Wooden flooring - tools for the job?

[renfrew999]

Hi, I layed an oak floor about 2 years ago using a hired porta nailer. Even though it gave a good finish I found it back breaking! This time I was hoping to buy an electrical nailer for approx £100. Am I waisting my time or is there anything out there that would do the job? The flooring is 18mm solid oak T & G. Thanks.

 

[flooringman]

Unless you can pick up a bargain on ebay you are not going to get much of a floor nailer for £100!

You can get pneumatic nailers which would require less effort.

If you buy one on ebay you could then try to sell it on.

 

[renfrew999]

Thanks Flooringman. I take it the pnuematic nailer is still manual, just easier to drive the nail in with?

 

[Chri5]

Tongue tite screws and a cordless drill ?

Did 32m with them over the last 2 weeks, seems (touch wood) to work ok, even if I did get through 1600 screws

 

[flooringman]

The pneumatic nailer looks virtually the same as a manual one and you still have to strike the plunger - just not as hard.

I don't know if the one you first hired was a single blow machine but you can get them with a ratchet system which is easier to use.

 

[renfrew999]

Thanks for the replies. I might go for the tounge-tite option and it gives me an excuse to buy a new cordless drill! B&Q have a 18v Dewalt for £99 plus there's a 15% discount code available so it seems like a good deal. Does that sound like a reasonable option?

 

[flooringman]

Yes - I have used the tongue-tite screws on small areas the only thing is it is time consuming.

 

[Chri5]

Yes - I have used the tongue-tite screws on small areas the only thing is it is time consuming.

And unless you have a r/angle drill driver it's all but impossible to screw down the last few boards since you can't angle at 30 degs 6" off the wall your install finishes at.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Wouldn't it be just as problematic trying to get a floor nailer in at the same place?