I have an older rowhome in Philly. Built 1909. The hardwood floors are Oak, I think, with a nice darker inlay around the edges. From what I can tell, the subfloor is planks. The planks may be T & G, but I don't know for sure.
What I do know, is the Hardwood floor isn't tong and groove. They are 2 inch wide pieces, nailed approx every 7 inches, with two nails each.
From other remodeling projects in the house, I know the floor was refinished with a drum sander. I know this because the difference in height between the refinished floor and the old floor is noticeable.
I have lots of creaking. In the past, I tried putting a couple of nails in the worst spots while standing there in an effort to stop the up and down movement on the existing nails ( I heard this is what is causing the creaking). But small nails that have a similar head size to what's in there already, are smooth shanked and seem to do no good in holding the floor down.
I purchased a couple of Ring Shank Nails to see if these will work. They did, but the head is much larger and the shaft diameter is much larger than what's there, requiring me to predrill any holes I put in.
I suspect that the floor creaks so much because of the flex that occurred over the past century the floors have been here, and/or the heads of the nails have been sanded down by the most recent refinishing and they aren't holding.
My question is, would a pneumatic nailer offer a ring shanked nail that would hold my floor down and stop the creaking? Or would the 'T' shape of these nails not provide enough purchase to stop the creak permanently. And if I did use a pneumatic nailer, would it split my wood?
Also, I have three rooms upstairs, I'm planning on starting with my smallest room, and then go one by one, as my time and schedule permits, and refinish the floors. I own a floor buffer I got from Craig's List and I'm planning on screening the floor. Would my best bet to use oil based poly so that as I complete one room, then the next, where the edges meet, it will be hidden? Or will I never be able to hide the fact that the sections of flooring where all refinished at different times?
What I do know, is the Hardwood floor isn't tong and groove. They are 2 inch wide pieces, nailed approx every 7 inches, with two nails each.
From other remodeling projects in the house, I know the floor was refinished with a drum sander. I know this because the difference in height between the refinished floor and the old floor is noticeable.
I have lots of creaking. In the past, I tried putting a couple of nails in the worst spots while standing there in an effort to stop the up and down movement on the existing nails ( I heard this is what is causing the creaking). But small nails that have a similar head size to what's in there already, are smooth shanked and seem to do no good in holding the floor down.
I purchased a couple of Ring Shank Nails to see if these will work. They did, but the head is much larger and the shaft diameter is much larger than what's there, requiring me to predrill any holes I put in.
I suspect that the floor creaks so much because of the flex that occurred over the past century the floors have been here, and/or the heads of the nails have been sanded down by the most recent refinishing and they aren't holding.
My question is, would a pneumatic nailer offer a ring shanked nail that would hold my floor down and stop the creaking? Or would the 'T' shape of these nails not provide enough purchase to stop the creak permanently. And if I did use a pneumatic nailer, would it split my wood?
Also, I have three rooms upstairs, I'm planning on starting with my smallest room, and then go one by one, as my time and schedule permits, and refinish the floors. I own a floor buffer I got from Craig's List and I'm planning on screening the floor. Would my best bet to use oil based poly so that as I complete one room, then the next, where the edges meet, it will be hidden? Or will I never be able to hide the fact that the sections of flooring where all refinished at different times?