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Posted by on July 23, 2007, 7:56 pm
> On Jul 22, 10:34 pm, goo...@chicagoits.com wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > A floor installer has just finished installing new unfinished hardwood
> > on the floor of our apartment. The floor has been sanded, but no
> > polyurethane has been put down yet.
>
> > The base floor is concrete.
>
> > Due to concerns about the total height of the floor, we used 5/8''
> > plywood as the subfloor instead of 3/4''. The flooring is 3/4''
> > thick.
>
> > The problem is that, on the boards that were face nailed, the nail
> > heads are right at the surface of the wood. So in the midst of our
> > nice cherry floors, silver nail heads gleam in the light. We're told
> > this is because the floor is not thick enough to do anything else.
>
> > We'd like to ask the installer "why didn't you mention this before?"
> > But that's not exactly constructive.
>
> > So the question is: what now? It's not the nail heads that bother
> > us, it's that they are silver and shiny. Can we color them? If so,
> > with what? It seems like it would be tough to punch the nails
> > deeper. But is that possible? How should it have been done? Screws
> > and plugs? If so, can the nails be pulled out at this point?
>
> The nails are more of a problem than simply cosmetic. When you go to
> refinish the floor the nails will tear up the sandpaper on the floor
> machine. That's the reason that all nails, whether through the tongue
> or face-nailed should be set as deep as the top of the tongue.
>
> You could color the nail head, after doing some tests to make sure
> that the floor finish doesn't cause the paint or whatever you use to
> streak and discolor the floor. Coloring the nail heads only deals
> with the cosmetic issue and not the long term one.
>
> The nails will probably hit the concrete and bend which would cause
> the nail set to slide off the head. If that happens it'll leave some
> larger than necessary holes and the nails might not be set deep enough
> anyway. A mangled head also won't look better than a uniform one.
> Setting the nails would probably be difficult, but it's probably worth
> a shot.
>
> Pulling the nails would leave some nasty scars. I don't see any
> reason why you should have scars in a brand new floor. It is possible
> to use a pull the nail, use a Forstner bit to drill a counterbore and
> then use screws and plugs. That's a crap load of work and it would
> probably be just as easy to just install new boards and sand them
> down. Cherry wood darkens with age quite a bit, so if the putty looks
> perfect when first installed, it will look too light down the road.
>
> The thin plywood underlayment is the problem. If the floor installer
> put it down, the whole thing is his puppy. If you had the plywood
> installed by someone else, and the installer wasn't aware of the
> problem, then it's yours. Such thin underlayment doesn't give much
> leeway for fasteners. A solid wood floor will move a fair bit -
> you're lucky that you have cherry which moves less than oak - and
> shorter fasteners can work loose more easily.
>
> R
All great responses, thank you everyone.
The floor installer put the subfloor down. We knew it was a little
thin, but we were told there was enough room to secure the boards
properly.
The most important thing I've learned is that the nails can not stay
the way they are due to problems when refinishing in the future.
Sounds like screw and plugs might be the way to go. We have extra
boards too.
I'll report back on the outcome.
Thanks again!
--Greg
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