Noisy stairs

[furtive]

The stairs in my house are very noisy - more than just a squeak when you go up and down them.

The carpet is being replaced soon and I want to sort out the noisy floor before the new one goes down. Now I know I can sort the noisy floorboards in the rest of the house with screws (making sure I don't go through any pipes!)

But how can I secure the stairs so they don't squeak? There is no access to them from the underside so whatever I do needs to be done to the treads themselves.

[BarnatosGhost]

a good drenching (that's not the right word) with talcum powder.

[MJG280]

I made an access to mine many years ago and most of the wedges were loose so all hammered home, glued and screwed where necessary. Wonderful except for the one my son always bounces on that must have worked loose again.

[MrV]

Your a bit stuck if you can't get to the underside ,my vote would be run gripfill around the whole of the tread and riser and stay off them while it dries.

You might manage to get a fixing down through the top of the tread into the riser and again through the back of the tread at an angle into the bottom of the riser,but dont hold your breath

[freecar]

BarnatosGhost said:

a good drenching (that's not the right word) with talcum powder.

This is the traditional solution, it silences the creak by ensuring that the wood is lubricated (fnarr)

[RemainAllHoof]

MJG280 said:

most of the wedges were loose

Behold. The first correct usage of the word "loose" on the internet.

[pano amo]

you could try graphite dry powder. Its messy but it works. Its basically a container full of pencil led ground down to talcum powder consistency. It was recommended to me when I had probs with my wooden floor joins creaking and worked very well.

http://www.tools-paint.com/product/CK_T6283A_Graph...

[furtive]

Thanks all.

I might just bite the bullet and cut the plasterboard off to access the underside - that would allow me to sort the worst of them out.

[anonymous-user]

I just squirted wood glue in every gap at our old house, sorted it.

[Dift]

I may have a go at mine this weekend.

So from underneath the stairs (carpet in place still), what's the best approach (for the DIY inept)?

I'm thinking wood glue squirted into any gaps?

[furtive]

I found this which might be helpful:

http://www.ehow.com/how_115509_silence-squeaky-sta...

[spikeyhead]

Dift said:

I may have a go at mine this weekend.

So from underneath the stairs (carpet in place still), what's the best approach (for the DIY inept)?

I'm thinking wood glue squirted into any gaps?

From the underside, you should find a load of wedges that hold the treads and risers in place. You'll find that these are loose. Hit them gently with a hammer.

Where access is limited then you can use a 12 bore to apply the force. Then call a carpenter to build a new staircase to replace the one you've just blown away.