I am in the process of removing the tired carpet and underlay in our living/dining room.i am planning on installing 1/4" cork underlay and dubeau 3/4" red oak,my question is how critical is it to remove EVERY staple from the underlay?? my thought is the cork underlay will absorb the slight protrusion of the staple with a small bit of underlay foam.they must have used several hundred staples during the underlay install!!! i could smackem with a hammer to flatten them a little.i also discovered that under the carpet in the hallway was parquet floooring that is SOLID no loose pieces,can i install the cork/hardwood right over it?? the area is 3'x10' it is REALLY bonded well as i tried to remove a piece.

Staples can work their way back up. Take them all out!

I'm not sure what you mean by "cork with a small bit of underlay foam".
Tons of staples are a pain. I go over them with a scraper, and pop um out, ( if you scrape parallel to the width of the staple , they come out clean. I'm sure some guys may pound them down. The thing that bothers me with that is the small hunk of foam caught under the staple, making a bump. It's tough to pound them flush, IMO easier & cleaner to scrape and get rid of them.

Re: Parquet in hall .... There's no level difference at the hall ???
Not a big fan of sandwiching hardwood, in most cases your creating problems. I think some scenarios are o.k., with the right conditions over engineered. Not only is the parque a solid, but you will be splitting the fillets with the fasteners, creating loose pieces under the new floor. It's only 30', get out the hammer and crowbar.

Floorologist is absolutely correct in that nailing through parquet is a recipe for disaster. Every cleat or staple that splits a parquet fillet will be a potential squeak. Even if it was 3000 feet, I would insist on removing it, so 30 feet should not make anyone break into a sweat.

Well guys i listened to your advice and removed the parquet flooring in the hallway... went well used a sharpened lawn edging tool,they were flying off the floor!!i also rented a jamb saw to undercut the door jams and my stone fireplace,talk about DUST.I will be starting the flooring next week FINALLY.I researched and studied this forum for month's and decided on 1/4'" 2'x3' cork underlayment and i am glad i went this way.i layed out some with the 3/4" red oak in place and it really helps deaden sounds as my dog will attest to.we chose to run the flooring diagonally after looking at many pics online.will post pics when we get done.

Good luck with your install, just take your time and think each step through and all will be well.

Guys: the install is going pretty good. i want to know from the experienced installers as to how when installing flooring diagonally do you tighten up the end pieces when on the end of the row??? do you use wooden wedges,i have been unable to get them real tight.i understand about strap clamps but on a diagonal install these wouldn't work.

Yup, I use wedges on them outside edges or else you may make the last end joint of the last plank pop out but thats on floaters and glue downs. You should be able to pull those in tight with the nailer.Try smacking them in with a mallet.

Thanks, i realize the air stapler will pull in the side of the board,but i am trying to pull in the end of a board.i have been tapping the ends as i go along but when you come to the end where i fit my last board in the run with a 45 degree on one end i can't seem to pull it tight enough.i did make a kind of wedge but it just seems to bruise/damage the drywall as i drive it in.@##$@

They are that tight huh? hmmm Use a pull bar I guess.

Use a prybar, shouldn't take much force. If you need too, use a piece of wood to protect the wall.

Well guys my DIAGONAL install is going well.the one thing i would like to know,although this is a little late as i have about 1/3 installed is when running the 3 1/4 x 3/4" oak hardwood i was only leaving about 3/8" expansion gap as my baseboards are only 1/2" thick.from what i have read here the expansion really only occurs on the width of the board not the length,having said that do you think i will be okay as this is a diagonal install!!

Well, in essence, a diagonal install requires equal expansion on all walls rather than the two parallel walls. However, sometimes you can overlook tolerances to a degree by improving on site conditions. In this case try to maintain as constant a humidity level as possible for you equipment, and you should be ok with 3/8th inch expansion space. Keep in mind that ONE board fit too tightly to the wall will defeat all expansion allowances so be careful with that.

Thanks Dennis,I will try and maintain the 3/8" gap consistently,i really didn't want to install new thicker baseboard but i will if 3/8" is Marginal i have come this far and the floor is Fantastic so far,i am still struggling with how to transit a right turn down a 5'x3' hall then another 90 degree down another 10' hall.i will layout the 5ft hall continuing diagonally to see what it will look like then run parallel down the longer hallway.

UPDATE!! well in finished the larger two rooms living/dining rooms,and i am wanting to continue with the 45 degree run down the short 5'x3' hall.is this okay to carry on down this short narrow hall with out a break?? i thought i read somewhere here about ending with a "T" and starting again due to the room size differences?at the end of the 5'hall it bisects a 10'main hallway that i plan on running the full length and i didn't really want [2] "T" caps in a 5' run.i hope this makes sense.