Hello all.

I am planning on installing 5/8 "RealTeak" Roughly 800 sf. over an OSB subfloor.

From reading alot of posts here, it sounds like staples are the way to go for this particular job, and a fairly good amount of you like the MIII from Bostitch.

1) Does anyone have familiarity with the hardwood that I have, and any comments?

2) Are staples likely the best fastener given the type of hardwood and subfloor (am I likely to split tongues give relative hardness of plantation teak)?

3) Given the facts, am I better using felt or rosin paper?

Any general tips to a moderately handy person installing hardwood the first time?

True Indonesian Teak wood is not that hard, less than red oak. There are some woods sold as "teak" but botanically, they are not. If you are using real teak, Tectona Grandis, stapling should not be splitting the tongues. But test before using a stapler. Start air pressure at 80 lbs. and check the angle and depth of the staple where it engages the tongue. A 5/8" floor could use either 1&1/2" or 2" staples. Bostitch makes a 1/2" and a 3/4" shoe for their M111 FS. Try both to see which works better. YOu may need to shim up the 1/2" shoe with cardboard to adjust the height.
http://www.hardwoodflooringguide.com/wood-hardness.asp

It occurs to me that if I use a Bostitch MIII to install the flooring, I will not be able to use it within 1.5-2 feet of a wall, due to the size of the stapler and the swing of the mallet... That will leave me with drilling & nailing 10 rows or so, I would think. For these rows, what type of fastener should I use, if I have stapled the rest of the floor - cleats, nails, or what?

Also, anyone have an opinion on felt v rosin paper?

My subfloor is 3/4 OSB, over which I will put either felt or rosin - is that sufficient, or is some other underlayment necessary?

Thanks

Yeah, you cannot use the flooring stapler for the last few rows. I use a Senco pneumatic finish nailer and the Senco 15 gauge 2" finish nails. For 5/8" flooring, you can probably use 1&1/2". Or, if you don't wish to buy or rent the finish nailer, you can predrill and hand nail with #8 or #6 finish nails. The galvanized ones have a bit more grip. Both the NWFA and NOFMA recommend 15 lb. asphalt saturated felt under wood floors. Many prefinished floor manufacturers do as well. In your case, I would not overlap the seams. Instead, butt them together.