Hardwood flooring installers have used cleats for generations nailing 3 4 solid hardwood planks to a wooden subfloor with 2 nails formed with an l shaped head.
Laying bamboo floor 18 gauge cleats splitting.
Use the specific gauge of nail recommended by the manufacturer.
The higher the gauge number the thinner the nail.
When all these steps are followed we have 100 installation success rate.
1 piece drive blade of hardened steel.
Diy enthusiasts want to know which choice is best in the cleats vs staples argument.
18 gauge cleats 1 1 2 to 1 3 4 3 8 norge 18 gauge floor nailer 18.
There are other brands but none better when you factor everything in.
And this is why using a cleat size larger than 18 gauge may result in dimples on your floor.
Flooring 101 home bamboo flooring tips bamboo installation tips.
There s a reason why strand woven bamboo floors are the hardest wood floors in the market because they re really dense.
For nail down installation staples will not work.
Regardless of your installation method always remember to p a c e.
Since you say the flooring company says to use 15 gauge flooring staples with 2 legs i would go with that.
Use an 18 gauge pneumatic flooring nailer such as the powernail 50p flex and use 18 gauge cleat nails that are one and a half to two inches long.
Pros and cons of using cleats for hardwood floor installation.
I have successfully stapled down 5 8 bamboo flooring on five different jobs and never got a call back for noisy floors.
Ideal for installing from 3 8 in.
The two gauges of nails typically used for hardwood floors are 16 and 18 gauge.
Always opt for an 18 gauge cleat nailer using you guessed it only 18 gauge cleats when installing strand woven bamboo.
However as normally set up it will do a very nice job of popping the tongue right off the bamboo the staple driver has just a bit too much reach for the thickness of the bamboo.
We recommend using a primatech q550 nailer or a powernail 50p flex nailer for all strand bamboo nail down installations.
Based on the hardness of this wood i am told that i should use an 18 gauge cleat nailer such as a powernail 50p.
However i have also been told that the somewhat standard bostitch 16 gauge cleat nailer will work just as well but will likely split the tongues a little more readily.
Lightweight and high strength aluminum body.
Using the wrong cleat thickness may result in dimpling or goosebumps in your strand bamboo floor.
To install strand woven flooring you ll need to use a pneumatic nailer that shoots 18 gauge hardwood flooring cleats.
Tongue and groove hardwood flooring specifically dense exotic hardwood such as bamboo teak cherry and engineered flooring.