183 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
183 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
property
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propertyadvice
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jeffhowell
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7810990
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# Home improvements: how to fix creaking stairs
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## Jeff Howell gives on-the-level advice and answers your DIY questions. This
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week: creaking stairs.
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![How to fix creaking stairs][1]
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Creaking stairs Photo: ALAMY; JEFF HOWELL
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By Jeff Howell 3:30PM BST 08 Jun 2010
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[Comments][2]
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**Q** How can I stop creaking stairs? Our house was built in 1973, and the
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stairs make an infernal noise whenever we go up or down. I have tried using
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silicone filler on the advice of a friend and have also tried putting screws
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between the horizontal and vertical parts, to no avail. The next thing, I
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suppose, is changing the stairs for concrete blocks! Any ideas? **RP, Paris **
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**A** The creaking is caused by one piece of timber rubbing against another.
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**[Creaking floorboards][3]** are relatively easy to fix (although not if they
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are chipboard, unfortunately) because it is straightforward to pinpoint the
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creaking area and secure the rubbing boards at that point.
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## Related Articles
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* [How to fix creaking floorboards][4]
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13 Apr 2010
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* [Home improvements: builders' trade associations][5]
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02 Jun 2010
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* [Home improvements: heating system powerflush][6]
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25 May 2010
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* [Home improvements: water tanks][7]
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19 May 2010
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* [Venting a bathroom extractor][8]
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07 Apr 2010
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* [How to keep a garage watertight][9]
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20 Apr 2010
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Staircases are more problematic, because each tread is housed in a string at
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each end (secured with timber wedges) and abutted by two risers, above and
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below it. So the friction that causes the creaking might occur anywhere around
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the four edges of the tread, or where the end wedges have worked loose, or
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even where the glue blocks between the tread and risers have come away, and
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are rubbing up and down.
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If you can access the staircase from below (for example in an under-stairs
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cupboard), then it is relatively easy to glue the wedges and tap them home,
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and screw the glue blocks tightly in place. But many staircases are plastered
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across their undersides and, of course, unlike a floorboard, you cannot lift a
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tread to investigate from the top.
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So it is a question of doing what you can from above to secure the moving
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elements, perhaps by screwing at an angle up through a riser to fix it to the
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tread above, or by using flat steel corner braces to fix a riser to the tread
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below. And whichever fixing method you use, squirt plenty of wood glue into
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any gaps before you screw them shut.
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If it's any consolation, although your staircase might sometimes sound as
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though it is creaking all over, it's probably only one or two treads that are
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causing all the noise, so if you identify and fix these, the problem might not
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be as bad as you feared.
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**SUNDAY MORNING JOB **Check the battery in your smoke alarm.
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A smoke alarm is such a cheap and simple device, and yet a proven life saver.
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But it won't work if the battery is dead, or if someone removed it to put it
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in the TV remote control. So just press the test button now, to check. If you
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don't have a smoke alarm, then go out and buy one today. Get one with a
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10-year life if you can afford it - they cost about £12 - and even the most
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challenged DIYer should be capable of screwing a smoke alarm to the ceiling.
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**Send your questions to** **[Jeff Howell][10]** at Life, The Sunday
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Telegraph, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT or email
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[askjeff@telegraph.co.uk][11]
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[X][12] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][13]
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* Share: [Share][12] [ ][14] [ ][15]
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[Tweet][16]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/propertyadvice/jeffhowell/7810990/Home-
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improvements-how-to-fix-creaking-stairs.html
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Telegraph
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## [Jeff Howell][10]
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* ### [Lifestyle »][17]
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* ### [Property »][18]
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* ### [Property Advice »][19]
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* ### [Renovating and DIY »][20]
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In property
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[![Silver birch is unlikely to cause damage to a nearby building][21] ][22]
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### [Home improvements: Could my neighbour's trees damage my house?][22]
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[![DIY skills learned from dad, such as carpentry, are in sharp decline partly
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because of advances in technology
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][23] ][24]
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### [DIY: Are dad skills obsolete?][24]
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[![Jeff Howell][25] ][26]
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### [Home improvements: Do I need to replace my locks?][26]
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[X][12] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][13]
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Share:
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* [ ][12]
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* [ ][14]
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* [ ][15]
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* [Tweet][16]
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* Advertisement
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![][27]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][28] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][29]
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