After removing the carpet, I noticed that the subfloor was nailed with bright nails, not shank nails. The seams have no adhesive between the sheets either.
I'll be installing hardwood flooring, so besides having to sand the transitions between sheets to make them level, would it be prudent to replace the nails and fill in the gaps too?
TIA
All nails have shanks, do you mean ring shank nails? They'd be good to use, or screw shank nails. You can get them from 2-3" long. Will you be using an air nailer, or manual?
nails all bend, unless your using a air nailer I would use screws, and fill all voids, then sand as needed
It sounds your turning this hardwood floor project into a major undergoing. You are over thinking every aspect of the job. Why would you replace the nails? there is no reason for it and wait until you see the mess that makes.( how many question will that generate) The nails in your subfloor were put in with a nail gun, nail gun nails have a coating on them that act like a glue. Well there might be glue on the joist there might not be, to late to worry about it. If there is a uneven edge joint add some nails and try and pull it down and then sand it. You also said you want to put down
1/8" underlayment that's a waste of time, 3/8" plywood not partial board usually not recommended for hardwood. In advance when you get on the Concrete slab wait until you put a straight edge on that. I'm a firm believer in do it your self, at this point I would suggest calling a contactor and having the job done. While it's being done go on vacation sometimes contractors get irritated and have been known to, lets just say you should not be there. You have received some good advice to your post about the floor but are determined to do it your way.
I agree, screws are much better for the subfloor.
A spiral-shank flooring nail is as good as a screw, except that you'll never get the thing out again. A screw is a marked improvement over a bright-common nail, but you shouldn't be using those in a floor, anyway.
If OP is putting in a solid wood floor, lined with rosin paper, then cracks and small voids in the subfloor are a non-issue. Bumps, however, are bad.
I noticed that the nails were bright because when hammering a couple down others came up as the sheet vibrated. After what you said, I might just replace the nails coming up with ring shank ones.
I gave up on the idea of 1/8" underlayment. My plan is to nail the floor down directly on the subfloor.
I'm a novice, thus the stupid questions...
there are also free floating hardwood floors
When nailing or screwing in floor be aware of things below. my neighbor renailed his bathroom sub floor, hit a water line, which brought down the kitchen cieling below. might also be drain lines or electric lines.
you dont want this project to get really exciting:(
Leave the existing nails in place, and just drive new SPIRAL-shank nails down about an inch or so alongside them. Pulling the old ones out is work to no purpose. Who put the subfloor down?
--Goedjn.
NB. Spiral and ring-shank nails are different animals.
You can go to
My limited understanding is that the swell/shrink cycle of wood on exteriors can unscrew spirals over time, so you use ring-shank there, but that ring-shank tears up the fiber around the hole more, so you use spirals where you can.
(What really amazes me is that there are people who make their living thinking about things like that...)
I'm talking about the subfloor that the builder put... :-/
My concern is making sure that its movements are stabilized before installing the floor.
Thanks.
Yes. You have an opportunity now to avoid squeaks in the future.
Ken
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