What Gauge Nail To Use For Hardwood Floors

The higher the gauge number the thinner the nail.

What gauge nail to use for hardwood floors.

Most nail guns that use the 16 gauge nails are particularly for finishing work. It is commonly used when installing crowns and boards where the material is attached to drywall directly. Traditional engineered hardwood for 1 2 engineered floors using a pneumatic hardwood nailer you will use 2 cleated nails. Use 1 1 2 long cleat nails when installing thinner 1 2 thick wood flooring.

For all three types of fasteners. Flooring nailer is designed for the installation of tongue and groove hardwood flooring. 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. 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.

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. Use the specific gauge of nail recommended by the manufacturer. 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. To 3 4 in.

For engineered strips and planks the recommended spacing is between four and eight inches. 2 interchangeable no mar base plates allow you to install 1 2 in. Nail staple guns used for solid hardwood installation will be a 15 or 16 gauge. Hosking hardwood recommends an 8 penny nail which is roughly the equivalent of a 3 inch nail.

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. You need to be aware that larger dimensions than the specified types will not work in this tool. 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. 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.

Crown staples from 1 1 2 in. The numax sfl618 pneumatic 3 in 1 15 5 gauge the numax sfl618 pneumatic 3 in 1 15 5 gauge 2 in. 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. Extra holding power is needed when handling the 16 thick gauge to hold together the pieces in place.