Nail down close to a wall.
How to finish the last two rows of hardwood floors.
If your flooring is very narrow drive one centered row of nails across the boards instead of two parallel rows.
Watch installing unfinished hardwood flooring.
Put the first board up against the mason s line with the groove side facing away from the walls.
Flooring specialists use a routine procedure for nailing all boards in an installation except for those in the first and last rows.
Use 1 2 inch spacers to assist in maintaining the 1 2 inch expansion gap between the first row of flooring planks and the wall.
When you install the hardwood floors and get to the other side of the room you may have to cut the boards down the length to finish the last row.
Yes a 15 or 16 guage finish nailer.
Then hold nailer at 45 degree angle to floor shoot into tongue of flooring every 4 6 inches repeat process until back of nailer almost touches wall.
Cutting the last row of hardwood flooring.
Pull rows tight with pry bar tapping lightly with mallet to pull tighter.
I don t do hardwood all the time but when the flooring nailer won t fit i switch to the 15 ga then that don t fit use the 18 ga with some dabs of glue then you re usually close enough to glue the last row or two and drive wedges to hold until dry.
The challenge when.