My stairs are rather creaky, worse as you get closer to the second floor, and while I don't find the noise at all bothersome, I am concerned that it might indicate a more serious problem. My house dates back to around 1890, but the original stairs have been built over with hardwood strips. I can't get to the underneath of them as they have been drywalled over (the stairs to the basement run directly under them). I just had the roof replaced so I really can't afford to have someone come in to look at them. Last April I had noticed the lip of some of the treads had become loose and I did have a someone come in to fix that problem. This is how I found out that the original stairs had been built over, but I don't know what sort of condition they are in. I checked with my next door neighbour (my house is semi-detached) and she still has the original stairs and the treads are smaller. I also think the wood of the original stairs, based on my neighbour's stairs, is a better, more solid quality than the hardwood used to build over my stairs, but I suspect the size of tread doesn't conform to current provincial building code (I live in Ontario). The lip on the stairs since the repair still seems secure and the creaking seems to be coming more from the sides of the stairs. I don't want to start ripping away and get in over my head. Do you have any suggestions as to what I might do?