Video by Skill Builder. This walk-through draws on the Skill Builder guide to stair repair — one of the clearer practical videos on the subject, with good close-ups of the tread-riser junction where most of the noise comes from. Worth watching before you pick up a drill.
1. Find exactly which step is squeaking
Walk up and down slowly, pressing each tread at the front, middle, and back. The squeak usually comes from one specific spot — the tread rubbing against the riser above it, or against the stringer on the side.
Mark the culprit with a piece of tape. If several steps creak, work through them one at a time rather than drilling everywhere at once.
2. Work out which side you can access
Stairs can be fixed from above or below. From below is often neater and easier if your staircase has an open underside or an accessible cupboard beneath. From above works fine too — you just need to decide whether carpet is coming up or not.
If the staircase is fully carpeted and you'd rather not lift it, there are specialist repair kits designed to work through the pile. They're worth knowing about.
3. Fixing from above: screw the tread down
With the carpet lifted (or on bare boards), drill two or three pilot holes at an angle through the front of the tread and into the riser below. Use 50–60 mm screws — long enough to bite properly but not so long they poke through the face of the riser.
Drive them in snugly, then fill the holes with matching wood filler. That said, if you're on bare oak or pine, take care with your filler colour — it's easy to make the repair obvious.
4. Fixing from above: use adhesive in the joint
If the tread has lifted slightly from the riser, a bead of wood adhesive or construction adhesive along the joint can silence it without any screws at all. Work it into the gap, press the tread down, and weight it overnight if you can.
Some people combine screws and adhesive for a belt-and-braces fix. No harm in that.
5. Fixing through carpet with a repair kit
Through-the-carpet repair kits use a pilot bit to drive a screw through the pile, then the head snaps off flush below the carpet surface. The carpet hides the repair entirely. They work well on solid-timber treads and reasonable-quality carpet — less reliable on very thick pile or loose-lay flooring.
Follow the kit instructions carefully. The snapping mechanism only works cleanly if the screw is driven to exactly the right depth.
6. Fixing from below: glue and block
If you can get underneath, this is often the most effective approach. Squirt wood adhesive into the tread-riser junction and press a triangular wooden block into the corner, screwing up into the tread and forward into the riser.
Use at least two blocks per step — one each end — and clamp or prop them while the adhesive sets. Mind you, the underside of some stairs is very cramped. Head torch and patience required.
7. Check the balusters and newel post
Sometimes the noise isn't the tread at all — it's a loose baluster rocking in its housing. Give each one a gentle push. A loose baluster can usually be re-glued or pinned back in place with a fine nail. The newel post is rarer but worth a check; if it rocks at the base, that's a bigger job.
When to call a handyman
Call Richard if the tread has cracked rather than just shifted, if there's visible rot or damp in the stringer, or if the whole staircase feels unstable underfoot. Those are structural issues rather than a creaky-tread repair. Similarly, if it's a listed building or the staircase has heritage joinery, get a specialist look before drilling.
Need squeaky stairs sorted?
The Sandwich Handyman can track down the creak, fix it cleanly, and leave the carpet or boards looking as they found them.
Contact Richard