Replies

1. 
   RobWes | Jan 15, 2009 06:13pm | #1

   I don't have any information to give you but I do have to ask. How much per square foot was that floor?

1. 
   sullivanjh | Jan 15, 2009 06:27pm | #2

   $4.50 SF for 3" prefinished T&G 3/4" thick.

1. 
   RobWes | Jan 15, 2009 06:32pm | #3

   Thanks, much less than I thought it would be.

2. 
   webby | Jan 15, 2009 06:47pm | #4

   I am getting ready to lay some 2-1/4 strip oak prefinished. I don't have any specific info on purpleheart, but I would think any flooring nailer will probably work. Some shoot staples and cleats, some just cleats, some just staples. Some installers prefer cleats and some prefer staples.

   You didnt say what thickness of flooring you have. If it is not 3/4 some nailers can be adjusted but it malkes the rental nailers a hassle.

   I bought a middle of the road import nailer and it seems to work okay. I couldn't justify the expense of a bostitch or porter cable however I suspect the PC is an import to.

   If you have trouble with stress cracks on the edge of the flooring you can get a prefinished foot for some nailers but it is quite a bit larger than the foot on the nailer itself. It takes some getting used to.

   I bought one for my nailer because using rental nailers in the past I have experienced some splintering on the edge of the flooring surface.

   Oh and I wouldn't get anything but a pneumatic floor nailer. Pros may debate that you get a better product with a hand nailer but you really have to be careful with prefinished product. Plus they wear your @#$ out.

   Hope this helps.

   http://www.nailershoe.com

   Webby 

    

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   Edited 1/15/2009 10:49 am ET by webby

1. 
   sullivanjh | Jan 15, 2009 07:05pm | #5

   Thanks.  the flooring is 3/4 inch thick.  Since i am only installing 500 SF, I may be able to get away with an import.

1. 
   webby | Jan 15, 2009 07:15pm | #6

   Yeah, I was thinking the same. I am putting down about 400  at my parents house and another 150 at a friends.

   I haven't really started yet so I don't have a lot of time in with the nailer but this is the one I bought and reveiwed.

   I did nail a test patch down and it seems to work pretty well.

   I took a chance, I could always rent one or borrow my bosses.

   http://www.amazon.com/RAMSOND-RMM4-HARDWOOD-FLOORING-PNEUMATIC/dp/B001JT64U6/ref=pd_bbs_sr_6?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1232035885&sr=8-6

   The downside is they are strict with returns you have to deal with the company itself.

   I took a chance based on looking at the PC and hardcore tools and this nailer and the Akuzuki which is identical to this nailer and got good reveiws and noticed obvious similarities I suspect they are all made in the same plant somewhere in china.

   I used  buyer feed back on ebay and a favorable reveiw I googled  and took a chance.

   Webby 

    

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3. 
   reinvent | Jan 15, 2009 08:03pm | #7

   Purple heart is very hard and has some silica in it which will dull blades a bit faster. Sanding is going to be a pain. The faster you seal it the longer the purple color will last but it will likely turn brown after a few years.

   http://www.woodbin.com/ref/wood/purpleheart.htm

1. 
   sullivanjh | Jan 15, 2009 08:08pm | #8

   the flooring is being delivered with 7 coat Aluminum Oxide Polyurethane that is supposed to by UV stabalize.  Hopefully, it will keep its color for a while.

1. 
   webby | Jan 18, 2009 11:02pm | #9

   Update on the nailer I bought. I have run over a thousand cleats thru it. No Jamming No misfires etc. It's working good.Webby 

    

4. 
   jocobe | Jan 19, 2009 12:10am | #10

   Wow..purple heart! That's gotta look awesome!

   Y-e-a-r-s ago, when I worked in a shop, we made all the park benches for Baltimore City out of Purple Heart. We had extra material, so made some benches for ourselves. I still have it on my front porch!

   We got the Purple heart from Guyana, South America, shipped in containers.

   .

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1. 
   Darkaluke | Jan 19, 2009 03:54am | #11

    

   I had a guy who used to come into the tool store.  He got a huge deal on an entire rail car of Purple Heart, and built his deck out of it.  I think the rail car had "been abandoned" and all he did was bid on it.  It was a pretty deck.  (He brought in pictures when it was done.)

    

    

    

5. 
   Oak River Mike | Jan 19, 2009 04:54am | #12

   You'll love purple heart!  I made inlays for my floor with it many years ago and it still looks great.

   Only thing I can recommend is if you have to cut any of it WATCH OUT!  Its the most "splintery" wood I have ever seen.  I think I must have pulled 50 out of them out of my fingers by the time I was done!