How to Reinforce Squeaky Stairs

Walk slowly up and down the stairs to identify the steps that make the noise. When you find a noisy step, shift your weight across it until you can identify the location of the noise. Circle the noisy area with chalk.

Search the noisy stair and find the nails or screws that are fastening the pieces together. Squeaking often occurs when a tread is loose from a riser or when the body of the stair is loose from the support stringer. By finding the fasteners, you know where to provide reinforcement.

Apply downward pressure over the loosened area; it may help you to have someone stand on the stair for this process. The downward weight will compress the two loose pieces of wood together. If the noise is on the edge of the stair, apply direct downward pressure; for the center of the stair, apply even pressure on either side to fully compress downward.

Drill 1/8-to-¼-inch starter holes at 45 degree angles downward toward the area that needs to be reattached. The starter holes ensure that the wood does not split when your reinforce it with nails.

Hammer 8 or 10 penny finishing nails into each of the starter holes, driving them through the tread and into the riser or support stringer below. Drive the nails so the nail heads sit just below the surface of the tread.

Test the stair again and add more finishing nails if necessary to fully reattach the two pieces of wood together with reinforcing fasteners. When you complete one stair, repeat the process with all the other squeaky stairs until your stairway is silent.