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Nail-Down Floor Installation Explained
For many, nailing down or also stapling down your wooden floor is the best way to have your wooden floor installed. However, is this the case for all wood floor installation projects? Let’s find out in today’s article.
Nailing or stapling down your wooden floor is among the most popular and a very classic way of hardwood floor installation. It is also a highly preferred method by professional wood floor installers. However, this method is not used if the subfloor is not made from plywood or if OSB does not exist in the house. The installation of solid wood floorboards usually requires longer nails since the floorboards are thicker. However, thinner engineered wood floorboards can be nailed down with the help of shorter nails. No matter if it comes to solid wood or engineered wood flooring, each plank or strip should be nailed every eight and three inches from both ends of the plank.
So, you have a plywood subfloor and you want to have your new solid wood or engineered wood floor installed. However, you are probably wondering if nailing or stapling the floorboards down is the best installation method you can decide on. Let’s find out a bit more about the benefits and advantages of this installation method.
First things first, the nail-down installation method is considered to be a very cost-effective one, therefore it is often chosen by people with a more limited budget for such projects. Nail-down installation would not require more than nails or staples and an affordable moisture barrier underlayment you will be able to find in all wood flooring stores. As an example, a floating installation would require a specific padded underlayment which comes at a higher price, while a glue-down installation method would require high-performance wood floor adhesive and correct size towels. In both of these cases, the price of the installation service will be increased by the additional materials used. However, the nail-down method comes at a lower and more affordable price compared to these two.
Furthermore, professional wood floor installation specialists consider the nail-down installation method to be a permanent one that lasts for… well, practically forever. Ensuring the right and high-quality installation performance and the right wood floor maintenance afterwards, it is safe to say that you will be able to enjoy your wooden floor forever and the risk of failure is close to zero. You don’t need to worry about wooden floorboards getting loose or nail heads popping up. However, in case a wooden floorboard gets damaged for some reason, you still can benefit from spot repairs and you don’t have to have your whole floor replaced with a new one just because of a few damaged boards. Each damaged board can be lifted and replaced individually and seamlessly.
Regardless of the method of wood floor installation, uneven and not flat subfloors could be a serious problem and a challenge for many wood floor installers. However, there are many things that could be done to levelling the subfloor and make sure it is even and flat enough for ensuring smooth wood floor fitting and a durable, solid, and long-lasting wood floor structure. However, if for some reason the subfloor cannot be perfectly flat and even, the nailing down or stapling down installation method has the most tolerance to the unevenness of subfloors and you can still continue having your dream wood floor installed instead or re-considering your decision and being forced to choose another type of floor covering.
One more amazing advantage of the nail-down installation method is the way it ensures an improved look and feel of having a flush mount transition. Compared to a floating installation that requires the use of overlapping transition mouldings and vents, the nail-down method can successfully allow the use of flush-in transitional mouldings and vents, which gives the floor a more appealing and cleaner look.
Keep in mind that the nail-down installation method can come with a bunch of advantages, but it also requires a lot of tools and equipment to be performed, which could turn into an additional cost, especially if you are planning a DIY project and you don’t have all the tools in your garage, including a flooring nail gun, a jamb saw, a router, and more. If you want this project to be finished successfully so you can enjoy a durable, solid, beautiful, and lasting wooden floor, you definitely want great quality and efficient tools to be used during the process of fitting the floorboards, especially with a major focus on high-quality flooring nail gun or stapler.