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I just bought an old house that was build in the 1950s. The house has hardwood flooring all over the house. The hardwood floor squeaks everywhere, not in just a specific spot or area. I noticed that is mostly the boards rubbing against each other seems to be what is causing the squeaks. In some areas you just push the wood with your hand and you see the plank moving. I tried using the Squeak No Moreeee kit. But I stopped, since I would have to screw down every single board. I tried putting baby powder and all that. Nothing has worked.

My plan was to fix the squeaks and then put LVP on top, since this area of the house is going to be rented out.

A lot of people told me not to remove the hardwood floors because it gives value to the house, but I think to myself, who wants a house with these hardwood floor squeaking (besides me, since I'm thinking as an investment property).

My question is: Is there a way to fix the squeaks on the floor and put LVP on top, or is my only option to remove the hardwood floor and put the LVP in the subfloor with underlayment?

Other notes:

  1. The floor is on the first floor. I plan to live in the basement.
  2. The basement is finished. I don't have access from below.
  3. The wood itself looks nice and shiny, it just squeaks like crazy.
  4. I'm not sure if the wood is moving because of an uneven subfloor, maybe?
  5. I don't know anything about flooring, its my first house, been living in it for a week and I have never put down any flooring. But hey, that's how you learn.

Here's the floor I currently have and the LVP that I want to add:

Here's the floor I currently have and the LVP that I want to add.

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    The existing floor has some gaps but looks like a quality floor. Live in the house for a year before you do anything. Describe the nature of the floor joists and beams. Is this a pier and beam with a crawl space? How many stories?
    – Jim Stewart
    Mar 16, 2021 at 23:15
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    Think fixing squeaks might require removing hardwood floor or basement ceiling, both probably not what you want. Do agree that hardwood adds to a home, but removing it carefully takes time. Not much use just placing another floor on top, hardwood will still squeak, maybe not as much.
    – crip659
    Mar 16, 2021 at 23:31
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    Would you say the house seems to be on the dry side, very low humidity? Adding humidity might help some, before doing something you can't undo.
    – crip659
    Mar 16, 2021 at 23:52
  • I removed the 1st, opinion based question. This isn't a standard discussion forum, asking "what do you think" is explicitly off topic. The rest of the question is just fine. If you'll take a minute or two to take the tour you'll learn more about how this site works and what's on-topic and what's off-topic.
    – FreeMan
    Mar 17, 2021 at 11:02
  • Hi all, as an update, I tried something new that might be crazy, I just bought a very thick plywood and throw it on top of the hardwood floors to then put the LVP and the squeaks minimized by a lot! obviously the weight of the plywood avoids the individual wood planks to move and squeak. I saw someone doing something similar (on top of carpet). This could be a solution for me, the squeaks are not noticeable. Now my question is, is this safe? structurally? I know it will put the floor higher, but is better than the squeaks.
    – vicgonzalez25
    Mar 19, 2021 at 22:43

1 Answer 1

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Pull it. You can probably remove it easily enough that it comes up undamaged for the most part. Save it if you want / put it on CL someone will take it off your hands. Material wise that stuff is $3.50 a sq ft new it is only 1/4" thick and yours has probably been refinished in the last 70 years, probably has some dents and not as thick as it was previously.

If you remove it you'll be able to address any issues with the subfloor. When you pull it you'll likely find that your floor is diagonal laid solid wood. Use screws to make sure the subfloor is well fastened to the joists. Run a straight edge around the room and build up any dips (SLC, wood, etc). Make sure there aren't any squeaks - if you are living in the basement you'll hear everything.

If the subfloor looks dicey pull it and you can put roxul insulation into the joist bays to give yourself better sound protection. Put back 5/8 or 3/4 tng plywood. Put a radio on loud and go into the basement to see what you'll need to tolerate. I'd also get some friends to do some running like children do upstairs while you are down so you get an idea. I have 2" concrete, 3/4 subfloor, spray foam, roxul and 5/8" drywall - I can hear that conversations occur I can't make out the words unless people scream or are really loud. Music is pretty dulled, I think it comes out through their windows and back in mind easier than through the floor.

If you need wiring updated in the basement this can be a good time to access the portion in the lights without ripping out your ceiling.

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