Q&A: Squeakless Floors

A.The best way to avoid floor squeaks is to follow these four steps:

• Use dry lumber for the joists.
• Use a tongue-and-groove subfloor.
• Use a mastic-type construction adhesive, such as PL-200, between the joists and the subfloor, and on the tongued edges of the subfloor.
• Nail any underlayment tightly with ring-shank nails, but space the underlayment nails so they do not hit the joists.