Do You Staple Hardwood Floor On The Tounge Or Groove

We recommend nailing or stapling every 6 8 inches along the tongue of every board staying in approx 4 inches from each end of the floorboard.

Do you staple hardwood floor on the tounge or groove. Most manufacturers allow the use of either flooring nails or staples but you should always refer to the manufacturer s instructions for proper nail staple size for a particular floor. You must have a wood or plywood subfloor in order to staple or nail onto. For tongue and groove flooring drive a nail at a 45 degree angle through the tongue then conceal it by engaging the groove of the next board. If possible this is the ideal installation method.

Tongue and groove milling is highly versatile allowing the floors to be stapled or nailed down glued and sometimes floated. Be sure to countersink the nail drive it slightly below the surface of the wood to prevent interference in the joint. Top nailing with hard cut iron nails in addition to using the flooring stapler can give you that formal farmhouse kind of look. The traditional method of nailing hardwood tongue and groove flooring is to drive nails at an angle through the tongue of a plank and into the subfloor below but this is time consuming and can.

A flooring nailer has a shoulder that fits over the tongue for accurate nail insertion but a nailer doesn t fit on the groove edge. 2 1 4 x 3 4 red oak strips installation. How to install solid unfinished hardwood floor. Diaz thinks staples have better holding power.

The wood on the tongue is much thicker than the wood on the inside of the groove and less likely to split when you drive a nail. In a typical hardwood flooring installation the tongues of the boards must all face in the same direction. You can nail down a floor using either cleat nails or staples. The type of installation you choose will depend on your subfloor budget lifestyle and the type of wood flooring you select.

For instance solid hardwood flooring is typically nailed down during installation while tongue and groove engineered flooring is usually clicked together or completely glued down. Tongue and groove flooring staple nail down. Top nailing is an option with wide plank hardwood or pine floors.