Squeaky staircase

[PhilboSE]

I’ve got a staircase (1960) where some of the treads are squeaky.

I can’t get to the underside of the stairs (separate property) so is there anything I can do topside to reduce the squeaks? I’ve buzzed in some chunky screws through the tread to the riser but it hasn’t done much.

Stairs are fundamentally ok, strings are solid and fixed, nothing too obviously wrong anywhere (apart from the crack along the second tread).

[RotorRambler]

Not much more you can do long term, maybe:-

Use slimmer wood screws (like 4 mm x 50 mm), not chunky ones.
• Drill pilot holes first to avoid splitting.
• Apply wood glue (PU glue or wood adhesive) between the tread and riser before driving in screws.
• Focus especially on:
• Tread to riser joint (front edge of tread)
• Tread to stringer joints (sides)

Then drive screws in at a slight angle to bite into both pieces more securely.

[PhilboSE]

Thanks - I used 5 x50s and countersunk the heads, pre drilled so no splitting. Also did go in at a slight angle but not too sure of thickness of riser so couldn’t get too aggressive.

Treads are too tight to the risers (no gap) to get any glue in, unfortunately.

Oh well, I was hoping there was a magic trick.

[JoshSm]

Glue instead of screw? Inject some expanding PU wood glue down the screw holes, the usual Egger D4 flooring stuff is pretty runny.

Tread to riser - if you can't get the D4 glue in, even after maybe making a pilot hole to add access for injecting, then maybe gluing a quadrant across it might work? Probably want a non expanding structural waterproof wood adhesive for that.

[zalrak]

I seem to remember that sprinkling talcum powder onto the treads stopped them creaking. Could be on old wives tale as I have never tried it.

Edit: A quick Google seems to support this:

https://www.cafloordesign.com/2023/12/08/how-to-st...

[reggie747]

RotorRambler said:

Not much more you can do long term, maybe:-

Use slimmer wood screws (like 4?mm x 50?mm), not chunky ones.
Drill pilot holes first to avoid splitting.
Apply wood glue (PU glue or wood adhesive) between the tread and riser before driving in screws.
Focus especially on:
Tread to riser joint (front edge of tread)
Tread to stringer joints (sides)

Then drive screws in at a slight angle to bite into both pieces more securely.

This is excellent advice but ensure you use 30 min expanding glue after a serious scrape and clean with a Henry or very powerful vacuum before gluing. I did exactly the same for my own staircase and it's now 99% good with no squeaks.
An older staircase like this will have proper timber risers probably 18mm thick, not (economy) MDF so 50mm x 8 gauge screws pre-drilled, 5 per tread sorted it for me.
You will of course need a sharp tool to remove the excess expanded glue when it's gone off.

[WrekinCrew]

zalrak said:

I seem to remember that sprinkling talcum powder onto the treads stopped them creaking. Could be on old wives tale as I have never tried it.

Edit: A quick Google seems to support this:

https://www.cafloordesign.com/2023/12/08/how-to-st...

Was going to suggest this too, but I don't think "real" talc is available any more for health&safety reasons. What you may well get now is powdered cornstarch and I'm not sure that would be a good idea long-term.

[119]

Had the same prob so just screwed at an angle from the back of the tread to the bottom of the riser right in the angle where they join.

[Mr Pointy]

119 said:

Had the same prob so just screwed at an angle from the back of the tread to the bottom of the riser right in the angle where they join.

The OP can't get to the back of the staircase.

[119]

Mr Pointy said:

119 said:

Had the same prob so just screwed at an angle from the back of the tread to the bottom of the riser right in the angle where they join.

The OP can't get to the back of the staircase.

Tread side not from underneath.

Probably should have made that bit clearer!

[ferret50]

Scottia moulding at the rear of the tread/lower edge of the riser?

Expanding foam into any obvious gaps?

[Aluminati]

PhilboSE said:

I ve got a staircase (1960) where some of the treads are squeaky.

so is there anything I can do topside to reduce the squeaks?

No.

[loughran]

This might be quite an expensive solution for a whole staircase but may be worth trying one bottle to see how far it goes and how effective it could be.

From what I can tell is a sort of low viscosity PVA type glue. It works well for its intended purpose.

https://www.classichandtools.com/veritas-chair-doc...

[PhilboSE]

Thanks all, a few ideas to try.

It’s in my daughter’s flat, which is going to be rented in the near term, so I don’t mind giving it a low cost go and seeing if I can improve anything, if it’s still squeaky at least I gave it a chance but I don’t have to live with it.

My plan is to squirt some glue down the screw holes on the top of the treads then re-screw, to try and get the treads fixed to the risers and the front edge.

Then where the back of a tread meets the riser for the next step up I’ll scrape out a channel and clean up the paint, put a bead of gorilla glue along then drill, glue and screw into the joint.

Not a big fan of scotia (even when it’s going to be covered in carpet!) so that would be a last resort.