Stumped with Hardwood Floor.

[Deere Dude]

Not sure how far you are but I've got a nailer I could sell or lend to you if you want to come down and get it.

Thanks for the offer prichard. That means a lot to me, but I have to be a few hundred miles away, I think.

Rent a nailer as suggested above, if you can't afford to buy one you can't afford to redo this project. Do it right the first time and you will have peace of mind for years to come. When the temps change your floor will swell and contract no matter how tight you get the boards so they need good nails and to be very tight to begin with.

I am convinced now to find a floor nailer and not skimp in that area. I checked HF and it was 27 with a 4 hour minimum. TG for HF.

As others have said, rent the nailer. Also, the flooring board is likely to work loose over regular finish nails. You need to used either special flooring nails or flooring staples.

Good luck

I bought this one cheap

Professional Flooring Kit (2-Piece )

Freeman Professional Flooring Kit (2-Piece )-P2PFFK - The Home Depot

I have to check with a couple friends around here and come to them with hat in hand.

Just out of curiosity, what should the spacing be for nails. Every 6-8" and try to hit a joist possibly?

Thanks for all the tips.

Chuck

 

[carlhwv]

The old adage 'right tool for the job' comes to mind. In this instance you will be disappointed if you don't use something built for the task. Also I highly recommend along with the fasteners you use a good glue made for the task. This won't eliminate the creaking over time but will limit it. If you can go across joists laying a chalk line or following the one on your sub floor won't hurt.

 

[AchingBack]

We installed bamboo flooring in a small bedroom. The only tools used: drill to make pilot holes, finish hammer, wood block for tapping boards snug, and a saw, of course. I used long finish nails. Unless you are in a big hurry, I'd pass on renting the tool. My floor has been down for ten years with no problems.

 

[prichard]

You can also generally rent where you buy the flooring.

 

[PILOON]

Around the perimeter simply near the edge that the molding will hide.
Using a scrap of T and G floor scrap nudge boards up snug and toe nail about every 10-12 inches.
\Not the best system but it will work.
As said rental of a real floor air tool is best option, but I've done it the other way B4 I could afford a real floor nailer.
( I hated to rent, prefer to own)

 

[downsizingnow48]

Nail spacing. Depends on length and width of boards you are using. For standard random length 2 1/4 " oak flooring it would be 8-10 " plus a nail about 3" from each end. Short boards might have to change that. When I was building best practice was to use lightweight roofing paper between subfloor and finish floor to help prevent squeaks. If your subfloor is 3/4" plywood you are ok but if it is anything else might check the Weyerhauser website to see what their recommendations are. The place you rent the tool from should also have the correct fasteners. For a long time they have been cut nails with teeth but these days could be different.

 

[fishheadbob]

You really ought check with the place you bought the flooring. Most of it comes with instructions somewhere in the packaging that answer a lot of your questions, and many of those places rent or even lend a flooring nailer.

If you picked your floor up on the cheap through Craigslist or similar, there are still tons of online and you tube videos giving helpful hints. You'll learn why you want flooring nails, not finish nails; how to flush nail when you have no alternative; lots of other things. You're going to be looking at your floor for a long time; do it right and don't wing it, mistakes will be visible for decades. You should be using felt paper, even on a floor nowhere near the ground. Things like chalk lines, a pry bar (boards aren't always cut perfectly straight), nail punch, saw, and so forth. You'll find out that the room you're flooring isn't as square as you thought, and how to deal with that.
Installing a hardwood floor isn't brain surgery but you have to do a lot of simple things right to end up with a nice looking job. I love doing a good flooring job.

 

[CADplans]

The most important part of our installation was positioning the boards.
Our installer had his wife position the next boards to go down,,,

it made all the difference in our floor, she is an artist.
All the seams/joints were perfect, she knew what to "cull",,,

 

[tcartwri]

The other reason to rent the nailer is that you won't be on your knees all day, just half.... lol. When I put my first floor down I was crippled for three days.