If it comes to fitting wood flooring, there are several options such as glue-down, nail-down, staple-down, click system and floating. Which fitting method you select will depend to a large extent on which floor you have chosen; if you are doing the job on a DIY basis or if you are getting the professionals in and the make from your subfloor.
If you're working on a DIY basis, it may well be that you have a preferred option since you feel it's more within your abilities set. While that is all good and well, you still owe it to yourself to make certain that you opt for the most suitable fitting method for your new floor and your existing subfloor. Failure to respect these fundamental elements could mean that your floor ends up ruined or has a reduced life expectancy.
The two nail-down and staple-down fitting approaches are acceptable for fitting new engineered or solid wood floors, but each is actually only recommended if you've got a wooden subfloor. Irrespective of whether you've got an older hardwood flooring that will function as the subfloor of your new floors, or in case you've laid plywood within the initial floor, you'll have the ability to earn the choice between staples or nail as the matching technique to your new flooring. 1 thing to remember if you're renovating or stapling your new flooring over an old flooring is to ensure you put the boards perpendicular to the previous planks (ie. In a crisscross fashion), otherwise your brand new flooring dangers getting damaged since it will not be sufficiently stable. If you have fitted plywood on your previous flooring, you will have complete liberty of which way you put your planks, as the subfloor must be perfectly secure.
Irrespective of if you nail down your floor or staple it, unless there is good reason to not, you should begin by placing the initial board at the border of your area, working methodically towards the other hand. Regardless of whether you are nailing or stapling, with a tongue and groove flooring, the perfect choice is to use the concealed fixing procedure whereby you add the nails or staples into the tongue of the fitted board until you tap another plank into place.
As you'd imagine, to nail the floor into place, all you need is the right claws to the flooring you have chosen, together with a hammer. If you choose to go the basic route, then you will not only need the ideal size of basic principles, but you will also require a staple gun that's powerful enough to drive your chosen staples through the tongue of your plank in to your wooden subfloor. It is important when choosing your staples that you choose a long option to ensure a secure repair to your subfloor, otherwise you could find yourself having to restore your flooring until you know it.
When it comes to deciding whether nailing or stapling will be your best option, you might be tempted to automatically opt for the speed and convenience of stapling, however what do the experts have to say?
There is no getting away from the truth that nailing down hardwood flooring has stood the test of time, whereas stapling is a rather recent child on the ground fitting block. Hardwood flooring installers have been sanded down flooring for generations and several simply accept this as the way things ought to be. For people that have been fitting flooring for years, they'll argue that there's little to be gained time-wise by using principles. If it comes to getting a good fix on a nail installation, it's important to utilize a good long nail to be certain it penetrates deep enough into your subfloor, allowing for a little bit of movement without the danger of damage. If it comes to cost, there's little difference between them both. But each one of these perspectives are those of the good qualities.
When it comes to DIYers, there's no doubt that the push is on staples. With a pneumatic staple gun in hand and the correct staples from the barrel, a DIYer is going to have the ability to acquire their speed up to pretty much of a professional with nails, so it's easy to see the appeal.
Here are our best tips for Assisting You to decide between the two approaches:
Engineered wood flooring or thinner solid hardwood floors is much better suited to stapling than thicker, harder wood choices.
Thick engineered and solid hardwood floors and species of flooring that are particularly hard are undoubtedly best nailed down.
If you've got a hammer and some nails, you are prepared for the nail down option since nailing doesn't call for any special tools that you'll either need to purchase or hire.
Some specialists indicate that nailing results in a more'snug' match, meaning that changes in humidity and temperature are less likely to result in long-term damage.
If in doubt, opt for the safest long-term solution.
