You’ve finally got the house you wanted and the parquet you’ve always desired: yet you wonder what those strange squeaks and creaks are that you occasionally hear when stepping on the boards.

Well, if the parquet is old, it is possible that they are the result of expansion and the natural changes of wood over time. As mentioned before, wooden flooring is a surface made of living material and therefore subject to changes. Moreover, in the past installation techniques were different: parquet was installed on a sand base or nailed to a substructure of battens, and the boards were not fixed to each other with specific joints.

The pressure of footsteps makes them move and, therefore, creak.

When parquet creaks

But leaving behind old wooden floors, we see that even new generation parquet can make slight creaking sounds even if you’re not walking on it. The cause of the creaking could still be the expansion of the wood, in the presence of an inadequate humidity level, or the installation method used.

In the latter case, the causes could be installation without the insertion of expansion joints or overlapping an existing floor that is not stable and level enough. Generally, floating installation does not produce too much creaking, but sometimes it can still occur.

Floating parquet

Modern and generally more economical in terms of labor, floating parquet can become creaky when the boards are acclimating, settling, and adapting to the new environment or when the necessary supports show some irregularity.

The advice, for installers or for you, if you prefer to proceed independently, is to lay the parquet on a surface as stable and dry as possible.

Very helpful, although not decisive, are insulating underlays. Prevention is better than cure, so attention must be paid to the preparation phase of the installation. In particular, watch out for the subfloor, which must be in good condition and stable.

Wood flooring requires the right amount of glue

Other details you should carefully observe, if your choice is glued installation, are the correct ambient humidity and the glue, which must be applied in a layer not too thick, to avoid it drying out and detaching, causing possible creaks.

This can apply to any type of parquet and all installation methods. If you choose a floating multilayer parquet, available in the Woodco collection, you will have a floor with a superior sound absorption capacity. As for the aforementioned soundproof underlay, if it is of good quality, it can minimize any footstep noise, as well as combat humidity.