How to fix creaky hardwood floors? (hardwood floor, laminate, ceiling, living room)

[ansky]

I have a creaky spot in my living room floor. The floor is completely hardwood (no rugs). What is the best way to fix this? I did some research online and it sounds like there is some kind of kit you can buy where you drive a nail through the floorboard and the head snaps off so that it's not visible. I don't know the name of this product though. My basement is completely finished so I have no way of accessing the floorboards from below (without tearing out the ceiling of my basement), so I would have to do the job from above. Any recommendations?

[Jezer]

Maybe this will help;

http://www.reluctant-diyer.co.uk/cre...oor_boards.php

[JimRom]

The best way is from underneath. Reason being, usually the creak isn't from the hardwood floor itself, it's from where the subfloor meets the floor joists. Sometimes it is the flooring squeaking though, so we'll assume that's the problem.

Since you don't have access to the joists and the subfloor, you can try something that I've occasionally had some success with, which is using 1 1/2" exterior screws driven in at about a 45 degree angle, countersunk about a quarter inch under the surface. Try to find the exact squeaky spot, and put one on each side of it about 4" away. Fair warning, this will not work on laminate, so make sure the floor is actual wood. After the screws are in, you'll have to fill the holes with some wood putty and try to match the finish of the floor.

Nails aren't going to solve the problem, as there is nothing on a nail to hold the wood firmly.

[K'ledgeBldr]

The first thing is identifying the squeak. Is it the flooring itself? Is it the subfloor at a joint (either T&G. regular ply, or 1X matter)? Or could it be loose subflooring moving on a nail? And one last "Or"- is it a cracked/broken joist?
All have a reasonable solution for repair- it could be as easy as talcum powder, to nails, to screws, to new joists.
But, it's also a matter of cost and longevity of the repair.
As a general rule I don't like getting return calls on things like floor squeeks- so suffice it say I have always taken steps to insure a squeak-free floor as much as possible. With that said, drywall is cheap and easy to repair. Opening up the ceiling below to do the best repair possible is always better than fiddle-farting around with half-assed gimmicks that may or may not work.
However, if you insist on taking the cheap route-
There is a product called Squeeeeek No More which is for carpet; the company that makes it also makes Counter-Snap hardwood screws- there are two sizes, one for between joists and one for in joists. Just remember that the filler you put in the hole will not stay forever-nor will it ever match exactly. And one wrong move with a drill can spell disaster for the floor finish.

[JimRom]

I forgot about those products, K'ledge. Thanks for the reminder. I don't get calls on squeaky floors very often, so it's not really in my area of knowledge.

Agreed on the drywall repair. If you can locate the area of the squeak and take out a 2'x2' square of the ceiling underneath, a local handyman (not one of the franchises) would probably give a fairly reasonable price to patch it in and match the texture. Not sure where you live, so the average rate may be a bit different, but I'd charge somewhere between $150 and $200 for that kind of job, depending on the ceiling texture. If it's a flat ceiling, with no popcorn or knockdown, it could be done in 6-8 hours with drytime, etc.