My home is 150 years old and just recently the hardwood floor in the kitchen has started making cracking noises when you step on it in certain areas. This seems to happen randomly. In the almost 10 years that we’ve lived here, I’ve never experienced this before. Any thoughts on what the issue is and if there’s anything that I can do about it?
I’m a worrier. The thing I would worry about would be that something has happened to the subfloor or the joists underneath the wood floor. Either rotting wood due to moisture or termites. Can you check the joists and subfloor from the basement or crawl space?
Did something change recently for the home’s HVAC system? New air conditioner, furnace, humidifier/dehumidifier, ducts, thermostat, insulation, etc.?
It is currently very difficult for me to go up and down the stairs. I have a handyman that can come out, though. I can have him check it if necessary.
Crafter_Man, nothing like that has changed. But I did just realize what’s different although I’m not sure how it would cause this to happen.
Over the summer we had a wooden ramp installed and it runs past that part of the house. I don’t know why that would make a difference, but perhaps it’s blocking the sun? Or something else I haven’t thought of?
It could be something as simple as seasonal fluctuations in indoor humidity.
Or loosening of a few nails tacking a couple of the boards to the subfloor.
Shouldn’t be hard for a decent handyman to help you diagnose.
Wood expands and contracts with changes in humidity. That can cause doors to stick and creaks in the floor.
I found a loose nail making noise as the wood moved around it. It was tight in higher humidity.
You need access to the underside to check the structure. You can see any movement as someone is walking on the floor.
I’d start with the easiest approach first. Walk around find the area that is creaking.
It can be hard to isolate. But at least you can confirm the structure is fine.
From experience, I would argue that it can be very hard to track down and fix. It can be very challenging to locate the source. Noise can be very spacially decieving. Aceplace has good advice and but be aware that even with a helper triggering the noise it can be hard to isolate.
Screws, shims, bracing and subfloor adhesive are all common tools in this fight, but a successful fix without exposing hhe subfloor is often impossible.
Is the new wooden ramp attached to the home in some way? Two structures move and behave differently, and joining them presents pkenty of opportunities for squeaking.
FWIW, any crackling noises I hear walking over the floor are probably coming from my knee and ankle joints. 
IME, floors like your more often make squeaking or rubbing noises. I wonder if you have a plastic underlayer that’s worked loose and crinkling when the floor above yields to weight?
As a former handyman (and current maintenance coordinator for a large property management company) I see and deal with this occasionally. There could be several reasons this is happening but I suspect that if it’s not from seasonal changes, it’s probably from slack in the area where it is nailed. The quickest and easiest way to address this (assuming it’s on the bottom floor) is the crawl underneath and brace the affected area. You will need a partner to help you isolate the area.
Either nail or screw a cross brace (between joists) under the squeaky area. This will prevent the flooring from flexing. If this doesn’t remedy the problem it may be necessary to then put a vertical support under the area as well.
This should also fix the squeaking if the flooring is cracking.
In addition, changes in the difference in humidity between the basement (or crawlspace) and room air could cause changes.
Our home was built in 1989. When we moved in in 2001, the pine floorboards on the first floor were nice and flat. After I installed whole-house air conditioning in 2002, the boards crowned.
My hypothesis: when the floor was originally installed in 1989, the humidity differential was minimal between the basement and first floor. After installing AC, the humidity on the first foor was significantly lower than the humidity in the basement. (There’s no HVAC ductwork in the basement.)
My old floors did this. Between some boards was a noticeable gap. Due to variation in the wood, “he said”.
I say it was not propoerly installed.
It was my fault. I insisted on a particular wood, installed a particular way.
It was a bad decision, kinda sorta.
Any whoo, to get to the point…the squeaks drove me mad.
I did a number of things.
But, last resort. I bought cheap baby powder and sprinkled it every where and then swept it really good. No vacuuming. Broom swept.
Miraculously, squeaking stopped. House smelled like a day care and I had to reapply a bunch. I couldn’t pinpoint the squeak so I had to do the whole downstairs.
It got old.
This is why I got new floors.
I can’t recall any wood stairs that didn’t creak on a couple steps. It’s something people learn to ignore.
I’ve seen installers lay down a waxy paper before installing a hardwood floor. It’s supposed to prevent creaks.
It’s very important the plywood is securely screwed down before laying tile or hardwood flooring. Prevent any flexing or movement.
Squeaks are usually caused by nails working slightly loose. Then the wood rubs against the nail when you step on it. The vibration of the nail makes the sound. It can sometimes be fixed by driving screws in at strategic points to hold the wood down and prevent it from moving. It’s easier on a carpeted area because the carpet hides the screw heads. You can get special screws like this, which come with a jig that breaks off the screw head after it reaches a certain depth. It still leaves a hole but it’s smaller. You can also get this type of bracket to hold the floor down, but it requires access to the underside of the floor.
However it’s not clear to me that the sound that the OP describes as “cracking” is the same type of nail squeak that I’m familiar with.
Thanks, everyone, for your advice. The next time our handyman comes out, I’ll have him take a look.
This is what I was alluding to in my post:
Except he said it better. The reason I didn’t suggest screwing it down (which will work), is because the OP indicated hardwood flooring which I took to mean, finished. markn_1’s suggestion of special screws would, IMHO, be harder for a layperson to pull off without marring the wood surface.
Yes, it would definitely leave holes. The screws supposedly set below the level of the floor, so the holes can be patched with wood putty or something similar. But it will certainly leave visible defects. Most wood floor already have hundreds of visible nail holes, so whether some additional holes would be objectionable would be a decision the owner would have to make.
Unless the wood floor is of a rare primitive style, most do not have any visible nail holes. Mortise and tenon joinery hide the nails used in the laydown.
Hm, that may be true. But the two homes I’ve lived in that have hardwood floors both had visible nail holes. One was built in 1949 and the other in 1978. The OP says their house is 150 years old, so it may also have visible nails.
Our home is 108 years old, a moderate age for this part of the country, and most have hardwood floors that are mortise and tenon construction. Keep in mind I’m talking about solid wood floors, not veneer. Our floors are solid white oak, walnut, and clear yellow pine upstairs. I must admit there are a few nail holes here and there, where the previous owners (42 years ago) attempted to alleviate some squeaks. It didn’t work, and over the years, we’ve just learned to live with sounds our floors make.
Screw down the squeaky area from underneath. Just make sure the screws are shorter than the thickness of the hardwood + subfloor or use some blocking to make up the difference. Graphite powder is another option.