Can I Use a Finish Nailer for Wood Floors?

For those asking can I use a finish nailer for wood floors, it is possible and highly recommended that you use nail guns in installing your wooden floor back at home.  Nail guns usually reduce labor and time as you are now able to automatically nail the wooden floor instead of hammering it, which is very tiresome. 

You should be in a good position to master the right technique in nailing your wooden floor by use of a nail gun. There are three nailing types that you can consider for your wooden floor of which include a mallet and flooring nailer, flooring nailer, and the finish nailer. The framing nailer guns are not recommended because of their configuration and nail size.

The Nailing Procedure

For those asking can I use a finish nailer for wood floors, down below we have outlined the nailing procedure that you can clearly follow in order to successfully install your wooden floor. As you well know, the hardwood planks used for flooring purposes fit from one end to another and also from one side to the other in a tongue-and-groove convention. 

After you have successfully installed the first hardwood plank on one corner, the other subsequent planks can easily fit together tightly in order to create a very smooth floor.

The tongue sides of which face outwards and the groove edges of your plank, of which faces your wall, is where you should properly insert the floor nails. 

You should be in a good position to use nails that do not have heads in order to ensure that they slightly sink beneath the wood surface and do not hinder the tight form when installing the other planks to form a strong wooden floor. When installing the first hardwood planks, you should be in a good position to use a hammer for proper face-nailing.

Flooring Nailer

The stapler or rather the flooring nailer is among the best nailers for use when installing your wooden floor back at home. They are usually manufactured in a way that they can easily fit slightly over the tongue and the plank’s top edge. 

This type of nailer functions in a way that it shoots headless nails into the joist beneath the floor or rather the subfloor. It is very difficult for one to make a mistake, especially when the nail gun is positioned in the right manner.

Finish Nailer

The finish type of nailer is not that popular as it is only used for one purpose. The finish nailing gun can be easily used to install your wooden floor back at home. The finish nailing gun as you are well aware of is specially designed for certain trim work. 

It shoots near-headless nails of which avoids spoiling the wood appearance hence this makes the finish nailing gun very effective in installing your wooden floor.

In order to properly use this type of nailer, you should be in a good position to place your nail shoe on your wood tongue at fifteen degrees inward and downward, towards the planks. You should then depress your nail shoe as you carefully hold the nailer in position as you shoot the nails. You should be in a good position to use long nails that can easily penetrate the subfloor.

Mallet and Flooring Nailer

Before the power nails were introduced in the industry and become very common in installing wooden floors, the mallet and flooring nailers were standard and very effective in use. Similar to the flooring type of nailer, the manual mallet nailer tends to hold floor nails of which usually have a shaped type of nail shoe of which easily fits over the tongue and the plank’s top edge. 

After you have positioned your nailer properly, you should be in a good position to use the mallet to tap the nailing caps in order to shoot the staples or the flooring nails through the plank’s tongue.

For those asking can I use a finish nailer for wood floors, you can definitely use the mallet and flooring nailer to successfully install your wooden floor back at home. The mallet and flooring nailers tend to use some sort of spring-loaded system and gravity in order to successfully drive in the nails. 

The mallet and flooring nailers also make use of compressed air in order to successfully shoot the floor nails whenever the nail cap is hit by use of the mallet.

Are Staples Better as Opposed to Nails for Installing Your Wooden Floor?

You can both use the nails and the staples to install or rather replace your wooden floor back at home. Both of the staples and the nails have their benefits, although the best method to use for proper installation of your wooden floor depends on certain factors that include the length and size of the staples or rather the nails used. 

You should be in a good position not to use regular nails to install the wooden floor back at home as they do not possess the required holding power to ensure the wood planks forming the wooden floor are not in a position to easily move.

How to Deal with Nail Problems

As you well know, the tongue wood is thicker as compared to the wood inside the groove; hence there are minimal chances for it to split when driving in the nails. The flooring nailer usually has a large shoulder of which easily fits slightly over the plank’s tongue for accuracy purposes when inserting the nails. 

You should be aware that the nailer is not able to fit on the edge of the groove.  to ensure that you have properly nailed the groove, you should be in a good position to nail by use of your hand even though there is little room to work.

As of now, for those asking can I use a finish nailer for wood floors; it is highly recommended that you use the finish nailers to properly install your wooden floor back at home. Using the finish nailers ensures that your wooden floor functions for longer durations and is very strong to withstand different weights from time to time.