Creaking deck after water seal?

Frustrated
by Frustrated

We just used Thompson water seal on our 3 yrs old deck it is now creaking like crazy. Is there a solution for how to fix squeaky floors on a deck?


  13 answers
  • Dee Dee on Aug 23, 2020

    Nails in wood decking contract at a different rate than the surrounding wood, which causes it to suddenly slip and produce a sound. The cracking or popping noise can also be the result of trapped moisture between the deck boards and the joists beneath. the reason? when water freezes, it expands

    Sprinkle lock lubricant, talcum powder, or powdered graphite into the joints between the floorboards. Then place a cloth over the boards and walk back and forth to work the powdery lubricant down into the cracks. This will reduce wood-on-wood friction between the planks and silence small squeaks.

  • Ken Erickson Ken Erickson on Aug 23, 2020

    Ensure there are still gaps between boards. You may have to drive in more screws if there are now gaps between decking and joists cause by wood movement.

  • Kathy Gunter Law Kathy Gunter Law on Aug 23, 2020

    Underneath where the supports are and add shims between the joist and under side of boards.

  • Johnavallance82 Johnavallance82 on Aug 24, 2020

    Hi there,

    Like a pair of new leather shoes, might need to wear in a bit.

  • Maura White Maura White on Aug 24, 2020

    I agree that since the creaks came on suddenly, that the more you use it and walk on it, that some of the creaks will go away. Sounds like some of the sealer is in the cracks that is causing friction which is causing the creaking. The more the boards are walked on, the sealer will wear off in those places, hopefully making them quiet again.

  • Cindy Cindy on Aug 24, 2020

    Hello Frustrated. I've heard of this before but it was always inside the home where the floor boards are making creaking noises. Those instances were remedied by sprinkling baby powder in between the boards.

  • Douglas Douglas on Jun 23, 2022

    Yes !..i used Ready Seal stain on an old deck ..darker brown color & a good brand of stain.

    But 2-3 weeks later my deck began really squeaking everywhere!..we laugh now because so noisy !!..sun& shade areas affected..it is a hot june in Ky..

    Wondering if maybe boards actually lost moisture after sealed?...

    Hope it wears off as discussed above..

  • Angela Angela on Jul 03, 2023

    Douglas,

    we used the same Ready Seal. Our deck is annoyingly creaky. Did yours stop creaking?

  • Mogie Mogie on Jul 03, 2023

    Tighten Above Deck

    If your boards are screwed in or nailed down, add an extra screw or nail at the location of the squeak to hold the board securely to the joist below and prevent it from rubbing up against other boards and squeaking. If your deck has covered or caulked nail or screw holes, cover your additional fasteners up to match the rest. Use a smooth-headed hammer when driving in nails to prevent hammer indentations in your wood.

    Tighten Below Deck

    If you have easy access to the underside of your deck, you might consider screwing the joist underneath into the deck board above. Use a screw long enough to go at least one-half inch up into the plank. Be careful that the screw isn’t so long that it sticks up through the top side of your decking board, though. Ouch!

    Use Joist Brackets

    Joist brackets are specialized hardware that attach simultaneously to the side of the joists and the underside of the deck board. Once again, this is an option for those with easy access to the underside of their deck. Choose a bracket size based on the width and thickness of your joist board.

    A great thing about this option is that, over time, you can tighten up the boards little by little as your deck ages. A possible downside is that the typical homeowner may not have access to the tools necessary to easily drive the necessary nails or screws into every hole in the bracket, and it could be a lot of work to do so by hand.

    As with using any type of screw from below deck, be sure that the screw has the shear strength needed for decking and is long enough to get a good grip into the wood above it but not long enough to stick up into the walking surface of your deck.

    Shim It

    Use pieces of wood (called shims) and glue to put an end to creaky boards. The shim will fill in the gap where wood is creaky (like between the deck and joist or between planks), while the glue gives the shim more grip and padding.

    Shims vary in size, so you can customize them to your needs and use them anywhere along the length of a board should one board need adjustment in several places. Driving a finishing nail into the shim will give it more staying power.

    Bond the Cracks

    Creaks resulting from cracked wood can be mended by bonding the two sides of the crack back together. Use an epoxy-based wood binder as regular wood glue isn’t strong enough. Then, shim both sides of the plank to push the gap closer together as the epoxy dries.

  • You may need shims where the boards meet the joists.