I'm a do it yourselfer working with my wife on installing about 1000 square feet of 3/8" engineered prefinished maple flooring in our home. We just put down the first 4 rows of boards using my brother-in-law's Bostitch brad nailer. I have a Bostitch floor stapler on order and it should arrive at my home today. I found that using the brad nailer at an angle on the tongue of the boards seems to work really well.

My question to you is: can I return the stapler and just use the brad nailer for the rest of the project? Are brad nails OK instead of staples? Returning the stapler would save me $200.00 and I can use the brad nailer for free since my brother in law already owns it. I was planning to resell the stapler on FleaBay when I am done with the project. I've been using 1 9/16" brads as there was a partial box of them with the nailer. I was planning to use 1" staples when I get the stapler.

Thanks!

- Austin
Illinois, USA

The staples are what is recommended because they are better. Brads are ok for starting rows and ending rows but the staples are best for the field.

The staples are coated and also flare out a bit when driven. They will hold much better than a brad. A pneumatic stapler will also help tighten up the boards.