The Final Word On How To Fix Squeaky Floors - Screws That Squeak No More

Trying to figure out how to fix squeaky floors have plagued me for a very long time. Ten+ years ago we began lovingly remodeling a farmhouse that was built in 1916. One of the biggest headaches that we’ve had to deal with is the squeaky, creaky floors. Over the years, we’ve tried to address the squeaky floorboards quite a few different ways. We’ve tried it all; baby powder, graphite powder, shims between the joists and the sub-floor; nothing worked as efficiently as we’d hoped. After tons of research online, talking with flooring contractors, and testing out every method anyone threw our direction, we opted to solve the entire problem by removing the majority of the hardwood flooring in our old home, laying new subfloor, and RE-LAYING the salvaged flooring. **NOTE** This is NOT how to stop your squeaky floor problems!! (Be patient, I'm getting to the important part.) Certainly this solved the problem, but this was a ton of work, not to mention the expense of having a flooring crew come in and re-sand and refinish all of the floors after we reinstalled them. We were finally down to one floor left that hadn’t been removed, repaired, and reinstalled…the living room – yep, one of the most important rooms in the house. We were dreading going through the entire process again. In a frantic attempt to avoid the labor, aching knees, and huge expense, I researched some MORE. That final research, and the amazingly simple results, culminates in this Hubpage.

I found the answer to squeaky floor repair that is neither time consuming nor expensive! I hope to save you the frustration that we’ve dealt with for so long by sharing my results. It is my mission to share with the rest of you, who have been seeking squeak relief answers within your own home, this embarrassingly simple and affordable answer to fixing any type of squeaky floor! Seriously, whether you've got hardwood, linoleum, or carpet; here's the answer you've been looking for.

Counter-Snap screws and the Squeeeeek No More system; these simple little screws are the amazing answer to all of your frustrations in addressing the annoying squeaks that you’ve tried to eliminate from your flooring. Available for around $10.00 - $20.00 (depending on your flooring type) for a box of 50 screws, the square head drill bit, and the handy little counter-snap gadget that holds the screw in place and snaps off the head, this is the deal of the century compared to the amount of time we’ve all wasted and the expense we've incurred trying to repair squeaky floor issues.

The logic behind the design of these screws is that squeaks occur in two different places; at the joist and between the joists. Each location requires a separate type of screw. The appropriate screw is drilled through the flooring and then the head snaps away from the shank at approximately ¼” below the surface of the flooring.

The beauty here is that the flooring squeak is easily repaired but there is no large screw head marring your finish. The remaining tiny hole is then filled with wood filler that matches your flooring and is barely noticeable! This system is definitely the answer to your squeaky hardwood floor dilemmas.

Tips in Preparation to Fix Squeaky Hardwood Floors

When I was preparing to buy these particular screws to give them a try, I ended up at a site that I had to pay a little more than necessary, not realizing they would be so much cheaper elsewhere. I’ve included information in this hub on where to buy them the most affordably.

While researching these screws to determine whether I should give them a try, I learned some valuable tips that will save you trouble before you even get started. Once I purchased the screws, I learned quite a bit more regarding how the system works and how best to eliminate each squeak individually. Please take a few moments to read up on our experience and you’ll be rid of your problems, within hours of your shipment being delivered to your door, with the least amount of difficulty.

When purchasing the screw kits, you must be very careful to understand which screws to buy for which problem you are addressing. There are a couple of different kits and tools available, depending on which type of flooring you are working with. Following is a breakdown with the information you will need to insure that you order exactly what you need for your specific floor squeaks.

This is going to be a very detailed, lengthy review but I think you’ll be glad that I took the time to share this with you. Within a 4-5 hours of beginning application of the counter-snap screws I was dancing like a drunken sailor across the QUIET living room floor! (My husband was a bit embarrassed, but secretly proud with a job well-done, by my pure joy in something as simple as bouncing and twirling across our QUIET flooring) I am so relieved and grateful that we finally found “the cure” to our squeaky floorboard nightmare that I can’t say enough good things about this product. The expense was minimal, the process simple, and the results were outstanding!

So, let's get down to it. First, you'll need to be aware of the different choices for each type of flooring.

These first two items relate specifically to hardwood flooring squeaks. There are two hardwood flooring squeak no more kits that are specifically for hardwood floors; one for locating screws at the joist and one for locating screws between the joists. The two are not interchangeable. 

This is the Counter-Snap hardwood flooring AT THE JOIST kit - these are the screws you will need for securing your flooring at the joist. The kit comes with 50 joist screws, the counter-snap fixture (which is the guide you insert the screw through to enable the screw to snap off at the correct level), and a #2 square head drive bit for your drill.

The joist screw is designed for attaching flooring/subfloor to the joist. This screw has an inch of thread just below the head (to grab the flooring), then 1-1/2” with no thread (to pass through the subfloor), then another 1” of thread (to grab the joist). This design enables the top flooring to be gripped and pulled to the joist while sandwiching the subfloor in between. By using this method, the flooring is effectively pulled tight to the joist, eliminating the movement that was causing the squeak.

The majority of squeaks we dealt with in our home were located where the plank subfloor meets the joist. Many of the planks cupped from yearly moisture changes and created a gap at each edge of the 1” x 4” subfloor plank where the plank rests on the joist. This gap ranged from 1/16” to ¼”, not a large gap but amazingly squeaky. As you walk across the floor and your weight causes that gap to close, the flooring moves up and down enough to create squeaks as the wood moves against the old nailing. Eliminating this gap by screwing the flooring tight to the joists solved the problem.

This is the Counter-Snap hardwood floor screw kit for BETWEEN THE JOISTS. The threads are positioned throughout the entire screw to bind the hardwood floor to the subfloor. There is no center gap between the threads as there are in the screws designed for AT THE JOIST use. These screws have thread evenly spaced throughout the length of the screw because they are not being used to sandwich the subflooring between the flooring and the joist, these ones are for securing the flooring to the subfloor.  This is an important factor in your selection of the correct screw.

The next two kits are NOT for hardwood floors.  One is for linoleum flooring squeaks and the other is for squeaky floors under carpet.  Each has it's particular use and should not be used interchangeably.

The Counter-Snap Linoleum Floor Squeak Screws are interchangeable with the hardwood flooring "at the joist" screws. Linoleum flooring squeaks occur at the joist.  After eliminating the squeak and breaking off the head of the screw, the tiny hole where the linoleum was separated during the initial drilling process can be tapped back down into place with a gentle tap of the hammer and you will hardly notice the disturbance.  Small price to pay to eliminate the squeak so easily!

Squeeeeek No More is the brand name for the screw kit that is used specifically for eliminating flooring squeaks that are underneath carpeting. This kit allows you to stop the squeaks in your floor without having to pull back the carpet. These screws also break off 1/4" below the surface of the floor so that you don't have anything sticking up.