Updated
Creaking Or Squeaky Stairs
One or two treads announce themselves every time anyone uses the stairs.
Find a carpenter
What's happening?
A staircase creaks when two pieces of timber that should be locked together move against each other under load. In a traditional cut-string stair, the tread sits in a housing in the string and is held down by wedges and glue blocks underneath, with the riser tongued into the tread. When the glue lets go, a wedge shrinks or a block falls off, the tread is free to flex a millimetre and rub on the riser or the string — and that rub is the noise. This is why creaks are almost always fixable from underneath, and why fixing from above by screwing through the tread treats the symptom while leaving the loose wedge loose.
What usually causes it?
- Glue blocks under the tread-to-riser joint dried out and dropped off
- String wedges shrunk or loosened, letting the tread lift in its housing
- Tread-to-riser tongue joint opened up, so the two rub under load
- Nails working loose where treads were nailed rather than housed and wedged
- Timber shrinkage across the whole stair after years of central heating
- Newel post or string no longer tight against the trimmer, letting the whole flight flex
- Previous carpet or nosing fixings pulling the tread out of line
Is it dangerous?
A creak on its own is not dangerous — it is a noise, and plenty of sound Victorian stairs have always made it. What matters is whether the creak comes with movement you can feel: a tread that deflects visibly, a nosing that lifts, or a whole flight that shifts sideways when you lean on the handrail. That is a loose stair, not a noisy one, and it needs looking at properly. Approved Document K sets the geometry a private stair should have — rise 150–220mm, going 220–300mm, pitch no more than 42° and 2m headroom — and a flight that has been altered or patched should still meet it.
Can I fix it myself?
Sometimes, if the underside is open — a cellar stair or a flight with no plasterboard soffit. Have someone walk the stair while you watch from below and mark exactly which joint moves. Refit or add hardwood glue blocks into the internal corner between tread and riser, and drive new wedges alongside shrunken ones with glue. If the underside is closed in, working from above means lifting the covering and screwing the tread down into the riser, countersunk and plugged — effective, but only if you hit the riser and not the gap beside it.
When should you call a carpenter?
Call a carpenter if the underside is plastered and you would rather not open it up, if a tread flexes or the nosing lifts under load, if the flight moves as a whole, or if the stair has been altered at some point and you are not sure it is still put together properly. A creak on a stair with loose or missing balustrade parts should be dealt with together, since both are the same flight.
What will the carpenter actually do?
- Load-test the flight tread by tread with someone below to find the joint that is actually moving
- Refit or renew hardwood glue blocks in the tread-to-riser angle and re-wedge the string housings
- Screw and plug loose treads into the risers from above where the soffit is closed in
- Check the strings, newels and trimmer connections and re-fix where the flight itself is moving
- Replace a split or badly worn tread and reinstate the nosing
- Confirm the flight still meets the rise, going, pitch and headroom guidance in Approved Document K after any repair
Frequently asked questions
We’re happy to answer all your questions.
Need a carpenter?
Compare local carpenters on Tradehand — coverage areas, accreditations and phone numbers, no middleman.