Took 3 tries to fix a squeaky stair tread with WD-40 before I learned the right trick

Last month I spent a whole afternoon spraying WD-40 on a loose stair tread in my hallway. It worked for like a day then got worse. Found out from a carpenter friend that you need to use construction adhesive and screw it in from the side, not the top. Anyone else deal with squeaky stairs and find a fix that actually sticks?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade_johnson23d ago

Honestly reminds me of how people treat a lot of quick fixes in life. You think a spray or a bandaid will solve the real problem, but it just masks the squeak for a little bit. Ngl, I've done the same thing with a creaky floorboard in my bedroom, sprayed some lubricant and called it a day. Took my buddy showing me the right way to realize most fixes aren't about the easy shortcut, they're about the actual structure underneath. That screw and glue trick is probably the same for half the annoying sounds in a house.

hayes.joel23d ago

That thing you said about "masks the squeak for a little bit" hit home hard. I did the same thing with a loose handrail in my basement stairs last summer. Sprayed some lithium grease on the bracket and felt like a genius for about three days until it came loose while I was carrying laundry and I almost went flying into the dryer. Ended up having to drill new anchor holes and use these heavy duty toggle bolts my dad gave me from his old tool chest. Still holding strong a year later so I guess sometimes you just have to do the ugly structural fix instead of the clean spray can approach.

finley_price2422d ago

Honestly never really thought about it that way before. I was always the type to grab the spray can and call it a win because fixing something the right way sounded like too much work. But you and your dad's old toggle bolts kind of changed my mind on that. If I almost went flying into a dryer over a handrail I'd probably start taking structural stuff a lot more seriously too. Guess it's like you said, sometimes the quick fix just buys you time until the real problem shows up again. I'm starting to think half the battle is admitting the spray can isn't actually fixing anything.