Flooring Nailer

[ElDorado]

What does everyone use/recommend for underlayment. I was thinking of using 15lb felt paper like clemsonfor's photo.

I was reading on hardwoodflooringtalk.com and they are talking about using other stuff. I think a thin layer of foam may be a benefit but do not want to spend the cabbage if it is a gimick.

Thanks to all for responding. Hey what about the workout from manual units? Will they put me back in the operating room?

 

[MarkV]

In my area 15# roofing felt is the norm. It is what I have used for the last 25 years as a hardwood flooring installer. The foam underlayment is generally used for pre-finished laminated floating floors and simulated wood floors like Pergo. At least here.

MarkV

 

[clemsonfor]

Whats the deal with the felt tar paper. I used 15 lb. it sat in a roll in my house for about a week then i laid it, 2/3 sat for 2 days prior to laying wood other 1/3 about a day. After it was laid it stared to ripple or wave up? I had the air on and it was a consistant temp, humidity, i tried letting it get warmer or cooler, still the same. I tried to smooth it down to when i stapled it, it was flat at first. The last 1/3 after seeing the waves i made a point to pull it tight but it still waved up. NOw i have a wave running in front of my leading edge that i guess i will push on to the far wall?? Not a big deal just anoyying. This room had hardwoods before i tore them up as well as plywood/carpet and awful remnats of the 70's or 80's

 

[clemsonfor]

Well after about 200sqft of redoak i am now on my second HF nailer. It started jambing more and the pison had a small hiss and it was slow to retun (split second) after i cycled it. FOrester2 and the guy i use to work with both used one just like it on about 1K sqft of hickory? I guess its just quality control! It looks good though so far and when its not jambed i think it works great for the $100 i spent, especially the fact that i have used it on 3 different days so far, i would have spent that on a rental.

As for the manual, there is no way you need to hit it with some force to tighten it up so id hate to have to drive the staple too!

 

[ElDorado]

In my area 15# roofing felt is the norm. It is what I have used for the last 25 years as a hardwood flooring installer. The foam underlayment is generally used for pre-finished laminated floating floors and simulated wood floors like Pergo. At least here.

Around here too. I just got reading too much I guess at that other site. Would 30lb felt help Clemsonfor's rippling issue? Not much price between the 15# and 30# from what I recollect. Or are the ripples not any issue?

 

[MarkV]

I'm not sure what Clemsonfor's problem was. The only time I have had problems with 15lb felt was when it was stored outside and allowed to get wet. Even after drying it would do some of that. I think he got a bad roll and it does not represent the norm.

MarkV

 

[forester2]

Celmsonfor: What nails are you using. I was advised not to use HF nails and followed that advice. HF nails are supposed to be subject to bending which would cause jamming. I also took apart nailer prior to using and oiled parts and was facidiuos about putting oil into airline during use.

 

[clemsonfor]

Celmsonfor: What nails are you using. I was advised not to use HF nails and followed that advice. HF nails are supposed to be subject to bending which would cause jamming. I also took apart nailer prior to using and oiled parts and was facidiuos about putting oil into airline during use.

I think you might have hit the "nail on the head" . I am using the HF 2" staples, which prolly do bend a little more. I also have been oiling a bunch the feed mecanism the driver hammer and 4-5 drops in the air line every so often, actually more than my other guns cause at that point i had driven about 1300 staples.

Most of my problems with bent staples were probably from hitting a nail or screw in the subfloor, but some i think bent going into a hard spot or less than optimum angle? But like i may have said i think i got through about 100sqft with either no jams or 1 jam, i dont remember cause it seems like i was flying. Right before i returned the gun i was getting a jam about every 10th staple or once in a 15-20ft run!!

I replaced my leaky regulator that i had bought as a replacement for the original i broke (the replacement was from lowes and was worse than the HF ones you buy, you could not regulate the flow and it would just use tank pressure, and it always leaked). So i put a dryier on the line as i was cycling the compresser a bunch and gaining moisture quick even though i drained the tank every day, and my HF regulator i had in the closet for the replacement. I thought that maybe tomuch water got into the gun? But the amount of oil i used the moisture would not really matter i guess, i try and put a drop or two the last few shots so there is a good coating of oil in the gun for storage.

With the new regulator it does not drive the staples to deep like it did before the pressure at about 110-115 psi from the tank with the lowes regulator.

About the HF staples this would not cause the piston to have a hiss or be slow to return that is an internal thing i think.

 

[clemsonfor]

Here are some pics of the process. I am fixing to sand them with 320 grit for the last time and put the 7th and final coat of poly on them. I know lots like pics and i figured while i was pulling up my pics from the phone i would post some from this project. Pics are from my 2mp phone camera, is why there so low resolution.

The 3rd pic is after 3 coats of poly. The additional coats are for protection from the animals so that hopefully they dont scratch through it to the wood. It has so far worked pretty well on the floors that i refinished in this house. I will just lightly sand in the future and topcoat to eliminate any scratches.