What Gauge Nail To Use For Hardwood Floors

Use 1 1 2 long cleat nails when installing thinner 1 2 thick wood flooring.

What gauge nail to use for hardwood floors.

It is commonly used when installing crowns and boards where the material is attached to drywall directly. Crown staples from 1 1 2 in. Nail staple guns used for solid hardwood installation will be a 15 or 16 gauge. You need to be aware that larger dimensions than the specified types will not work in this tool.

Traditional engineered hardwood for 1 2 engineered floors using a pneumatic hardwood nailer you will use 2 cleated nails. Flooring nailer is designed for the installation of tongue and groove hardwood flooring. To 3 4 in. Flooring stapler and 16 gauge 2 in.

Extra holding power is needed when handling the 16 thick gauge to hold together the pieces in place. The higher the gauge number the thinner the nail. 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. Most nail guns that use the 16 gauge nails are particularly for finishing work.

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. 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. Shf15 senco manual hardwood flooring cleat nailer. Use the specific gauge of nail recommended by the manufacturer.

Hosking hardwood recommends an 8 penny nail which is roughly the equivalent of a 3 inch nail. For all three types of fasteners. 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. For engineered strips and planks the recommended spacing is between four and eight inches.

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. The two gauges of nails typically used for hardwood floors are 16 and 18 gauge. 2 interchangeable no mar base plates allow you to install 1 2 in. This is a nail gun for a hardwood floor that will utilize a variety of fasteners which include 15 5ga staples and 16ga l cleat nails.