniture wobbles as people walk, gaps open at skirting boards, or a slope develops. Those suggest joists that are over-notched, undersized for the span, or rotting at their ends. Stop adding screws and get a carpenter or surveyor to lift boards and inspect, sooner if there is any history of damp.
What if there are old tiles under my floorboards or carpet?
In homes built or done up before 2000, old vinyl or thermoplastic floor tiles and their black bitumen adhesive may contain asbestos. They are safe left alone but dangerous sanded, drilled or smashed out. Do not disturb them; have a survey done before any flooring work that would break them up, and use licensed removal if it comes to that.
This guide is general information for UK homes, not advice about your specific property. Anything involving gas must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and notifiable electrical work by a qualified electrician. If you smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency line on 0800 111 999. If you’re ever unsure, stop and get a professional in — that’s exactly what Tickover is for.
Keep reading
Roof, walls & outsideFull guide
Roofs, gutters and walls: the outside survival guide
How rain should travel from ridge to drain, the ground-level checks that catch roof, gutter and wall trouble early, and how to hire a roofer well.
7 min read
Roof, walls & outside
Cracks in walls: which ones matter
Most wall cracks are cosmetic. Learn the four signs that point to movement, how to monitor a crack with pencil marks and photos, and when to call a surveyor.
4 min read
Home care & seasonal
What a home really costs to keep
How much to budget for UK home maintenance: the 1% rule of thumb, fixed annual costs, sinking funds for roofs and boilers, and how to stop emergency prices running the show.
2 min read