A squeak is friction. Something is moving against something else, and the fix depends entirely on which two things those are.
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Floor Sanding and Polishing Brisbane connects Brisbane and greater Brisbane property owners with qualified, connects Brisbane property owners with licensed local floor sanders for squeaky floors. Tell us the rough floor area and what condition the boards are in and we'll match it to a licensed contractor covering your suburb. Firm per-square-metre price after an inspection.
Three causes cover almost everything. **Boards moving against their fixings** — the nail shank has loosened in the joist and the board rides up and down on it. **Boards rubbing each other** along a tongue-and-groove edge that has shrunk. And **movement between the board and the joist**, where the board has lifted slightly off its bearing.
The first is by far the most common in older Brisbane housing, because traditional floors were nailed rather than screwed and a century of seasonal movement works a nail loose.
Most of the older stock here sits on stumps with a suspended timber floor and an open, ventilated subfloor. That means the boards are exposed to humidity from below as well as above, and our wet-season swings move timber more than a sealed slab-on-ground floor ever moves.
Boards shrink in the dry, gaps open, fixings loosen. Then everything swells again in the wet. That cycle is what works a floor loose here.
If you can get to the floor but not the subfloor, the options are screwing the board down into the joist with a countersunk screw and filling over it, or injecting a lubricant such as graphite or talc into a tongue-and-groove joint where two boards are rubbing.
Screwing is permanent and reliable. Powder is a genuine fix for edge friction but not for a loose fixing, so it works or does nothing depending on the cause — which is why people report wildly different results with it.
Under a raised Brisbane house you can usually get underneath, which opens up better options: shimming the gap between joist and board, adding a cleat or blocking between joists, or fitting a bracket where a joist end has dropped.
Working from below is almost always the better repair because nothing shows on the finished floor. If you have subfloor access, use it.
A noise that arrives suddenly, spreads, or comes with a soft or springy feeling underfoot is worth taking seriously. That can mean a failed joist end, a bearer that has dropped, borer or termite damage in the structure, or moisture that has got into the subfloor.
Those are structural questions, not flooring ones. Sanding and coating a floor that moves achieves nothing — the movement has to be dealt with first, and it may need a licensed builder rather than a floor sander.
Yes, and this is the practical reason it matters. Sanding is done on a floor that is already sound. If boards are loose, the sander rides the movement and you get an uneven finish, and every squeak you had before is still there under a beautiful new coat.
Any contractor quoting a sand on a noisy floor should be raising this before the machines arrive, not after.
Brisbane.
Where this job typically sits. Access is usually a bigger cost driver than size.
| Job | Indicative price | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Sand and polish, per square metre | $35 – $60 /m² | The standard way this is quoted. Covers sanding plus coats. |
| Typical 3-bedroom house (~110m²) | $3,800 – $6,500 | Whole floor, sanded and finished. Condition drives the range. |
| Single room (~15m²) | $700 – $1,200 | Small jobs carry proportionally more setup. |
| Carpet lift and staple removal | $8 – $15 /m² | Often quoted separately. Staples and tack strips take real time. |
| Board replacement | $90 – $200 per board | Matching an old profile costs more than the timber does. |
| Extra coat of finish | $8 – $14 /m² | Three coats is standard; a high-traffic hallway may want four. |
| Stain or colour change | $10 – $20 /m² | On top of sanding. Sample it on your actual timber first. |
| Parquetry restoration | $70 – $120 /m² | Slower and more skilled than strip flooring. |
| Recoat only (no full sand) | $18 – $30 /m² | Where the finish is worn but the timber is sound. Far cheaper. |
| Moisture assessment | $150 – $300 | Worth it on any floor that has been wet or looks cupped. |
Prices are indicative only and usually quoted per square metre. What a floor costs depends on its condition, the timber, how many coats it needs and whether boards have to be replaced. You get a firm price after an inspection.
Almost always friction between two things that are moving. The most common cause in older Brisbane housing is a nail shank that has loosened in the joist, letting the board ride up and down. The others are boards rubbing along a shrunken tongue-and-groove edge, or a board that has lifted slightly off its bearing.
Often yes. From above you can screw the board down into the joist with a countersunk screw and fill over it, or work a lubricant such as graphite or talc into the joint where two boards rub. Screwing is permanent; powder only helps where the noise is edge friction, which is why people report such different results with it.
Usually not, but it can be. A noise that appears suddenly, spreads, or comes with a soft or springy feeling underfoot is worth taking seriously — that can mean a failed joist end, a dropped bearer, or borer and termite damage in the subfloor. Those are questions for a licensed builder, not a floor sander.
The core job — taking a tired timber floor back to bare wood.
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The finish itself — water-based or solvent, and how many coats.
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Lifting carpet to find — and rescue — the original boards underneath.
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Replacing damaged, cut or borer-affected boards before sanding.
Read more →Tell us the suburb and the floor area and we'll get it to the right person.
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