I just finished my first hardwood install in one room and now I'm extending it down a long (40 feet) 40" hallway. The floor is prefinished red oak. I guess there is no choice to face nail the first 2 boards and last 5 boards??? I'm using a MIIIFS and a passlode finish nailer (15 gauge, 2" nails).

Dang. Did you lay out your nice straight stuff for the hall? Probably not.

What product are you installing?

You can face nail your first run at the back of the board and blind nail the front of the same. Then just blind nail your next run with the paslode.

On the finish side,you can blind nail a few rows with your stick nailer until it won't reach anymore. Then you topnail.

Chuck's right on about how to lay that floor and the nailing. That is exactly the way I do it. Here's a few tips to make the top nailing less noticable. Try to nail into the darker, more open spring grain. Seems the texture and color hide face nailing better. Don't use more nails than you need. Nail about 3/4" back from the tongue side and one nail about every 12" and on the ends. You'll never see this tip in a book but I do it all the time. The right end of a T&G floor board has a tongue. Instead of face nailing the right end of that board, toe nail through the tongue. On brittle woods, this could cause spliting so using a chisel or screwdriver, apply pressure against the tongue of the board to avoid end split. Now when you install the next board in that course, it will fit over the tongue and hide the blind nail. It's just one less nail hole to show and fill. On wider plank floors where one would use two or more face nails, really makes a difference. I have used Color Putty for years and if you mix it right, it blends in real well. You need to buff the excess off right away with a soft cloth and don't glob it on. Put a very small amount on your finger tip and press it in the hole with a slight circular motion and buff off excess immediately.

Gary -- Thanks for the detailed reply, that's just what I needed to know.

Chuck, yes I did attempt to lay the floor out in the first room so that it would be straight in the hallway, but I quickly discovered that straight is a relative term! I pulled a string the whole length, then snaped a parallel line to that line about 5 inches from the exterior wall and started from there. Worst case I could be off 3 inches over 40 feet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's OK.

Tom

Easy to fix once you get to the hallway if it is off. All it takes is a teeny "turn" in a few boards and you may be able to make up the difference and be square. You may have a few unsightly gaps were the fix may be needed. 3" is pretty bad--avoid it all costs!

When I put 3/4 in my bedroom, I face nailed the first row and blind nailed through the tongue. I think after 2-3 rows of blind nailing, I was able to use the floor stapler. When I got to the other side, and the floor stapler would no longer fit, I switched to the stick nailer. That got me to the last two rows. For the second to last row, I drilled holes in the tongue and then blind nailed with a hammer. The last row I face nailed. All the face nails were covered by quarter round. So no visible holes anywhere.
I too will extend into a long hall, but since the joists in the hall are perpendicular to those of the bedroom, the flooring will be as well. I hope the same method of nailing will apply here also.