I’m new to floor installation and wondered what the advantage of a dedicated floor nailer were. I have several pneumatic nailers and wondered if these are suitable for flooring or if a real floor nailer is the way to go. Thanks.
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I have a Porta-Nails 421P (P for pneumatic) floor nailer and can't imagine using anything other than a dedicated floor nailer. I build spec houses pretty much by myself (i.e., I'm not a professional installer), and I have used the nailer three times since I have owned it over a two-year period. Friends who have used a manual floor nailer said pnuematic is the way to go. I've used only a pnuematic, so I can't address that issue.
Dedicated flooring nailers have nails that are a lot different than a finish nailer; I would like to believe that these nails hold a lot better than a regular finish nail. (Word of caution: make sure you can get the nails for your gun locally, or make sure you order enough nails in advance. I picked up nails for my gun in the Casper, WY Home Depot, but the Green River, WY Home Depot didn't carry them. My local rental outlet sells flooring nails, but they were not the correct type.)
Plus, it's a cool tool.
Steve
Thanks for the advice. I had a feeling that a dedicated floor nailer would be the way to go.
Flooring nails have a hook head and are barbed. They will hold the flooring planks much better than a finish nail. Also, the act of whacking the nailer with the malet forces the plank tight against it's mate. Use a floor nailer, at least until you get too close to a wall and need to use finish nails.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA