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Archive for August, 2011

“Why do my old stairs squeak?” The simple answer to that question that you’re most likely to hear is “because they’re old” but that”s not really fair to the old staircase. It has probably done it’s job faithfully and well for a number of years (or decades) – especially considering the number of times it has transported people (and their stuff) from one level to another. It (probably) didn’t squeak when it was installed, and it (probably) was pretty well-built, No guarantees on either of those, but let’s assume.

So why did it start squeaking? Can it be fixed, or does it have to be replaced to remedy that awful noise?

Well firstly, a squeak is caused because something is moving. When it moves, if it rubs on something else it makes a squeak (just like two tree branches rubbing together in the wind).

The whole staircase assembly is held together and the pieces locked in place by wedges and glue. There are some screws and staples involved, but their main reason for being there is to hold everything tight until the glue dries. After that, well they don’t hurt and they do help a little, but it’s the glue that keeps everything tight and stops them from moving.

Old style glue was pretty good for its day and for the most part held up pretty well but it pales in comparison to modern, scientifically formulated glues. These modern day glues are actually stronger than the wood we use them on and nowadays it’s pretty rare for the glue to fail.

This is however not an unheard of situation, especially if someone lets go of a heavy freezer at the top and lets it thump down the stairs (or if your overweight relatives decide to jump up and down on the staircase). Either of these scenarios or even just day to day (or year to year) use can break something loose, or possibly even crack something. And once it’s loose, it can move, and if it moves it will probably squeak.

So the way to fix the problem is to find out what’s moving and then figure out a way to stop it from moving. It really is as simple as that.

So now – Staircases 101; the 3 main types of pieces are the STRINGERS, the TREADS, and the RISERS.

The stringers are the long boards on each side that hold everything up. The treads are the boards that you actually put your foot down on. The risers are the up and down boards that fill up the space at the back of the treads (the ones you could kick with your toe). If any of these pieces is cracked or broken that would be an obvious problem but it’s uncommon.

Another possible problem is that if the stringers flex or move up and down when you walk on the stairs, they will probably rub on the wall and make a squeak. This can sometimes be remedied by driving long wood screws through the stringers and into the wall studs (or install supports) to stop the stringers from moving.

Wedges are used to lock the treads and risers into the stringers. They are coated with glue and driven into place with a hammer. It is possible for them to loosen up somehow but they usually stay put pretty well (anybody remember hugging the wall in the middle of the night because the stairs don’t squeak as much close to the edge?). Loose wedges can be recoated with good quality carpenter’s glue and tapped back in with a hammer (just don’t overdo it on the wedge – driving). Wedges aren’t usually the problem though.

A more likely cause is that the bottom edge of the riser is glued (and stapled or screwed) to the back of the tread and if this glue joint fails, the back of the tread will rub against the riser and that’ll cause a pretty good squeak. To remedy this one you need to somehow pull the riser far enough away from the tread to get some glue between them and then fasten them back together tightly with some wood screws.

But the most likely, number one cause of a squeaky step is – faulty squeak blocks. These very important pieces join the top of the riser to the bottom of the tread above it. They are usually a triangular shaped piece of wood that fit into that spot (seen from underneath) where the tread sits on top of the riser. They are glued to the tread and the riser to lock them together and keep them from moving independently from each other. As their name suggests, their main purpose is to stop the step from squeaking. If the glue joint breaks here (usually away from the riser), then every time you step on or off the tread, the riser, squeak block and tread will rub together as the tread flexes up and down and there’s your squeak. Some stair builders will use several tiny, or one short block and these are unfortunately prone to failure. A good stair builder will use squeak blocks that cover at least 50% of the space between the stringers (and so should you) – to ensure a positive lock between the tread and riser.

To fix this one the squeak blocks will have to come off. Clean up any glue or bits of wood left behind that will be in the way. Coat the 2 sides of your new squeak blocks that will be in contact with the stairs with a liberal amount of good quality wood glue (or even framing adhesive). Now push it into place and then attach it to the underside of the tread in such a way that it is firmly in contact with both the tread and the riser. Once the glue dries, these pieces will be solidly attached back together and the problem should be solved. And just in case I have to say it, be sure to use the appropriate size of fastener here, as the last thing you want is a screw sticking up through the top of the tread (this kind of thing tends to diminish your hero status). On older stairs you should also pre-drill before installing screws to keep from cracking anything.

Deciding to renovate your home is a big decision, and can be an expensive one depending on the type of renovation to be done. As with many walks of life, home renovations can generally be divided into those that we need, and those that we want. In life, we need air to breathe, but we want chocolate gâteau to eat. Sure, we could choose the chocolate gâteau in favour of the air, but we’ll soon start to regret it. And so it goes, albeit on a less life-critical scale, for home renovations.

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the verb “to renovate” has two meanings:

1. to restore to a former better state (as by cleaning, repairing, or rebuilding)

2. to restore to life, vigor, or activity: revive

They are slightly, almost imperceptibly, different – and one definition is generally much more important than the other for the homeowner when considering how to spend their hard-earned renovation budget.

We often think of a home renovation as something which brightens up our living space, gives us more room, or makes us more comfortable. Consider an addition, or a fresh coat of paint, or a new bathroom. These renovations fall squarely into definition number two. They are restoring life to our home, and have the ‘wow’ factor which we love to share with our friends and family. These renovations also tend to add value to the price of a house, and people will talk about the return on investment that goes with them i.e. what the cost of the renovation is compared to the increase in price if the house were to be sold.

However, there is sometimes a far more important home renovation to be considered, and that, unfortunately, falls into definition number one. It is the maintenance renovation, the “restore to a former better state” renovation, the boring renovation – and the ratio of financial cost to “wow” factor absolutely stinks. This type of renovation includes things like a new roof, foundation repairs, pointing, insulation, and wiring – normally renovations you can’t see – and are generally the top priority of any home owner, no matter what situation they are in.

Take the case where the home-owner is happy in their home and they want to stay there to raise a family – they love the community spirit of the neighbourhood, it’s close to work, and there are ample facilities nearby. What is more important long-term? Stopping the basement from leaking, or getting a new kitchen? The answer should be obvious of course – renovating (restoring to a former better state) the basement is not only a necessary preventative measure from potentially significant damage to the house, but is also a requirement for peace of mind.

What about when the home-owner is trying to sell their house? It is well-known that a new kitchen has the best return on investment and can boost the value of a house significantly. It may be tempting to renovate this little profit maker first to get more money and to make the house more attractive, but there is a downfall – if there are any outstanding structural or major maintenance issues, the potential buyer, if they have any common sense, will find them when they have a structural survey performed. Depending on what the issue is, there could be one of several outcomes: a request for a reduction in price, a request for the work to be completed and re-inspected at the homeowner’s expense, or, as is quite often the case, a permanent retraction of the offer. It’s a hard pill to swallow for the seller, because typically a realtor’s price evaluation of their house has not taken into account the cost of this additional work, and yet by having the work done, there seems to be no benefit in terms of increasing the house value. In fact, of course, there is – it’s just that the evaluation was too high in the first place.

That said, there are always house buyers who will not do the proper ground work, so the required maintenance renovations are missed when the home is purchased. The seller, if they knew about the issue (as they often do), has gambled and “gotten away with one”, and the buyer has foolishly taken on someone else’s problems for the sake of the cost of a structural survey. A note to potential buyers: always, always, get a full structural survey done unless you are an expert yourself in such matters because the short-term additional cost will be far less painful than finding significant issues and having to deal with the associated heart-ache (and anger) after the purchase is complete.

So how does the average homeowner know if there are maintenance renovations that require attention? There are a few ways to find out, and sticking your head in the sand is not an option. That would be akin to not going for a regular check-up at the doctor or dentist – if no-one tells you there’s a problem, then there is no problem, right? Wrong.

The first thing to do is to call upon your gut instinct. You probably have a suspicion if the electrics might be an issue (there’s a spark when you plug appliances in, for example), or if there’s damp in the basement, or if the attic insulation is insufficient; after all, you’re the one who lives there. Take a look around the outside of the house for any signs of worsening damage – are cracks bigger than you remember them? Does the roof look patchy? Do you have an effective water management system – one that drains run-off water away from the house foundations?

Back this up by pulling out the home inspection that you had done when you first bought the home and going over it again (after you’ve blown off the dust). Make a list of the possible issues and prioritize them into those that are urgently needed and those you can live with. A very basic risk assessment would look at each item and give it a score of high, medium or low for the two categories of likelihood and consequence. Those that come out high-high, high-medium or medium-high are the most urgent and should be dealt with first.

The next step is to confirm your suspicions. It may be that you don’t need to do this if the problem is obvious – for example, if every time it rains you have a bath because the bath fills up from a leak in the ceiling, (a high-high issue in most people’s books), a call to a roofer sooner rather than later would be in order. On the other hand, there might be issues which you are unsure of such as visible cracks in the brickwork possibly due to a sinking foundation. This would rate in the medium-high category where the likelihood is unknown but has some supporting evidence (the cracks), and the consequence is financially significant (the house falling down). In a case such as this, or whatever your case might be where you are unsure of the cause of an effect, it’s time to consult with others. You may consider talking with family or friends who may have had similar issues, but this tends to leave more doubt as people’s natural reaction is to guess and err on the negative side. It is much better to talk to an expert in the field you are concerned with – if it’s the roof, talk to a roofer; the brickwork, talk to a stonemason; an electrical issue, an electrician. Go about the process as if you were intending to get have the work done (you may well have to) – get three quotes and therefore three separate opinions, and ask lots of questions. It may turn out that the cracks in the brickwork are merely superficial and become a high-low case, that is, the cracks are definitely there, but will cause no further problems. The low significance cases, regardless of the likelihood, are generally aesthetic and can be resolved at any future time you wish. As for low likelihood cases, they should, in general, not make it to your list.

A note about the risk assessment: if there is an effect you are observing you will have to think about all the possible causes and rate them accordingly. For example, a stain on the ceiling could be due a leaky roof, but it could also be due to a leaky pipe. Be sensible though (you have to stop somewhere) – it could also be spilled tea from a squirrel tea party, but it is quite unlikely.

If it turns out that there is a significant issue, don’t panic. Work on a plan and a time-frame to get it done. Talk to the contractor you choose to find out if the situation is extremely urgent or can be sat on for a couple of months or even a year or so. Understand that the money you are spending is buying you peace of mind and saving you long-term financial heartache, and know that there’s always time to have your gâteau once you’re certain you’re breathing properly.