Okay, so I finally tackled that squeaky floor nightmare in my spare room this weekend. Had these wobbly plywood patches near the door where folks step most – felt like dancing whenever you walked over it. Saw this “fixed dancing plywood” method online and figured I’d give it a shot myself.
Stuff I Grabbed First
Didn’t need anything fancy:
– My leftover oak flooring planks
– Half sheet of plywood from the garage
– Wood glue bottle that wasn’t dried up
– Heavy books because clamps were buried somewhere
– Screws and my crusty drill
The Shaky Patch Drama
Ripped up the old flooring where it bounced – nasty surprise underneath! Some genius tried patching with random plywood scraps years ago. One piece was thick, the other thin like cardboard. Plus, they never stuck ’em down proper, just nailed edges. No wonder my dog hated walking there.
My Fixer-Upper Steps
- Smashed out all the wonky scraps with a crowbar. Took me three tries because hidden nails kept biting me.
- Cut a single plywood piece to cover the whole hole this time. Measured twice, still trimmed it twice with the handsaw.
- Slathered glue under the patch like peanut butter toast – thick globs in the middle too.
- Dropped plywood in and jumped on it to squish glue out everywhere. Stacked all my hardcover books on top overnight.
- Screwed it down diagonal next morning while humming. Put screws every palm-width around the edges.
- Dry-fit the new flooring boards before glue. Almost cried when one plank cracked – thankfully had extras.
- Glued and tapped boards using my dead-blow hammer. Wiped glue goops with wet rag fast before it dried.
Why It Actually Worked
Whole thing took two beer-long afternoons. The solid plywood base now laughs when I stomp on it. No more squeaky disco patch! Lesson learned? Bigger plywood patches with glue beat little floating scraps any day. Still finding wood chips in my hair though.
