The stairs creak

[Valken]

I have repainted my staircase and since then the creaking has increased. Under each step, there is a longitudinal board that I guess is there to make the step more rigid. There is a slight movement between the board and the step when you step on it, which causes the noise. I would think that the creaking will decrease when it "breaks in," but it has always creaked, even before I repainted it.

The question is what should I do to get rid of the noise... Tighten the board harder (it's already quite tight), glue it (I assume there's a reason why the board wasn't glued in the first place)?

Any other ideas?

Grateful for answers.

 

[byggarätt]

A staircase dries and swells, causing it to become loose.
With wedges and polyurethane glue, it can be fixed from underneath.
Take a couple of wedges per step, preferably hardwood wedges.
Then spray glue into the gap and knock the wedge in. NOTE: Do not drive the wedges too far, as this could crack the staircase.
Wait until the glue has cured before sawing off the protruding wedge.
If you don't succeed completely the first time, try again.

An alternative is to use an expanding glue that directly resolves the issues.
However, glue can misalign, so I recommend wedges.

 

[eviljava]

I also had problems with an extremely squeaky staircase. The squeak was due to the wood of the riser rubbing against the tread (i.e., the same cause as your squeak?)

Since I couldn't access the staircase from underneath and had decided to paint the staircase, I drove in sturdy screws (like decking screws) through the tread and down into the riser. That fixed everything. Then I applied latex in the gaps between the tread and the riser, and finally, I filled and painted the staircase.

Now it's completely silent.

 

[Anna_H]

The board is usually there to prevent children from getting their heads between the steps.

 

[eviljava]

Yes, in an open staircase. In a "closed" staircase, it is mostly for aesthetic reasons. The riser can also have a stabilizing function.

 

[d_j]

I have repainted my staircase and since then the creaking has increased. Under each step, there's a longitudinal board which I guess is there to make the step more rigid. There's a slight movement between the board and the step when you step on it, which causes the sound. I would think the creaking will reduce once it gets "settled in," but it has always creaked, even before I repainted it.

The question is what should I do to eliminate the sound... Tighten the board harder (they're already pretty tight), glue it down (I assume there’s a reason why the board isn’t glued in place from the start)?

Any other ideas?

Grateful for any answers.

The board underneath is called a barnlist.
I think I've seen a thread before regarding creaking in the barnlist, I believe it's resolved by placing small plastic washers between the list and the step so the surfaces don't rub against each other. Can't find the thread but oh well

 

[eviljava]

Yes, if it is an open staircase, otherwise it is called sättsteg. http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A4ttsteg