Hello
First all of the logistics. I have 350 sq.ft. 3 1/2" wide planks of pre-finished Kempas to install in my home. I bought the wood last summer and have been storing it in the addition while doing the other work. One air vent has been open, so the temps have been within 5-10 degrees of the finished home. 4'X8'X3/4" T&G Sturdifloor (moisture resistant OSB) underlayment. I will have to do some feathering at the bath entrance because of floor leveling compound I used to protect my tile floor heating cables. All tiled areas meeting this HDWD. have metal edging instead of marble thresholds. We have hot humid summers 88-100+ degrees and 70-90% humidity. Winters are 10-45 degrees and humidity 30-50%. Since this is not an area of my expertise I don't own a gun for this. The only time I have installed HDWD. flooring was before air nailers were used. Renting is not an option. Do I staple or cleat? if I cleat do I use 16 or 18 gauge? I think a little separation would be preferable to bucking or cupping. Staples hitting the underlayment screws bending and shattering the top of my finished product would really piss me off, but so would over driven, split and shattered tongues. if I am unable to borrow the proper tool I would want an inexpensive tool to do this one job flawlessly, a disposable if you will. Where do I obtain flush floor registers in my color? I thank you in advance for all the input I may receive, hopefully a lot.

if its a 3/4 solid Id go 16g cleats if its a thinner eng. floor then use the 18. The 18 will work on the 3/4" as well if the floor has become brittle and you start splitting toungs move up to the 18g. You probably can order those vents thru most wood flooring distributors, I know that I can get them in kempas from grillworks if you run into a dead end shoot me a pm. If you looking for a cheap disposable nailer check harbor freight or ebay.