I am finally done with my engineered hardwood installation, except for one piece. I got lucky as I moved through the rooms that the 3" wide boards "met" the wall so I either had to take off just a bit or none at all. But the final room the last row od boards would have to be ripped to 3/4 of an inch. how do you install that? won't the faced nails split the board? I am plannign on using 1/2 molding but that would leave 1/4 exposed. Any ideas would be so helpful!

nails shouldn't split engineered wood. But still nail as close to the wall as possible so that the molding covers the holes. You can also use some adhesive under the last row then you can use fewer nails just where necessary.

With prefinished, top nailing is to be avoided at all cost! A brad nailer works well for engineered, but that is still top nailing.

I will cut little slots in the felt underlayment, and glue the last rows in, so there are no top nails to be seen.

That might be a little strong of a statement. I don't think I've seen any manufacturer that doesn't say to face nail the final rows.....the key is, there is a difference between face nailing and face nailing correctly

thank you for this advice and everything along the way. it has made the difference between a good looking floor and the things I've read about in the "Yikes!" section.

Face nailing pre-finished wood flooring where needed up against the wall is an acceptable installation practice. It is in pretty much every manufacturer's installation instructions. However, it's the installer's responsibility to hide those nail holes. That can be difficult, as many of you are aware. Even if you can get the exact color and match the wood, there still is the issue of a dimple and no finish on the filler/putty. I agree gluing is preferable to trying to fill a bunch of holes. This is where it is the installer's job to assess the customer's expectations and attempt to meet them.

Fully agree Gary. Have to judge the customer, the grain of the wood, the nails used, etc., etc., etc. lol Just remember, there's always more than one way to skin a cat!

We ALWAYS face nail the last board (and a half when a rip is needed). Hiding the location in a grainy area, and using a blending filler works well IF you do it right. I am not a big fan of locking the floor into place with adhesive, unless necessary. However, in this case the poster is using an engineered floor so glue should be acceptable.