What is the nail spacing for hardwood flooring?

What is the nail spacing for hardwood flooring?

Place at least two nails in every board — the rule of thumb is to nail every 10 to 12 inches. Flooring is typically bundled in random lengths. Vary board lengths as you install so you will have staggered end-joints in a random pattern (image 6).

What is the purpose of countersinking nails in a wood floor?

Countersink nails by hammering them below the surface of the wood. When you are doing finish work with wood, countersink the nails to make the surface presentable. The most common type of nails to countersink include casing, brad and other types of finish nails.

What is secret nailing?

Secret nailing works by driving nails through the ‘tongue’ of a floorboard. The nail goes through the board and into the subfloor, thus fixing it in place. The nail needs to be installed in a 45 degree angle, which ensures the floorboard is pushed towards the one adjacent to it and fixed firmly in place.

What nails should I use for hardwood flooring?

As for wood flooring fasteners, you’ll use nails or staples. Staples are generally a cheaper choice of fastener, but 16-, 18-, or 20-gauge flooring nails or “cleats” are the choice of pros. They allow for wood flooring expansion and contraction, also providing great holding power.

Is it better to nail or staple hardwood floors?

A staple will give a stronger, less-forgiving hold because of its two-pronged construction. Nails allow for a more natural expansion and contraction of the hardwood floorboards with fewer problems. While staples have become increasingly popular over nails, they tend to damage the floors more often.

Can you use a finish nailer for hardwood floors?

Finish Nailer If you’re handy with a finish nail gun, you can use it to install a hardwood floor. To use this nailer, position the nail shoe on the wood tongue at about a 15-degree angle downward and inward, toward the plank. Depress the nail shoe while holding the nailer carefully in place, and pull the trigger.

What does blind nailing mean?

: to nail in such a way that nailheads are not visible on the face of the work.

How do you blind nail hardwood floors?

Before flooring installers had power nailers, they had to blind-nail all flooring boards by hand. The process involves driving a series of nails into the tongue of a floorboard at 45-degree angles; the angle allows each nail to push the board against the one next to it as well as hold the board to the floor.

What does it mean to blind nail wood?

Other Meanings for Blind Nailing. Beyond working on flooring, blind nailing can refer to hiding a nail beneath a chip of wood, as described in this article, which is a pretty slick woodworking trick.

What is blind nailing and how is it done?

If you’ve never heard the term blind nailing, you’re probably wondering what exactly it means. Blind nailing is setting a nail into the hardwood flooring board at a 45 degree angle, just above the tongue of the board and driven down into the joist or subfloor surface.

What angle do you nail hardwood flooring?

When doing hardwood flooring, you have to nail at an angle -usually 45-degree downwards- into the joist or subfloor to ensure that the wooden panels are secured with no gap between them. This is called blind nailing which is different from face nailing.