What To Use To Face Nail Hardwood Floors

Disclosure: We may get commissions for purchases made through links in this mail service.

At that place's nix like the beauty of hardwood floors. Yous've purchased new hardwood for your home but at present demand to know what type and size of nails are needed for installation. We've washed the digging for answers and establish the information to help you lot.

The size and type of nails tin can depend on the final look you want for your home, the thickness and type of your hardwood planks, and even the type of subfloor underneath the hardwood. Hardwood installation can apply dissimilar types of fasteners, which include the following:

Cleat nails
Staples
Specialty rosehead nails
Square-cutting nails
Finishing nails

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about nails for hardwood flooring.

Types of Nails for Use With Forest Floors

Most hardwood will have a recommended nail size and type for installation, and you should e'er stick with the manufacturer's recommendation. The recommended judge size is adamant by the hardness and thickness of the hardwood and whether it is real or engineered.

Using the wrong nail can cause damage. For example, using likewise large of a nail gauge can crusade the hardwood planks to divide. So you have a better understanding, permit'south take a look at a few of the options bachelor for hardwood fastening.

Cleat Nails

Hardwood nailers are often used to install hardwood. The nailers bulldoze the nail into the floor at an angle on the grooved side of the plank then that the nails are non seen. Nailers can be manual or apply pneumatic pressure.

Nailers are favored considering they are much more time-efficient, and the sudden force that causes the nail to penetrate the wood does non leave marks on the hardwood like handwork with a mallet or hammer.

The nails used in hardwood nailers are commonly referred to every bit cleat nails. Cleat nails can have an Fifty-shaped or T-shaped head and barbed or ribbed edges that lock into the subfloors and keeps the nail in identify once within the hardwood.

When using cleat nails, you have iii bones sizes; ane-1/2 inch, 1-3/4 inch, and two inches.

You want to choose the one-one/2 inch nails when your hardwood is one/2-inch flooring.
When your flooring is 3/four-inch but over a concrete subfloor, use 1-3/4 inch nails.
Finally, use 2-inch nails when your flooring is 3/4-inch but over a wood subfloor with floor joists or is concrete with at least ii layers of 1/2 inch plywood over it.

Staples

Staples are also used to install hardwood and are considerably less expensive than cleat nails. Staples are 2-prong with a strong grip at outset but are more prone to back out of the hardwood over time, especially in climates where the woods experiences seasonal movement through expansion and contraction.

Hardwood floors installed with staples are also more than prone to squeak. There's also an increased gamble of splitting the tongue on your hardwood planks with staples.

This doesn't mean staples are inferior. They're very commonly used, and even the experts can't settle the ongoing contend between staples and cleats. At that place are strong arguments for either 1. The final decision may have more to do with availability and the installation tool y'all already have on hand.

Staples are installed with a pneumatic stapler. The sizing of staples is the same for cleats if the flooring is hardwood. If your flooring is engineered or thinner, then the staple size varies.

For ane/4 to 5/xvi-inch flooring, utilize 1-ane/4 inch staples.
For three/8 to 1/2-inch flooring, use 1-one/4 to i-1/2 inch staples.
For 5/viii inch flooring, employ 1-1/2 inch staples.

Specialty Rosehead Nails

Rosehead nails are a specialty nail meant to replicate nails used hundreds of years ago. They're forged with a decorative head that is meant to be seen. They're more suited for use on wide boards of pine or other softwood floorings.

The replica nails requite floors a vintage colonial or rustic await. The caput blueprint varies by manufacturer, merely eatables shapes include bevels, circles, dimples, and rings.

When using this blazon of nail, it's best to pre-drill your boom holes to avoid splitting the woods planks. This type of nail is favored for use when you program to face nail the entire floor because the planks lack natural language and groove.

Square-cut Nails

Foursquare-cut nails are hand-crafted or individually machine cut with a wedge shape. They must be manually driven into floor by someone with skill in cut-nail installation. Pre-drilled holes must exist used when using this blazon of nail.

Square-cut nails will be expensive and time-consuming for installation but will give your floor durability that a mass production nail cannot match.

There's an authentic look that comes from square-cut nails that other nails cannot replicate. If you are looking for that distinct expect of former times, this is the blast you need. For installation, use 1-1/ii inch nails for 1/two-inch flooring and 1-3/4 inch nails for 3/4-inch floor.

Finishing Nails

Hardwood floors take to be face nailed on the outside perimeter well-nigh walls. For this job, 8D or 8 penny-hand finishing nails are needed.

The term penny-hand is a measurement term for nail length that dates back to when nails were all hand forged. In that location are multiple theories to the origin, just it is thought that the 'D' stands for 1 penny-head. Therefore, an 8D boom is ii-1/two inches long.

Finishing nails are slender with a small caput, making them perfect for the job because they're driven straight into the floor and countersunk. The small head makes it piece of cake to fill in the pigsty before sealing the floors.

You will face up-smash the showtime row and last rows of flooring directly into the flooring using a pneumatic end nailer or by drilling pilot holes into the flooring. The next 2 rows and the 2 rows before the last i to the wall demand to be bullheaded-side nailed.

Then, you tin can finish the rest of the floor by sticking with finishing nails or switching to a pneumatic fastener motorcar in one case information technology has plenty clearance to fit properly over the flooring.

Consider these 2-1/2 inch finishing nails by Difficult-to-Notice Fastener:

Click here to see it on Amazon.

How long should nails be for 3/4 hardwood flooring?

The general dominion of thumb is 1-iii/iv inch nails for three/four-inch flooring. Still, in that location are exceptions. If your subfloor is forest over floor joists or ii layers of 1/2-inch plywood over physical, then you need to apply a 2-inch nail.

16 or 18 gauge nailer for a hardwood flooring?

Trying to decide what gauge nailer to use on your hardwood? When it comes to nail approximate size, the larger the judge number, the thinner the boom. The two well-nigh mutual sizes are the 16 gauge end nailer and the eighteen gauge brad nailer.

xvi Gauge

The 16 gauge nailer is more than versatile and the one recommended for flooring. The cease nail has a 0.0625-inch-thick shank and is available in 1 to 3-1/two inch lengths. The larger nail has more holding power and is suitable for utilise with thick wood such as flooring.

This nailer is also suitable for many other jobs such a crown molding, cabinets, exterior trim, chair rails, to name merely a few. Consider this NuMax 3-in-1 Pneumatic nailer:

Click hither to run across it on Amazon.

18 Guess

The 18 gauge brad nailer is used with more than frail projects similar decorative trim, paneling, or veneer. The brad blast is 0.0475 inches thick and typically comes in 1/two to 2-1/2 inch lengths. The thinner nails are suited toward finish work which generally uses thinner woods, not flooring.

What size nails for three/iv plywood subfloor?

In the atypical situation that y'all have 3/four-inch plywood subfloors, yous might want to consider a 1-5/8 inch blast, especially if there is concrete underneath the plywood. You lot don't want the nail to go through the subfloor into the concrete.

What size nails for face nailing hardwood floors?

You lot want to utilise 8D finishing nails for face nailing the outside perimeter rows of hardwood floors. If you programme to face up nail the unabridged floor, and so the same rule of thumb for nail size based on flooring thickness and subfloor blazon would notwithstanding utilise.

How far apart should nails be when installing a hardwood floor?

For standard installation with a nailer, it is recommended by the National Wood Floor Association that nails or staples in solid hardwood are placed 8 to 10 inches apart. With engineered flooring, nails or staples should be 4 tp 8 inches apart. Nails should be placed forth the tongue side of the hardwood plank but staying a minimum of four inches from each terminate of the board.

If you're using wide boards and face nailing the entire floor, you will need to boom two, maybe three, times across the board, only there should never exist more than 6 inches betwixt nails. Boards that are viii inches or less should be nailed two beyond, while eight to 12-inch boards will demand 3 nails beyond the board. Exist certain to stay at least an inch from each board edge.

In Closing

Hardwood floors are a coveted impact in any abode, simply you want to ensure that installation is done with the correct type and size of nails. The wrong nail can harm the aesthetics of your hardwood and the integrity of the flooring. Hardwood is meant to last for many years but simply with proper installation and maintenance.

If you are interested in more information about hardwood installation, bank check out: Should Hardwood Floors Change Management?

Too, consider: Why Does My New Hardwood Floor Squeak? [With Tips On What To Do Nigh Information technology!]