What Gauge Nail To Use For Hardwood Floors

To 3 4 in.

What gauge nail to use for hardwood floors.

Shf15 senco manual hardwood flooring cleat nailer. The numax sfl618 pneumatic 3 in 1 15 5 gauge the numax sfl618 pneumatic 3 in 1 15 5 gauge 2 in. 2 interchangeable no mar base plates allow you to install 1 2 in. A good rule of thumb for nail length is 1 1 2 inch nails for 1 2 inch thick flooring and 1 3 4 inch nails for 3 4 inch thick flooring but always follow the flooring manufacturer s.

Hosking hardwood recommends an 8 penny nail which is roughly the equivalent of a 3 inch nail. Crown staples from 1 1 2 in. Flooring nailer is designed for the installation of tongue and groove hardwood flooring. Most nail guns that use the 16 gauge nails are particularly for finishing work.

The national wood flooring association guidelines recommend that nails or staples should be spaced between eight and ten inches for solid hardwood strips and planks. Flooring stapler and 16 gauge 2 in. Nail staple guns used for solid hardwood installation will be a 15 or 16 gauge. The two gauges of nails typically used for hardwood floors are 16 and 18 gauge.

For both the aforementioned reasons if you re considering the purchase of a nail gun solely or primarily for installing hardwood floors the 16 gauge is recommended. This air powered flooring nail gun and stapler is compatible with 16 gauge t cleats and l cleats and 15 5 gauge 1 2 in. It is commonly used when installing crowns and boards where the material is attached to drywall directly. Extra holding power is needed when handling the 16 thick gauge to hold together the pieces in place.

While the 15 gauge guns do usually fire like a cannon a 16 gauge still recesses the nail heads 1 16 or 1 32 inch through hardwood which is entirely adequate for a floor installation. Traditional engineered hardwood for 1 2 engineered floors using a pneumatic hardwood nailer you will use 2 cleated nails. This size allows the nail to pass through both the walking floor and the plywood and leaves 1 inches of nail to secure to the joists. Use 1 3 4 long cleat nails when installing 3 4 solid wood flooring when 3 4 thick plywood is applied directly over a concrete slab so the cleat nail does not go through the 3 4 thick plywood hitting the concrete.

Use 1 1 2 long cleat nails when installing thinner 1 2 thick wood flooring. The higher the gauge number the thinner the nail. Use the specific gauge of nail recommended by the manufacturer. For engineered strips and planks the recommended spacing is between four and eight inches.