I'm pretty much a newb, but I've put down 3/4" wood floors before (about 900 sq ft), without much issue (except my back), and am doing the research to figure out what to put down on 1400 sq ft in my current house. I think I'm set on engineered wood for ease of installation, but the manufacturer of the floors I'm looking at say that this floor can be nailed, floated or glued. The install will be on a good, wood subfloor. I have no intention of gluing down, but what would make me use nails vs floating? The product is 9/16" with a 3.5mm wear layer and a 3 layer ply, with the bulk of the thickness in a solid, softwood core laid perpendicular to the length of the boards. It's not a click-lock, just a square T&G.

If I decide to nail, for a floor like this, what type of nails/gun would work best?

Another product we might be interested in, is a click-lock. I have read about squeaking issues with locking floors. Would it be advisable or not to run a thin bead of glue on the "tongue" to keep them from squeaking? They have an HDF base layer.

Thanks!

-John

Use what ever fastener the manufacturer says to. I always tell my clients to expect squeaking on hardwood click-lock floors. Ya never know if gluing it can void the warranty unless they say it is OK.

Thanks. But if the manufacturer says that t&g engineered flooring can be either glued or nailed, is one method preferred over the other?

I would staple the floor. It will feel a bit more solid to walk on and its not a messy as gluing. Since you have a wood subfloor why not consider solid hardwood?

I have considered solid hardwood, but from prior experience it took a long time to lay the floor due to the boards being narrower and because solid wood isn't as stable so the boards have a tendency to not be perfectly straight, and forcing them into place took a lot of time and effort. The first time I ever did wood floors, I did an engineered floor about 20 years ago, and it went down incredibly easy. Since I'm doing 1400 sq ft of it, and I'm in my mid 40s, I have to consider that.