Best nail for chipboard flooring?

[John Rumm]

Is the traditional cut clasp nail still best for chipboard flooring sheets, or would a ring nail be better?

[nightjar]

I use Posidrive screws in drilled and countersunk holes. The main reasons for using nails are speed and cost. For the d-i-y-er the savings on either over using screws is not likely to be significant and screws are easier to take up during later d-i-y projects.

Colin Bignell

[IMM]

"nightjar .uk.com>"

Nails easily work loose. Screws keep a tight hold. The on-site method is to glue and nail chipboard to prevent creaks. Taking it up is diffiicult after. Using only screws can keep away the creaks and easy to take up after.

[Seri]

| > I use Posidrive screws in drilled and countersunk holes. The main reasons | > for using nails are speed and cost. For the d-i-y-er the savings on either | > over using screws is not likely to be significant and screws are easier to | > take up during later d-i-y projects. | | Nails easily work loose. Screws keep a tight hold. The on-site method is | to glue and nail chipboard to prevent creaks. Taking it up is diffiicult | after. Using only screws can keep away the creaks and easy to take up | after. | Screws every time, so easy to get the stuff up again if you need to, don't set the torque too high on your electric screwdriver though and drill pilot holes (for the teeny bit of extra time it takes it sure makes life easier).

Seri

[nightjar]

...

Ring barb nails don't. I built a pair of gates (2m x 3m) over 20 years ago using bronze ring barb nails and they still look good for at least as long again. However, by the same token, you shouldn't use ring barb nails if you have any expectation of ever needing to remove them again.

Colin Bignell

[N. Thornton]

First time I did flooring I just hammered the screws in. Nearky the speed of nails and grips nicely. Just regard them as high performance nails. That was chipboard.

Regards, NT

[Seri]

| First time I did flooring I just hammered the screws in. Nearly the | speed of nails and grips nicely. Just regard them as high performance | nails.

Lots of people I know seem to take this approach with no problems... whenever I've tried though I seem to split the wood I'm hammering into...

Personally I'll stick to the slow and steady method, drill a pilot hole then screw into it.

Seri

[geoff]

In message , Seri writes

If you want to prevent nails splitting wood, blunt them first, that way they tear and don't split. Whack the point with a hammer

[nightjar]

While the engineer's screwdriver works quite well in wood, good quality flooring grade chipboard needs to be drilled and countersunk to get the screw heads flush.

Colin Bignell