Hardwood Floor Cleaning in Prosperity, SC
We get asked about squeaks on nearly every old house we visit, and the honest answer is that cleaning a floor has never quieted one and never will.
It is a reasonable thing to hope. The floor makes a noise, somebody is coming to work on the floor, and it would be nice if the two things met.
They do not, and it is worth explaining properly instead of just saying no, because knowing what causes a squeak tells you who to call and roughly what it should cost.
Older Prosperity houses squeak more than most, and there are three separate reasons for it.
Reason One: The Nail
A floor board is nailed to a joist. Over decades the wood shrinks slightly and the hole around the nail shaft enlarges. Now the board moves a fraction of a millimeter when you step on it and the nail shaft rubs the inside of its hole. That rubbing is the squeak. It happens in the same spot every time because it is one specific fastener.
Reason Two: Board on Board
Where two boards meet along a tongue and groove joint, a gap can open up between them as the wood dries. Step across the joint and one board drops onto the other and rubs. This one moves around with the seasons, which is why some squeaks disappear in August and come back at Christmas.
Reason Three: The Structure
A joist that has dried and pulled away from the subfloor, a shim that fell out, or a support post that has settled. This is the one worth taking seriously, especially if the squeak is new, is accompanied by a soft or bouncy feel, or is near an exterior wall. That is a builder or a foundation contractor, not a flooring conversation.
What We Actually Change
How the floor looks and how it feels underfoot, which on an old house with a lot of accumulated product is a substantial difference. If anything, a genuinely clean, coated floor sometimes sounds slightly different because you are noticing the room again. The squeak itself will be exactly where you left it, and we would rather set that expectation now.
Not sure whether your floor needs cleaning or refinishing? There are three tests you can run yourself in about a minute, and they will tell you which one you are dealing with before anyone quotes you.
Hardwood problems we handle in Prosperity
If the squeak is the main thing bothering you, spend the money on the right trade first. If the floor also looks tired, that part is ours.
803-310-3848 or the website. First cleaning is $50 off.
Areas we cover around Prosperity
Neighborhoods: Prosperity, Newberry area
Zip codes: 29127
Hardwood questions from Prosperity homeowners
Someone told me talcum powder in the seams fixes it.
It sometimes quiets a board-on-board squeak for a few weeks and then it stops working, and now there is powder in your seams that has to come out before anything gets coated. We would not.
Can screws from below fix it?
From an accessible crawlspace, yes, and it is the proper repair for a nail squeak. Somebody who does this regularly can silence a lot of an old floor in an afternoon. That is a genuinely worthwhile trade to hire.
Is a squeaky floor a sign the floor is failing?
Usually not, and old houses squeak as a matter of course. New squeaks, spreading squeaks, or squeaks with give underfoot are the ones worth investigating.
Do you go into the crawlspace as part of the job?
We look if there is easy access, because moisture under the house explains a lot of what happens on top of it. We do not do repairs down there.
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Schedule your Prosperity hardwood floor cleaning
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