Wooden floor planks tongue and groove

[sleapy]

I have some flooring (wooden planks approx 5ft long x 6inches x 1 inch thickness) to go in my living room which has floor boards.

I have been told that these boards can go straight on to the floorboards and should be invisibly nailed, has any one got any advice on how to go about this or any other tips? Should i be using some kind of underlay and should all the floor boards be completely secure?

With regards to the nailing i presume you nail the tonuge at an angle into the floorboards then put groove into the tongue which hides the nail?

thanks in advance

 

[kevnurse]

If you have a perfectly level and smooth floor you can get away with a thin foam underlay, which will then fill the very small air gaps between the 2 layers and also act as a cushion. Most DIY stores will have some. If the existing floor is uneven you need to use thicker underlay which is not foam, but similar to cardboard. It will significantly raise the height of the new floor in your room.

You will know best about this but, even with the thin foam insulation, you will end up with a floor at least 1 inch higher than it was previously, which means that you will have problems at doorways, etc.

Your proposed nailing technique is correct. A special tool can be bought or hired.

 

[AndersonC]

The tool you want is a "Portanailer" which allows the nail to be driven in at a specific angle to a specific depth. You simply hang the "shoe" over the edge of the board and hit the ram with the provided mallet.

One problem is that you need a good couple of feet or so to swing the mallet so cannot "porta-nail" the nails into the last 6 or so rows of boards due to the wall being in the way.

 

[mattysupra]

Think there miss understanding on nailing down floors. You must not put a underlay underneath! You should nail direct to floorboards at 90 degree angle if flat and smooth. If not you must uplift floorboard and replace with 18mm + plywood. You can lay direct to joists if load bearing floor and joist spacing etc is correct.