"Bernie Hunt" wrote on 18 Aug 2007 in group
alt.home.repair:

"Steve" wrote in message
.128...
"Bernie Hunt" wrote on 18 Aug 2007 in group
alt.home.repair:

I'm putting down oak flooring over 1x subflooring. How important is
it to nail the flooring over every joist?

My concern is after screwing all the subfloor boards to the joists,
plus the two original nails, there isn't much room left to get in
the flooring nail.

The flooring isn't nailed to the joists -- it's nailed to the
subflooring. I'd put down a layer of 3/4" plywood. One inch
subflooring is probably only 3/4" in actual measure, and more than
3/4" is needed to anchor the nails properly, not to mention you need
to eliminate flex as much as possible.

I agree that it's mostly nailed to the subfloor, but most every
reference I've found on the net says to nail into the joints. For
example; http://www.hometips.com/articles/woodfloor.html

So I guess your answer it yes, get at least a nail at each joist so
it's holding into something thicker.

That web site has pretty good instructions. The nails for the floor
nailer will be 2" - 3" long, but they go in at a 45° angle, more or
less, so the vertical penetration is about half the nail length.
Depending on your subfloor, you will probably never touch the joists. On
the other hand, having the nails over the joists might make the floor
squeak less.

Read the instructions that come with your flooring. They will tell you
what type of nails to use and how to space them. You need to do it as
instructed to protect your warranty.

--
Steve B.
New Life Home Improvement