How to Use a Pneumatic Floor Stapler
Wood flooring is laid with a tongue-and-groove system milled into the sides of the boards, with the tongue fitting into the groove to provide a tight fit. The fit is make tighter with use of a pneumatic floor stapler. This is a tool designed for the installation of tongue-and-groove flooring. It uses a mallet to trigger the shooting of the flooring staple, driving the boards tightly together as the staple goes in. The design of the stapler prevents its use at the very beginning and very end of the flooring process. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Tongue-and-groove floorboards
- Nail gun
- Miter saw
- Pneumatic floor stapler with pressure tank
- Mallet
Instructions
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Lay the first board with the grooved side facing the wall and 3/8-inch away from it (this "expansion gap'' allows for movement of the wood with climate changes; it will be covered up by the floor trim). Nail down the first course by shooting pairs of nails through the face with your nail gun.
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Lay the next boards by connecting the ends, cutting the final pieces at the walls as needed on your miter saw. Continue for the next few courses, connecting them by their tongue-and-groove sides and top-nailing as before, until you've enough courses to allow the pneumatic floor stapler to sit on them (usually, four or five courses).
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Hook your stapler up to the air tank. Set the first board of the next course in place alongside the previously installed boards. Sit the stapler on top of the installed courses, with the nose of the tool hooked down over the new board, just above the tongue.
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Use your mallet to gently knock the stapler tightly against the floorboard. Then swing the mallet fully, hitting the rubber firing pad of the stapler full force. The force should drive the board tightly against the board next to it, while triggering a burst of air to drive the staple downward through the side of the board.
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Repeat about every foot on the board, and on the next boards. Cut the end pieces as needed on your miter saw.
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Work your way across the floor with the pneumatic stapler, continuing until you're close enough to the opposing wall that there is no longer enough room to fully swing the mallet. Lay the last few courses with your nail gun, as you did the first few courses.
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Tips & Warnings
Wear eye protection when using your pneumatic stapler and your nail gun.
