"Me" wrote in message ...
I need to put down some 1/4" underlayment in a small hallway before I
tile it. The present floor is too rough to tile the way it is. It's
only 2 sheets, so not a big deal. I know the installers use staples,
but I dont have the equipment, and just want to nail it. My question
is what kind of nail to use, and how close to put the nails. Or,
should I use some sort of adhesive along with nails?

I dont want to turn this into a complicated job, and renting the
stapler would require me driving 30 some miles, since I am in a rural
area. I should note the present floor is only one layer of 3/4"
particle board.

http://www.gp.com/BUILD/DocumentView...elementid=3549

Me wrote:
I need to put down some 1/4" underlayment in a small hallway before I
tile it. The present floor is too rough to tile the way it is. It's
only 2 sheets, so not a big deal. I know the installers use staples,
but I dont have the equipment, and just want to nail it. My question
is what kind of nail to use, and how close to put the nails. Or,
should I use some sort of adhesive along with nails?

I dont want to turn this into a complicated job, and renting the
stapler would require me driving 30 some miles, since I am in a rural
area. I should note the present floor is only one layer of 3/4"
particle board. This place was built to save money. The hall had
carpeting, and was tacked down. Whoever removed the carpeting drove
all the tacks into the floor instead of pulling them. When I moved
in, there were two pieces of vinyl and they did not even match.
Yecccchhh...

I guess the particle board needs a good gripping nail, because thats
all there is.


Nothing under the particle board? Kind of skimpy.
I would worry about the strength and tearing the
chipboard to pieces if you use ring shank nails.
I'd use screws in predrilled holes (don't remember
the spacing? 6" on the edges and 1' spacing
elsewhere?). Set the heads down just below the
surface and cover it with a leveler made for that
purpose. If the surface isn't smooth, it will
telegraph through the vinyl. Whether you use
nails or screws you need a skim coat of leveler.

On 2/16/2005 9:49 PM US(ET), Me took fingers to keys, and typed the
following:

I need to put down some 1/4" underlayment in a small hallway before I
tile it. The present floor is too rough to tile the way it is. It's
only 2 sheets, so not a big deal. I know the installers use staples,
but I dont have the equipment, and just want to nail it. My question
is what kind of nail to use, and how close to put the nails. Or,
should I use some sort of adhesive along with nails?

I dont want to turn this into a complicated job, and renting the
stapler would require me driving 30 some miles, since I am in a rural
area. I should note the present floor is only one layer of 3/4"
particle board. This place was built to save money. The hall had
carpeting, and was tacked down. Whoever removed the carpeting drove
all the tacks into the floor instead of pulling them. When I moved
in, there were two pieces of vinyl and they did not even match.
Yecccchhh...

I guess the particle board needs a good gripping nail, because thats
all there is.

I had a tile floor installed over 1/4" plywood in my kitchen. The
plywood was nailed to the underlayment with 1-1/4" ridged shank nails. I
recently ripped up the tile, and the 1/4" plywood that it was cemented
to, and had a hell of a job getting up the 1/4" plywood. Had to use a
circular saw with a diamond blade to cut in the grout between the tiles
so as to cut it up in managable pieces. I still had to use wrecking bars
to pry the pieces up.

--
Bill

"Me" wrote in message
...
I need to put down some 1/4" underlayment in a small hallway before I
tile it. The present floor is too rough to tile the way it is. It's
only 2 sheets, so not a big deal. I know the installers use staples,
but I dont have the equipment, and just want to nail it. My question
is what kind of nail to use, and how close to put the nails. Or,
should I use some sort of adhesive along with nails?

I dont want to turn this into a complicated job, and renting the
stapler would require me driving 30 some miles, since I am in a rural
area. I should note the present floor is only one layer of 3/4"
particle board. This place was built to save money. The hall had
carpeting, and was tacked down. Whoever removed the carpeting drove
all the tacks into the floor instead of pulling them. When I moved
in, there were two pieces of vinyl and they did not even match.
Yecccchhh...

I guess the particle board needs a good gripping nail, because thats
all there is.


Nails were used for years before power tools became the norm.

You said tile. If you are doing ceramic your underlayment should be 1/4"
hardiebacker. This you can install with roofing nails that are long enough
to penetrate the subfloor by 1/8". The nailing pattern is marked on the
hardiebacker. Pick up a copy of the instructions when you buy. Just be sure
to use the edge spacing around the cut edges.

If you are doing vinyl tile your luan is okay (not the recommended product,
but okay). You can buy underlayment nails anywhere that has a good
selection of nails. They look like ring shank drywall nails with a much
smaller head. I'm not positive but I think the correct pattern is 6 x 6 ( a
nail every 6" in all directions). It might be 4" at the seams. At any rate
my arm remembers it is one heck of a lot of nails.

Happy pounding

Colbyt

"Me" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:01:37 -0500, "Colbyt"

You said 1/8" into the subfloor. Are you sure about that? That
sounds like much too little penetration. I'd figure a 1" nail. That
will just make it thru a 1/4" sheet and my 3/4" floor.

I am using some cheap vinyl tile, possibly even that peel and stick
crap (except I apply some multi-purpose adhesive first). This is
going to be a rental, so I want to keep costs down.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. What I meant was, if using roofing nails with
hardiebacker use a nail that is long enough to go all the way through the
sub-floor and stick out the bottom by 1/8".

Since you are doing vinyl and most likely using luan just buy your standard
underlayment nail. I don't recall if they are 1 1/4" or 1 1/2". Doesn't
matter. The ring shank will do the job. I like to never removed the
underlayment that I had applied in this manner when I was forced to because
of a leaky Fridge the tenant allowed to drip on the floor.

Colbyt