DIY Tips for Fixing Your Noisy Stairs

Noisy stairs are generally an irritation rather than a serious issue that needs immediate attention. However, if the noises are spooky or causing concern as you sneak away from a sleeping child, it is an important concern. While making those noises disappear might not be as pressing as fixing loose or raised stairs for safety's sake, it can be very important for the sanity of sleep-deprived parents or for those that think they might have some uninvited guests of the spectral nature. However, squeaky stairs can become useful when children approach the teen-age years.

My children are sensitive sleepers, and extremely tough to convince to sleep. So, sneaking out while the children were dozing or fully asleep was an essential part of my nightly routine. Thankfully, this has improved in the last few years, but I still want silent stairs for the occasional bad night. This is why I made a few adjustments to our stairs after moving into our new home last summer. It took very little time and effort on my part, but the small effort I put forth made for much better evenings in my house. If you have carpet or other accessories on your stairs there will be the additional steps of removing and replacing them if necessary. Thankfully, I did not have that concern.

It is easiest to fix open stairs, those you can get to the underside of the stairs. That allows you to look for gaps between the riser, the vertical board behind the step, and the tread, the portion of the stair you step on. This helps you to find the problems step, or steps, and enables you to use a simple shim to fill the gaps or secure loose boards with screws. Unfortunately, the stairs with the most bothersome squeaks tend to be closed or finished underneath, which means working on the risers and treads from the top of the stairs. I recommend drilling pilot holes before attempting to secure the wood with nails or screws. This will make it easier to place the screw or nail, as well as limiting the risk of cracking or splitting the wood. Be sure to make the pilot hole slightly smaller than the nail or screw you plan to use.

Prior to any drilling or hammering, I suggest going up and down the stairs a few times and looking at the treads and risers carefully to be sure there are no cracks or serous underlying issues that might require further work than this simple fix. I also suggest pin pointing the stairs that seem to be giving you the most trouble and starting by fixing the lowest stairs first, working you way up. Gather all the supplies that you will need for the job before doing anything. You will need a hammer and nails, or a screwdriver and screws. A power drill and or screwdriver will save you some serious elbow grease, but remember that if you are planning on using cordless power tools to make sure everything is fully charged. Pre stained wood plastic to fill the nail or screw holes is important as well.

Step One: Drill a pilot hole at an angle so that it goes into the riser and the tread. It is best to position the hole behind the overhanging edge, which will allow you the most control and grip when the final screws or nails are placed.

Step Two: Drill a second angled hole, around six or seven inches away from the first hole if you are planning on using screws. Make the second hole around two inches away from the first if you are planning to use nails. The exact distance will depend on the size of your stair and the number of securing points you would like to place. For best results and the most secure hold, I suggest alternating the angle of the drilled holes. I chose to drill three holes and using screws to secure the treads on my stairs.

Step Three: Secure the screws or nails into the stair. Be sure that you are using screws or nails are long enough to grab into the riser below the hole you drilled into the tread. If using screws countersink them by inserting them below the surface of the tread. With nails, remember to tap them below the level of the tread.

Step Four: Fill the resulting holes with pre stained wood plastic. You could use wood putty; however, you would need to color it to match the stairs prior to use. Dry wood putty tends to stain unevenly and will be more noticeable that the wood plastic. If you have carpet of other material to return or add to your stairs after you are finished with this fix, then it is not important which filler you utilize.

Repeat these instructions until all the stairs that you feel needed reinforcing to stop the squeaks are complete. I suggest a few trips up and down the stairs before putting away your tools; just to be sure you reinforced all necessary stairs.