150mm floorboards

[steel]

Hello to all.I have a query for the learned amongst you all."To secret nail or not to secret nail?"This is my question.So far i have only read that it is possible to nail lesser sized floorboards,so can you secret nail 150mm wide hardwood T&G (blackbutt)or only top nail,and what do i use re,nail size etc? I must say the advice is first rate that i have read and never needed to post before as all my little questions have been answered,but now i have one to ask.Thanks.

[Gaza]

A.S. says top nail all boards over 85mm wide, some people on this forum have secrete nailed 130mm wide, but this is not the correct way,

[E. maculata]

G'day Steel, I'm unaware of any domestic hardwood flooring manufacturer whom recommends secret nailing the wider profiles (over 100mm nominal size) and as such would not be expected to honour any future claim against the floor. Basically as usual what Gaz says .

[Gaza]

Basically as usual what Gaz says .

what u mean by this bruce, am i always right or something....

[ozwinner]

If the floorboard wasnt ment to be secret nailed, they would make it that way surely??

Al :confused:

[E. maculata]

what u mean by this bruce, am i always right or something....

Maybe, could possibly be, occassionally even .




Bruce C.
Politician in training

[Gaza]

Maybe, could possibly be, occassionally even .




Bruce C.
Politician in training

Since i am mostly getting out of the flooring game, i will only be sharing my wisdom online, there is people inlcd your self & others who are full of know edge.

[sinjin1111]

Well...probably sticking my neck right out here. But...
if you were to put down 12mm ply first before you lay yr boards...which i did on my place 9 yrs ago. Effectively you are stopping/ reducing the moisture differiental from the inside of yr home to the outside. When the boards are properly sealed after sanding etc you souldn't get movement. I probably went a little overboard but i also glued each board. i don't mind saying my floor is as flat as a bowling green. My neighbour didn't want to spend the extra money on the plywood. But after no time at all his boards have moved. Most boards are not quarter sawn but really crown cut to get most out of the log. This is the reason you get movement warping / cupping or whatever.
The extra width i agree is alot but if its sealed properly i think i would be ok.
Be gentle with the abuse...lol I'm delicate...lol
Sinjin

[boban]

I had to finish off a job (around the curved walls and stairs) that the floor layer abandoned and the 130mm boards were glued and secret nailed. It looks great but the tongue invariably splits when nailed as it doesnt have the right profile.

My understanding is that when it is glued, it has a better hold than two nails fired through the top. All the complete floors that I done (yes all 4 of them) I have secret nailed and used construction glue (liquid nails). I know its not the best for the job but none of the floors squeek nor have they opened up at all. They have all been fixed to battens.

I will use ultraset from now on but my point is that the combination of staples and glue has really done a good job on these floors that I get to inspect regularly.

I think you might be right Sinjin but its probably not the effort most floor layers will go to without some serious compensation. For me it makes no difference as the family dont understand the meaning of consideration.

[la Huerta]

if floor movement is almost zero when glued, why the hell does a tabletop need to be floating...if timber is complety sealed, then in theory it won't absorb moisture and therefore not crack or split ...



sorry that may be off the point a bit...

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Just to throw a skunk in among the chickens, you can secret nail wide floor-boards... but Gaza's also right in saying don't secret nail over 3 1/2"ers (85mm). The fact is: there's more than one way to "secret nail." What most people mean by it is what we used to call "tongue nailing" and I agree 100% with Gaza about that!

My mentor from many years back had a different method, involving a very, very sharp v-chisel. He'd use this to pry loose a small splinter from the top, not severing it from the rest though, hand-nail into the exposed groove and then glue the splinter back down. After sanding/sealing I had to look several times to find any trace of his work and even then I didn't find many. Very few, as a matter of fact and I knew where to look!

Needless to say, this is a skill that needs practice to perfect. I never became that good, although I had no complaints about any of the floors I tried my hand at doing that way.

Thank Ghu I'm out of that game.