By Metro Tiles & Flooring | Canada’s Trusted Tile & Flooring Experts
Few things are more frustrating than investing in a new floor only to have it start squeaking underfoot within weeks or months of installation. You walk across the room in the morning, the floor announces every step, and suddenly a renovation that was supposed to make your home better feels like it’s made it worse. The good news is that most squeaky floor situations have identifiable causes and — in many cases — straightforward fixes.
Here’s what’s actually happening when your floor squeaks, why it happens, and what can be done about it.
Why Floors Squeak
At its most basic, a squeak is the sound of two surfaces moving against each other. Wood rubbing against wood, a fastener moving in its hole, a plank shifting against an adjacent plank — all of these produce the characteristic creak that every homeowner dreads. Understanding which surfaces are rubbing in your specific situation is the key to fixing it.
The Most Common Causes
Subfloor Movement The most frequent cause of squeaking in any floor — new or old — is movement in the subfloor beneath it. If the subfloor panels aren’t properly secured to the joists below, they flex slightly under foot traffic, causing the fasteners to move in their holes and produce a squeak. This can happen in a brand-new installation if the subfloor wasn’t checked and secured before the new flooring went down — which is exactly why subfloor inspection is such an important pre-installation step.
Insufficient or Missing Underlayment For floating floors like LVP and laminate, the underlayment is what cushions the floor against the subfloor and prevents the planks from clicking and rubbing against the surface beneath them. If the underlayment is too thin, missing in spots, or the wrong type for the flooring product, the planks can contact the subfloor directly under foot traffic and produce noise. Some LVP products come with underlayment pre-attached — if additional underlayment is added on top of this, the excess cushioning can actually cause more movement and more noise, not less.
Planks Rubbing Against Each Other In a floating floor installation, the planks are locked together at the joints but not fixed to the subfloor — they move as a unit. If the floor wasn’t given adequate expansion gaps at the walls and fixed objects, or if something is pressing against the floor’s perimeter, the planks can be under pressure and rub against each other as they expand and contract with temperature and humidity changes. This is one of the most common causes of squeaking in newly installed LVP and laminate floors.
Fastener Issues in Hardwood In nail-down or staple-down hardwood installations, squeaks often come from fasteners that have loosened slightly or were spaced too far apart during installation. When the board moves underfoot, the fastener moves with it — and the movement produces noise. In engineered or solid hardwood, this is particularly common in the first year as the floor settles and acclimates to its environment.
An Uneven Subfloor If the subfloor has high spots, low spots, or isn’t level, floating floor planks will flex slightly as weight moves across the uneven surface — and that flex produces noise. Even small variations — a few millimetres of unevenness over a short span — can cause a floor to squeak or creak underfoot. This is another issue that’s far easier to address before installation than after.
Seasonal Movement Some squeaking in wood-based floors is entirely normal and seasonal — it appears in winter when indoor humidity drops and the wood contracts, creating very slight gaps and movement between planks, and disappears in summer when humidity rises and the wood expands again. If your squeak appears and disappears with the seasons and is relatively minor, seasonal movement is likely the cause rather than an installation defect.
Easy Fixes Worth Trying First
Check the Expansion Gaps For floating floors, the first thing to check is whether the floor has adequate expansion gaps at all walls, door frames, cabinet bases, and islands. The gap is typically covered by baseboards and transition strips — pull back or remove these temporarily in the squeaky area and check whether the floor is pressing against the wall. If it is, trimming the plank or reinstating the gap and refitting the trim will often resolve the squeak.
Add Lubrication Between Planks For surface squeaks between hardwood planks, powdered graphite or talcum powder worked into the joints can reduce friction and quiet the noise without requiring any structural intervention. It’s a simple, low-effort fix that works surprisingly well for minor squeaks caused by plank-on-plank friction.
Secure the Subfloor from Below If you have access to the subfloor from below — through an unfinished basement or crawl space — squeaks caused by subfloor movement can often be fixed by adding screws through the subfloor into the joists from below, tightening up the connection and eliminating the movement. This is one of the cleanest fixes available because it doesn’t require touching the finished floor surface at all.
Inject Construction Adhesive For squeaks in hardwood floors caused by planks rubbing against the subfloor, a flooring contractor can inject construction adhesive into the joint between the board and the subfloor using a syringe-style applicator. The adhesive fills the gap and eliminates the movement that causes the squeak. It’s a more involved fix but effective for persistent squeaks that other methods haven’t resolved.
Use Screws Through the Finished Floor As a last resort for hardwood floors, small screws can be driven through the face of the squeaking board into the subfloor or joist below, then countersunk and filled with a colour-matched wood filler. It’s visible up close but effectively eliminates the movement. This fix is best left to a flooring professional who can match the filler accurately.
When to Call a Professional
Most minor squeaks are manageable as a DIY fix. But if the squeaking is widespread across a large area, if it developed suddenly rather than gradually, if it’s accompanied by visible movement or gaps in the floor, or if simple fixes haven’t made a dent — it’s worth having a flooring professional take a look. Widespread squeaking after a new installation can indicate a subfloor problem, an installation error, or a product issue that the installer should address, particularly if the floor is still under warranty.
Document the squeak locations, when they started, and what you’ve already tried. This helps a professional diagnose the issue faster and gives you a clear record if a warranty claim becomes necessary.
Prevention Is Always Easier Than the Fix
The most effective way to deal with floor squeaks is to prevent them in the first place. A thorough subfloor inspection and preparation before installation — levelling uneven spots, securing loose subfloor panels, doing a moisture test — eliminates most of the conditions that cause squeaking down the line. Choosing the right underlayment for the flooring product, maintaining proper expansion gaps, and allowing adequate acclimation time before installation are all steps that protect against noise issues after the fact.
A squeaky floor is almost always the result of something that could have been addressed before the first plank went down. The time invested in proper preparation is the cheapest insurance available against a noisy floor.
Talk to the Team at Metro Tiles & Flooring
At Metro Tiles & Flooring, we carry quality flooring products and the right underlayments, setting materials, and accessories to make sure your installation goes down right the first time. If you’re experiencing issues with an existing floor or planning a new installation and want to avoid problems down the road, come visit us in store. Our team is always happy to help you figure out what’s going on and point you in the right direction.
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