Q: I’m hoping you can help me silence the squeaks in my hardwood floors. I don’t have access to the underside of the floors, so how do I fix the many squeaks that have developed over the years?
Brian Merwitz, Skokie, Illinois
A: Although it’s probably impossible to silence every squeak, the Counter-Snap screw kit from O’Berry Enterprises provides a great solution when you can’t access the underside of a hardwood floor. The kit comes with a screwdriver bit, a depth-control fixture and 25 breakaway screws. Start by drilling a 3/32-in.-dia. hole through the floorboard at the point of the squeak. Next, insert one of the breakaway screws through the depth-control fixture and into the pilot hole. Drive in the screw until it snaps off below the surface of the floorboard; then fill the small remaining hole with color-matched wood putty.