How to eliminate the creak of a wooden staircase?

Many buildings built many decades ago, and those that are being built today, have such a functional element as a staircase. It can be the main or auxiliary, front, entrance or internal, screw or marching - there are a lot of options, moreover, they differ even in the material of manufacture. Since ancient times, wooden structures have been popular. Today they are made so well that they are able to decorate with themselves any exterior or interior. Moreover, the tree is an environmentally friendly, natural material that can make the surrounding atmosphere more comfortable, warm, charming. In this article, we will talk about how to eliminate the creak of a wooden staircase, because many owners of private homes face this problem.

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Why does a wooden staircase creak?

There are many reasons why a wooden staircase creaks. What to do in such a situation? Actually, you first need to determine why this is happening, and only then deal with the problem.

The main reasons are such natural processes that are quite characteristic of a tree.

Shrinkage

Wood, one way or another, contains moisture, which during operation begins to come out. So, if the design was assembled from insufficiently dried material, then such a problem definitely can not be avoided.

Important! Over a year, wood with a natural moisture level shrinks by about 8%, which is enough to make small gaps between the elements of the staircase.

Therefore, choosing the material for building the stairs, it is better to look at well-dried boards or logs from those species that give minimal shrinkage, for example, oak, maple, ash or larch. It is important that they be harvested in winter.

Important! From drying, the joints under the steps, treads, braids, bowstrings, balusters and handrails are most affected.

Wear, tear, deformation

Due to prolonged use, many things begin to suffer, of course, wooden structures are no exception. This is especially true for products that are in an aggressive environment with a high level of humidity, high traffic, low temperature.

Important! Usually, creaking occurs in places where treads connect with risers.

This process can be prevented only by timely processing of the material with special protective agents, which are recommended to be applied even during the preparation, during the assembly of the stairs, in particular this applies to all joints and seams.

Rejected accessories or loose mounts

This happens due to the use of low-quality glue or the use of self-tapping screws for bonding. Basically, the parts are connected with bolts and nuts, which are easy to tighten on your own, but this will not work with self-tapping screws.

Important! The only way to eliminate the creaking of the wooden stairs is to completely replace them, but install them in a different place.

Incorrectly fitted parts

When masters are negligent in their work or have little experience in assembling such structures, such problems arise quite often. And it’s impossible to notice right away, only in the process of operation the parts begin to loosen gradually.Therefore, if you already decided on an independent assembly, then carefully study this process.

Important! When buying a finished staircase, be sure to check how well the basic elements are connected.

Caved floor

It is very difficult to fix this problem, since in most cases you have to completely dismantle the product. Given this fact, long before the installation of the stairs, fix the floor located under its supporting, supporting, basic elements with special compounds.

Almost all of these reasons can be prevented even during assembly, because if this is not done on time, then when you walk the stairs will start to make unpleasant sounds that cut your hearing. Next, we will learn how to remove the creak of a wooden staircase in the most common cases.

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What if the staircase began to creak?

Since there are many causes of such a nuisance, there are also many ways to eliminate it. Follow these instructions so that the process of identifying the problem and fixing it ends successfully:

• When connecting the stair elements to each other, maximum attention must be paid to the joining of the main elements, to ensure that it is tight, and to prevent the formation of backlashes. If the problem lies in the loose connections, then it is necessary, first of all, to identify the problem areas.
• To set the creaking place, walk up the stairs several times. If there are any decor elements in the form of carpets, then they should be removed. Thus, you will greatly simplify your task.

Important! Having access to the back of the structure, it is better to carry out repairs together. So, one person will be able to go down under it and mark problem points, the second will walk up and down the stairs.

• As soon as all the creaky steps are marked, you can check how loose the platforms are, the joints of the supporting beams to which the bowstring or braid is attached. Pay maximum attention to fasteners and connection elements. If necessary, you will have to install new rubber gaskets between the tree and bolts, lubricate the metal parts with a special compound.
• More often it is because of problems with the joints of the stairs that the staircase creaks. What to do in this case? It should be noted that this is due to the strong pressure on them during movement. Since they are fixed in particular with nails, over time they simply become loose. If the staircase has an open structure, then it is better to fix the steps from below. In case of minor damage, it is enough to drive a couple of additional nails.
• If you are sure that there is a creak due to the shattered wedges located between the risers and the tread, or the braid, then you can carefully remove them, remove the old glue, grease with a protective agent and fix it in place again with glue.
• It rarely happens when the wedges themselves shrink, as a result of which they have to change their shape, otherwise they simply will not fit in size to their former place. Although, in such cases, more often they completely change.
• If the problem is more serious, due to the presence of a gap a huge gap has formed, then do not rush to draw parts to each other. Make extra slats or wedges first. It is advisable to process the seams with wood glue, tread and risers to tighten properly. If repairs occur from the inside, then align the parts so that from the outside it is imperceptible.
• If the grooves of the bowstring are loosened, then wedges will also come in handy. They are small in size, carefully coated with glue, driven from below into the grooves under the steps.
• Completely shaky steps are strengthened by installing additional stiffeners - bars that tighten the risers with the tread.
• Quite often, the creak is seasonal in nature, since it only increases in those months of the year when the humidity in the room rises significantly.As a result, the tree swells, there are more grooves, so the steps can no longer sit tight. To prevent this, it is necessary to treat the ladder with a water repellent.
• Stairs with three braids, as a rule, begin to creak in the region of the middle element. To fix the problem, the steps are additionally fixed directly to the comb of the main beam using metal fasteners or glue.

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Stock footage

Now you know why the steps of the wooden stairs creak, what to do in each case. The main thing is to approach the process of eliminating the problem with the mind, in which case the unpleasant sound will go quickly and for a long time. In addition, you can additionally restore the staircase, slightly change it externally.