The Single Creaky Floorboard That Only Got Worse When I Ignored It

The Right Shim

I grabbed a handful of cedar shims from the garage—the tapered wedge kind you use to level cabinets—and tapped one into the gap with a hammer until it felt snug.

The creak disappeared. I walked over the spot a dozen times and heard nothing.

For about a week, it worked perfectly. Then one morning, there it was again: the same soft groan under my heel.

I pulled up the board to check. The shim had compressed just enough to let the gap reopen. Wood on wood, even tight, can settle and shrink over time—especially if there’s any flex or moisture involved.

That’s when I called a finish carpenter I’d used before on another project. He laughed and told me what he actually uses on jobsites when a floor squeaks during the final walkthrough.

It wasn’t wood. It wasn’t a wedge. And it cost me less than eight dollars at Home Depot.

The difference? This material doesn’t compress, doesn’t shrink, and fills irregular gaps better than any shim I could carve by hand.