Today I bought some cut floor brad nails. The second one split a floorboard. The tips are blunt. So should I drill pilot holes in the floorboards? Is a heavy hammer or a light one best? Any other tips please?
[george]
I've done this extensively in my house. Brads are blunt, because theoretically they drive through the wood, whereas a sharp point would split it. However they are still liable to split the board close to the end, or close to the edge, or on softer boards. I've certainly drilled pilot holes and it does work. If you have to go really close to the end of a board, for example if you've cut one to get under the floor, consider drilling and screwing instead at that point. Otherwise just drive in smartly wiv a nammer (I'm sorry I don't know the weight of mine, but it's heavyish), and try to avoid making half moon indentations in the boards. Set the head of the nail parallel to the length of the board, and strike with the boards running away from you, and you're less likely to glance off and bend the brad. If you're laying new boards, make sure you acclimatise them in the house for at least a couple of weeks, and cramp them up tightly when you lay them, to allow for drying out and shrinkage. Um, can't think of anything else.
Cheers Richard
I screw floorboards, and I do drill a countersunk pilot hole, but you shouldn't do that for nails.
Easy to pull up again if necessary, no squeeking nails, etc.
Over half a century ago, I was taught in Woodwork at school to blunt the end of a sharp nail to stop it splitting the wood!
Me too. So easy with cordless screwdrivers, and those reversible drill/driver bits, and not much slower. I think nailing requires considerably more skill.
and don't tell me - you're still trying to hammer that nail in ;-)
If there's a ceiling beneath - SCREW - or you risk bringing down bits of the ceiling (especially bits where it is nailed up into the floorboards).
Personally George, unless you want them as some sort of finish on the floor, throw the floor brads away and use either oval headed nails [1] (punched in) or countersunk screws (both of suitable length [twice the thickness of the board minimum).
As for the hammer, my preference for such jobs is a 20oz Estwing claw hammer [2] (nylon not leather handle).
If you must use the floor brads, always drive them in with the grain (and punch home) and keep them as far as possible in from the edge or ends of the boards - about 25mm (1") - and the best of luck, when I was doing for a living, I hated using the things.
As for pilot holes, not really necessary (unless you have to nail very close to the edge [and then only through the board]) as the brad are deliberately designed for this work and being blunt, they have *less* tendency to split the boards (but splitting can and will happen at some time no matter how careful you are).
[1] Or you can use (round head) ring-shank nails - but be aware that these look ugly and can be b*****ds to get out if you want to take a floorboard back up. [2] Mine is about 35 years old (lost my first one to light fingers) and the balance on the thing is bloody amazing - and it can be comfortably used all day on flooring etc with minimum effort.Cash
The OP would do well to look at the ScrewTite make (not ScrewTite model specifically - but they are doing some new types specifically for flooring - self drilling, reverse thread section to pull boards down).
I agree with Newshound - whizzing a modern self-cutting screw in with a power driver is faster and less violent than nailing - with the possible exception of cladding a shed in which case a nailgun is the ultimate in speed.
I'd second that - it's so much easier if a board has to come up again, or to tighten down should one be loose. I don't seem to need a pilot hole these days though - maybe my floorboards are just very soft.....
What I did:
I nailed most of the boards using flooring brads (but had removable screwed= boards every 6th board for access). I allowed the boards to acclimatise= for several weeks first to avoid shrinkage. I laid them and squeezed up u= sing floorboard clamps. Drilled pilot holes through the board and a little = into the joist, hammered the brads using many light taps with a light hamme= r (then the brads don't bend), finished off with centrepunch so brad is 5mm= below surface ready for sanding the boards afterwards. =20
=20 Robert=20
boards every 6th board for access). I allowed the boards to acclimatise for several weeks first to avoid shrinkage. I laid them and squeezed up using floorboard clamps. Drilled pilot holes through the board and a little into the joist, hammered the brads using many light taps with a light hammer (then the brads don't bend), finished off with centrepunch so brad is 5mm below surface ready for sanding the boards afterwards.
I had to replace a chunk of living room floor when I bought a 1909 place. The floorboards throughout are planks, not T&G. They all have 1-2mm gaps between them, due to shrinkage after fitting I presume.
I bought a load of planks, stood them in the room for weeks (actually much longer than I originally intended), before finally fixing them down. The floors had all been completely silent to walk on, but these new boards creeked. I worked out they were creeking because the edges rubbed as you stepped on one. I put a fine blade in the circular saw, and ran it down the joins to recreate the gaps that all the original boards have, and it's been silent ever since.
For the next load, I laid them without time to completely dry. So they have formed 1-2mm gaps, like all the rest of the house, and those boards are silent too.
I could have used T&G, but I stuck with what the house already had, and I've had the boards up and down many times since, (phones, rewire, Cat5 cabled, install CH, alarm, home automation, ...) the tounges would have just been a pain.
(The house does have an original internal wall in T&G, but those planks are over an inch thick, and do have the stair stringer fixed to them.)
You're right, Spax floorbaord screws and a mains powered impact screwdriver is easier and faster and less damaging to downstairs. thanks for all the ideas and advice. [george]
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