Hi all,
I haven't been able to find a whole lot of information about top-nail strip floor in general, but this site seems to have some knowledgable folks on it, so I figured I'd give it a shot! Sorry in advance for the lengthy post - trying to be as thorough as possible. (also, couldn't get the images to embed correctly, so apologies, they're all found at this link: https://ibb.co/album/TKLF0k)

I found this post:https://www.hardwoodflooringtalk.com/forum/two-inch-top-nailed-flooring-t10591.html from Farrell Willis (alloy7) from ~11 years ago that had some basic info, but was hoping for a little insight.

I live in Rochester, NY where evidently "Rochester strip floor" was common. That is, square-cut (no T&G) oak strip flooring, top-nailed in rows every 6-8". From what I've ready it's common to this area, some of PA and OH, and on the west coast, but beyond that, many are very unfamiliar with it.

Anyway, my situation:
My home was built around 1905 - certainly has had some changes updates over the years. The (~140 sqft) dining room simply has only painted ~1/2" pine subfloor, with planks of 2-3" wide on 2" joists, spaced 16"oc.(see picture with red floor)

The adjoining room (and rest of the front of the house) has 1 1/2" x 3/8" oak "Cromar" T&G flooring: (see pics of floor cross section from vent, and room transition)

I was gifted a lot of reclaimed square-cut 1 9/16" x 5/16" red oak, top-nailed strip flooring that was original to a home from the 1940s. It was carefully removed, with all nails pulled through the bottom - the filler still on place on the top surface. I hope to install that in the dining room and get it and the rest of the house sanded and refinished at the same time to get it looking relatively similar.

(see pics of reclaimed stock in bundles)

I apologize that my questions may seem somewhat novice, but I want to make sure I'm going about this correctly.

Below I'll outline what my guess at a correct approach is, and follow up with questions. Looking for guidance of if I'm on the right path, if there's any helpful tips, and if there are any useful resources out there for this kind of installation.

I'd start with securing any of the subfloor that appears to be loose/squeaky, nailing tightly into the joists. From there, sand down any clearly un-even joints.
Lay underlayment paper, stapling to the subfloor enough to secure in place.

I would then determine the alignment line I'd use for the entire room (the individual board ends aligning with those in the other room is not important to me as I plan to have a sizable threshold between the 2, but I would like them to run along the same parallel axis.)

Next, nailing the first row of boards into place, ~5/8" from the current molding for expansion (using quarter-round shoe moulding after completion to cover the gap). Installed boards running perpendicular to the subfloor boards. From there, rack up many courses of boards in a row, and then start tacking them in place with single nails ~1" from the joints and on either end. Continue with this process until the entire floor is completed. Then mark out nailing lines every ~6" across all boards. Start at one end, and nail down the line, 1 nail/board until complete, then onto the next nail line. Next, fill all of the nail holes with filler - admittedly, I'm not really sure what that process looks like, or what product would be best for that.

Questions:
I have read some about needing to use a diamond-shaped flooring nail for this purpose - what gauge/length should those be? Can I use a standard pneumatic nailer for that purpose? How far below the surface should they go? 1/16"?

If you look in the pictures, some boards seem to have a slight greenish, rough texture on the edges - presumably this is from finish that leaked between them? Would it be best practice to sand each of these? Based on what I have available, that would have to be a fully manual process, so would like to avoid if possible/unnecessary.

I would imagine it makes the most sense to avoid the existing (filled) nail holes where possible, as the new nails would be unlikely to hold in that place. With that in mind, am I likely to need to re-fill all of the old holes as well after an initial sanding?

As mentioned above - what product/process is the most logical for filling 100s of these nail holes.

Can someone explain in detail the technique for keeping tension/pressure on the boards while nailing to ensure a tight fit? I saw some mentions of using a screwdriver, but can't picture how that would be used to apply pressure in the correct direction.

Thanks again for any thoughts or resources anyone can provide!

-Jon P.

You have a lot of work to make a great floor from recycled wood. Old growth flooring is more beautiful than newer flooring in my opinion so “go for it!” I’ll try to make it short since I lost my post because it took too long to write.
The recycled flooring with the nails pulled through and edges rough will take a lot more work than using new flooring. The old nails supported the filler so when they were pulled through the old filler is fragile and pops out even after you are completely done with your installation. I recommend tapping back through the surface then turning the boards up side down to get the best results, but you have what you have.
The old nails were floor brads which are not available, as far as I know, so you will probably want to use 18 ga. Brads with an air compressor gun. Kraft paper will help the boards slide together.
Don’t leave a gap at the edge, just press the first board against the old base board, scribing tight. Tack this in place, then run 5or 6 boards at a time using a sharpened screw driver driven into the floor next to the last board to pry it tight and drive a nail close to the screw driver in the last row. Work across the room in sets of boards till you get to the far wall and scribe another board to fill in the whole floor. Use a string chalk line going across the whole room 6” apart to make straight lines. It takes less nails to go in a straight line. Set any shiners with a nail set about an eighth inch below the surface of the thinest board, since all the boards are not sanded to the same thickness because boards next to the wall in the recycled flooring will be thicker. Use a sharpened paint scraper on the edges, a carbide scraper will make the work easier because old finish and grit will dull a steel scraper. Use two nails for each end of butt-joints.Old floor brads held better and the diamond point keeps the rows tighter than chisel point brads, so you may want to use two brads across for your narrower strips.Old top-nailed flooring was nailed one half inch from each edge to get the full benefit of the floor brads for 2” strips. You don’t want to have any vibrations from loose strips as you sand the floor. Fill the nail holes with Zar red oak wood patch using a flexible putty knife. It will take more work to get the over wood sanded off to get a smooth floor because of the variations of thickness. You may wish to just skip the sanding. An edger can help get the strips closer to even thickness before using a drum sand over the whole floor. You will be sanding old finish completely off to be able to get a new looking floor. Sanding does make some of the old putty come out since the old nail head has been pulled away from it.
The old wood patch will still keep coming out when it is in use, so have some oil based putty the same color as your finished floor for later, or to use between coats of finish. You can ask more questions if you like.

Thanks so much for the thorough response (and I appreciate you taking the time to re-type after losing it)!

I have some initial thoughts/questions from what you've indicated:

-Do you think I need to sand the existing subfloor?

-Thanks for the top on the paint scraper - so long as I don't go overboard, that shouldn't have too much impact on ruining the straight edge of the board for flush alignment, right? Is the greenish residue presumably some remnant of a previous finish that seeped between the boards upon application?

-You mentioned I shouldn't leave a gap - is expansion not that much of a concern? especially installing it during the winter here, I'd expect it to expand more in the warmer months (my home is not air conditioned). Or am I actually relying on some expansion to make it an even tighter fit?

-To your point about normally tapping the nails back out the top and using the boards upside down - I'd imagine I couldn't still flip them upside down as they'd be likely to splinter near the holes when I tried to sand them?

Thanks again for your thoughts and advice!

You need to check for any high spots and grind them down. Low areas can be filled with a layer or so of tar paper. Finish and dirt are what you find on the edges of flooring. The grit is really hard on scrapers.
Expansion is not much of a concern with top=nailed flooring. The fasteners hold it in place until it buckles in one or two boards. Used flooring that has been kept dry will be climatized for the area where it came from. Has the used flooring been kiln dried again?
Nails that have been pulled through the flooring have splintered the fibers but a good wood patch can diminish the damage and help to blend in the damage. Using a water-based filler will help the nail holes close up, but where the wood has been splintered there will still be a problem.

Hello semi-experienced diy'er here,

I'm currently remodeling my small kitchen and decided to install the square-cut 5/16" white oak top-nailed strip floor which is found throughout the rest of the house, circa 1936 Sacramento, CA. I plan to install this flooring in my kitchen and refinish the entire house's hardwood floors to achieve a consistent look. However, I'm in need of some guidance regarding the appropriate pneumatic nailer for this specific installation.

Any recommendations or specific models of pneumatic nailers that you have found to work well for top-nailing red oak strip flooring, more specifically... something that is readily available.

Thank you in advance for your insights and recommendations.

Kind regards,

Antonio. A

Antonio:

Lot's of useful information at the link included.

https://www.woodfloorbusiness.com/insta ... ese-floors

A pneumatic nailer like Senco or Paslode in the 16 gauge diameter and at least an inch long will work to hold the flooring in place, longer is no problem. Use some pressure holding the gun down against the flooring, pushing it against the sub-floor, as the nail is set. Nails go in at one half inch from the edge of the strips and two nails on both ends of the butt-joints. Adjust the depth of setting the nails as deep as you can, but not more than 3/16ths inch deep. Use wood patch with a 3-4 inch wide putty knife that you fill the nail holes in a swath about 3 feet wide as you back up. Use the knife one direction, then the other to press the wood patch into the holes. Try to get wood patch that matches you specie, either red or white oak.