2" flooring cleats.
When you are close to walls won't be able to use the flooring nailer.....there won't be enough room. In these situations you will use the finish nailer.....in some cases you will face nail straight through the top surface of a hardwood floor board and in some cases you will nail through the tongue of a floor board. The first board you put down in a room is first nailed through the top surface to hold it in place and then nailed through the tongue. You will nail succeeding boards through the tongue with the finish nailer until you have enough room for the flooring nailer to be used. When you get to the far side of the room the flooring nailer will no longer fit for the last few rows so you will switch to the finish nailer. Everything the finish nailer will be used for can be done via hand nailing.....but the finish nailer is faster and easier than hand nailing.
I'll look at the finish nailer again but a store employee should be able to make sure you buy compatible nails.

 

The Bostich finish nailer you will be buying uses the DA style nails. Buy DA style nails and you will be fine. The nail angle for DA style nails is 34 degrees....nail box will indicate DA, 34 degrees, or both. Again 2" finishing nails for your project. You'll also be able to use the nailer to attach your baseboard after the new hardwood flooring is installed.

 

JIMMIEM,

Any idea how many 2" finishing nails we should purchase? We also bought the FLN-200 16 GA Flooring Cleat 1 15/16" (recommended for 2" applications) for our Bostitch flooring nailer. We bought two boxes of 1,000 each, so 2,000 of them.

 

If Lowe's is nearby start with 1 box of 1000 and buy more if/when you start to run low.

 

Oh man! What a job!!!

I finally got the new joist in, the support under the door, and all the blocking by the walls done. I gotta vacuum again, I gotta put some pink insulation down (where's there's just outside underneath the parts of the walls in the corner because the room downstairs isn't the same shape), and then I gotta put down the plywood.

We ran out of money and the hardwood is going to have to wait, but we really want the subfloor in before the baby comes. Man, that was really hard! We went a different way with the support under the door. We blocked that. My wife's mother's wife said blocking would be just as effective. If it's not, we can remove it and do it the other way.


So, what are these fastener strips I'm supposed to put down between some of the plywood? From what I've seen, I think they're going to maybe be metal o something....what are their names so I know what to look for on Lowes.com or homedepot.com? Thanks!

 

Fastener strips between the plywood? Where did you see these....not sure what you are referring to. Mother-in-law helping out....way to go!!!! If you haven't bought the fiberglass yet you might want to check out Roxul....Lowe's has it.
Little different from your day job, huh?

 

It's around minute mark 2:30, the fastener stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZspmzSb194

The sheets of plywood I purchased are made by Georgia Pacific I believe, so I was following their video. Is that not correct?


And yes, very much different from my daily job! I fix electronics (mainly PCs but TVs, tablets and cell phones as well). I have no idea how someone could do this stuff every day for a living!!! It's fun, but very physically demanding! A great way to lose some weight!

 

I didn't watch the entire video but I didn't see any fastener strips. Could you be referring to the construction adhesive [in a caulking tube] that they applied to the top of the joists prior to laying down the plywood?

 

Ditto to what MARSR said....the squigglys on the joists are construction adhesive. Some do it as squiggly and some with just run a straight line 3/16" to 1/4" diameter bead.
A lot of people don't have the dexterity or aptitude for what you do in your daily job......to each his/her own. If you did this type of physical work on a daily basis you would get used to it. Nice change of pace, no?

 

marksr,

No, it's at minute mark 2:30. You can slide the slider at the bottom of the video and take it to around 2:30 and watch what they're talking about. It's AFTER the plywood is laid. They tell you what lengths to use and where to put them.

 

JIMMIEM,

It is a nice change of pace and it's nice to take a break from all the electronic type work. Unfortunately, I've had to put the baby's room on hold once again. We got Corning Appliance installing the cold air return upstairs and they asked that I keep the floor open until it's installed. It's almost installed and should be done today. But in the meantime, because we need the cash, I started a few jobs. Fixing a TV and a cell phone right now. It shouldn't take too long to fix. I was getting a bit burned out on the baby's room anyway so that's a nice change of pace as well!

This is what the Georgia-Pacific video says about the fasteners:
[code]
Then fasteners should be placed 3/8 inch from the edge and spaced 6 inches apart along the panel edges and 12 inches apart
along the intermediate supports. Make sure to install all the fasteners before the glue cures.
[/code]

To me, I get the impression they're strips of metal or something.

 

You must be talking about where they are giving the screw/nail placement. It's telling where the fasteners should go.

 

It's construction adhesive. They reference it when they say to screw the plywood down before the glue (construction adhesive) dries. Some people spread the adhesive in a straight line and some do it squiggly like in the video. When the plywood is put down the adhesive will spread.

 

Marksr, that's what I was talking about. I didn't realize they were just giving the spacing for the screws. When I saw the lines, I thought they were actual pieces of metal or something that I put in those areas after the screws were in place. Thanks.

I know when we tore up the old floor, they had these weird strips of metal that were between this hard type of material. It was under the carpet pad but above the subfloor. The metal strips were between the different pieces of the hard type of material. They were different lengths and I thought maybe that's what the video was talking about. These had a bunch of little tiny nails on them and the metal, when I tore it off, wanted to roll up in a circle.

 

The strips with lots of nails sticking out of them are tackless strips. They are nailed to the subfloor and hold the wall to wall carpet....the carpet is stretched over them and pressed onto them. These are for carpet only. Subfloor is attached to joists with construction adhesive and screws or nails.

 

JIMMIEM,

The tackless strips where for the carpet, but these weren't the same. The nails were sticking into the stuff under the carpet pad. On that hard stuff and the nails were pointing towards the subfloor. Maybe they were holding that hard plastic type stuff into the subfloor, I dunno. It was only at the edges of it, holding two pieces together.

It was weird stuff, the hard stuff that kinda looked like plastic. When I broke it, there where these fibers inside it, kinda like straw or something. Never seen stuff like that. But I thought maybe it could have asbestos in it so I tried not to break anymore and just threw it out.

Today my friend Jason came over. We cleaned the room out and laid our very first piece of plywood! It took longer than we thought but we had to remove all the old floor boards and clean the room out. We put down the insulation where it was supposed to go.

There were a couple screws where we missed the blocks. We just took the screws out and found the block on the second try. We laid chalk lines to make them easier to find. Should we fill in those holes or just leave them?

Also, cutting the plywood with the circular saw was hard. It kept pinching and the saw would stop. It's gonna be hard to cut these plywoods with this saw. We're using a plywood blade.

 

I'd get a more aggressive blade, plywood blades are mostly for paneling or cuts where it's important to eliminate or minimize tear out along the cut line - not important for a subfloor. Those empty screw holes shouldn't make any difference. You only need to fill them if you need it to make you feel warm and fuzzy

 

Keep both sides of the cut well supported to prevent the pinching (binding). As MARKSR said, to cut faster don't use a plywood blade....it's not necessary for the type of cutting you are doing....you don't need a really smooth or pretty cut....just make it straight as you can.

 

Thanks marksr! I found a great way to cut the plywood. I can cut extremely straight lines now very quick like with no problems at all using this jig saw with a extra clean cut blade. It's so much quicker than the circular saw, it's so much easier to use and it's very straight, clean lines.

 

JIMMIEM,

The first piece I cut with the circular saw, the second piece I cut was with a jig saw. Oh man, you should see the difference. The circular saw one is all wobbly and bad. The jig saw one, it looks like it came cut that way from the factory!

I measured and triple checked my measurements for the second piece, the one that goes next to the chimney that also has a wall register attached to it. It was one of those ones where I had to make sure I did it just right. After cutting it with the jig saw, it looks like it came that way from the factory! It worked perfectly.

I was able to lay the plywood on the floor joists and just cut down the middle and then I plopped the shorter piece that was getting installed up on the saw horses to make the special cuts. Worked like a charm.

I like the jig saw the best because I don't got a lot of experience using any of those tools and that's a lot more forgiving. The blade doesn't cut as much so quick like, so if I make a small mistake, it's not very noticeable. I got a bit of time to fix the cut, moving the blade back to the line. With the circular saw, it wasn't so forgiving, you know?

 

You need a better blade for the skil saw! The only reason the jig saw is doing better is because of the blade. A skil saw is both quicker and easier to keep a straight line. Fortunately sub floor plywood doesn't have to be perfect. With either saw you can clamp a straightedge on the plywood as a fence [guide] if needed to help you make a straight cut.

 

I was using a 2x4 clamped on as a guide, but with the jigsaw, I didn't need it.

I thought maybe the blade for the circular saw was cheap or maybe even the circular saw was under powered. I think why I didn't get a straight line with the circular saw, even with using the 2x4 as a guide, was because it kept stalling out. I had to back it up, start it again, go forward. Sometimes, when it stopped, the saw would go back by itself. Like something was forcing it back.

 

An under powered saw could be part of the problem but I believe the main problem is the blade. For cutting plywood [other than paneling or for cabinets] you want an 18-24 tooth blade. Something along the lines of this - Shop DEWALT Construction 7-1/4-in 24-Tooth Dry Segmented Carbide Circular Saw Blade at Lowes.com

 

With a fine tooth blade the feed rate has to be slower to prevent binding. You could also get binding if both edges of the cut aren't supported. A circular saw will cut faster but a jig saw is easier to control.....use whatever you are most comfortable with. If you like using the jig saw, a blade with fewer teeth will cut faster. You mentioned a Clean Cut or ExtraClean Cut blade....these will give a smoother cut than a blade with fewer teeth but won't cut as fast. You don't need a fine smooth cut for the plywood subfloor...it will be covered with the hardwood flooring.

 

Thank's Marksr. I'll replace the blade with a blade somewhere around 18-24 teeth and give it another shot.

 

JIMMIEM,

The first board I cut, the one I cut with the circular saw, the edge isn't straight at all and I know I'm supposed to use a 1/8" gap between the butts of the plywood, but because of this not straight edge, in some places, it's more like 1/2" to 3/4" gap. Is this going to be a problem? The other piece is almost perfectly straight (the one with the jigsaw). If the lower teeth don't fix the issues with the circular saw, I'll continue using the jig saw. But should I fill in that gap between the plywood with some construction adhesive or something? Or would it be fine? It should be fine, right? Because the purpose of the subfloor is to provide a sturdy floor and give me something to attach the hardwood too, right? The two pieces are very sturdy, walking on them. No bounce, nothing....

 

How long are the wide gaps? were you able to securely attach the plywood to the joists in those areas?

 

I was able to successfully secure the plywood to the joists in that area. The biggest gap is maybe 1/2" to 3/4" but I'd say more closer to 1/2". After securing it, we went and walked on it and there's no bounce or anything. Also, remember, these joists aren't 1 1/2", they're actually 2" (I think they're called rough cut).

 

You can leave the gaps but mark the area and don't put any flooring cleats in the gap and don't put any hardwood flooring board end joints over the gap. The gap won't adversely affect the hardwood flooring but if it bothers you get some Floor Patch at Home Depot or rip a narrow strip of plywood and put it in the gap

 

Thanks. We just finished attaching the second piece of plywood. We're getting ready to put the third piece down now (starting the second row) but we noticed a problem after screwing the second piece by the chimney.

There's one joist that is higher than the others. It's just that one and you can see it. It's a bend in the plywood. I don't think there's anything I can do to the joist where that one piece is because it's glued down and screwed. I think once I'm done with the subfloor, maybe I can sand it with a floor sander in that area?

But what should I do with the rest of the joist? Just lay the plywood normally and sand all the plywood that's over that joist? Or should I try somehow lowering the joist? It's going to be hard. I got a hand planner now but it takes a long time and I'm not sure how I'd know when it was level with the others.

All the other joists are good, it's just that one.

 

Would it be that difficult to pull that one sheet of plywood up? That way you can plane or cut the hump out of that joist. You don't want to do any heavy duty sanding on plywood - you'd likely sand thru one or more of the plys

 

Where is the high joist? Is it against a wall? Can you post a picture showing the hump? Is the entire length of the joist higher than the other joists?

 

Marksr,

It would be very difficult to pull this sheet of plywood up. This construction adhesive is like cement! I originally ran it out too far and when I put the plywood down, some of it came out by the tongue side and I couldn't get the groove in because of that. Removing that stuff just at the tongue was very difficult. We had to chisel it away. Unscrewing it wouldn't be that hard, but I think I'd end up breaking the plywood getting it off from the adhesive. If not, cleaning it off the joists would be very difficult. We tried using paper towels and it's just very, very hard to clean up.

 

JIMMIEM, we believe the entire joist is higher than the other joists. I will post pictures when I go back up, although the camera might not show the hump as bad as it is in real life.

The joist isn't the one right next to the drywall (the one I added). It's the one right before the one I added.

 

I forgot you were using construction adhesive

Can you take a straightedge [4' level will work] and see how high that joist is compared to the rest?

 

JIMMIEM,

I think we made a mistake and I do think it's the one by the wall. The new joist. I think it's too low. The reason I say that, the plywood everywhere else looks level but it's not, when you use a level. There's a bit of an incline, it's just not noticeable. When we put in the new joist, it's level with the one next to it but it actually needs to be a little higher, so it goes in line with the other ones, if that makes sense.

We're going to tear up the new piece, even though removing the adhesive is going to be hard, we're going to do that and try to fix it. I think we're going to try raising the new joist a little bit. What do you guys think? I'll be back to read the comments once we remove the new piece of plywood and get the adhesive remove.

 

If the new 'low' joist is securely nailed just add a thin strip or some shims on top of it to raise its height. To remove the adhesive use an oscillating multi tool with a scraper blade.

 

I believe we fixed the problem. We're going to cut a new piece of plywood for the chimney. But we got all the adhesive off and then we raised the new joist to make it level with the other joists. We took our 4' level and put it across all the new joist and the old joists and just made it so the level didn't tilt one way or another and then we screwed it back down.

We also bought an angle finder and we're going to attach a new angled block under the doorway. When my wife's mother-in-law came to help, she just blocked it but I didn't like that. I'll still use a block or two between the new joists, but I really want that angled piece by the doorway and now I can get it.

That seems like the more proper way of doing it.

 

I now got all the new joists and blocks ran the proper way. The way it should have been done to begin with. I angled the blocks by the door, the way I had it in the drawing. I should have just did it myself to begin with. It was a bit of work to fix. But now it's time to get back to laying down the plywood and adhesive!

 

You re-did your mother-in-law's work and admitted it on the internet......you are a brave man.