You have just bought a house that is newly constructed or you had a new
deck installed. Or, perhaps, you had
some outdoor steps covered with treated wood.
Your expectations are very high and you are excited by the idea of
walking across a gorgeous floor or down some exquisite steps. You start to walk across the floor and you
hear a squeak. Wait – that cannot be
right! So, you walk in the same spot and
hear the squeak again. You move across
the floor to another area and hear another squeak. Aarggh!
You just spent all this money, the floor looks great, but sounds like a
small animal is struggling underneath.
What happened?
Often, the reason for squeaks in hardwood floors is that the fasteners
are not holding the boards perfectly still.
As you put weight on the board, it moves slightly against another board
or against the staples, causing the squeak or a popping sound. This is especially true in cases in which the
flooring is outdoors. In such a case,
the contractor needs to use stainless steel staples so that there is no
discoloration of the wood or corrosion of the fastener.
It is easy enough for contractors and
do-it-yourselfers to find quality stainless steel staples. If the metal content is less than 10.5%
chromium, the staples will degrade over time, which can also cause squeaks and
squeals. The problem is that you may not hear the results of low quality
staples until the construction has spent a few years enduring the
elements. To ensure silent floors, make
sure that they are fastened with strong-holding, high-quality, stainless steel
staples. The best sound is no sound.
