# 3/4 prefinished..nail or staple?



## NjNick (Jan 14, 2009)

hey guys - So Im going to be installing some 3/4 prefinished hardwood in my brother new house along with my shore house. I have installed 3/8 and 5/16 prefinished before for which i used the bostich flooring stapler.

Ive searched around and it appears some of the 3/4 guns come in staples or nails. Which do you prefer? Also, which gun/brand. Price really isnt a factor, I just want a quality gun I can have for a long time

Thanks
Nick


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## Morning Wood (Jan 12, 2008)

I prefer the nails (cleats) to staples. I have a porter cable gun and it works fine. I don't use it much though. I don't think you can go wrong with bostich.


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## nymasterfloors (Jan 28, 2011)

I was never one for staples. I have both a porter cable and a bostich both work great my porter cable has a saftey trigger on it that can get annoying but works fine.


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## bluebird5 (Dec 13, 2010)

i've pulled up stapled floor and cleated floor and the staped floor with the coated staples was much harder to get up


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## Metro M & L (Jun 3, 2009)

I've never used the cleats but I like the staples because you pick them out. It takes some doing, but if you get a bad hit you can salvage the board most of the time.


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## Floor Doc (Jan 14, 2011)

I have a bostich staple gun . works great.
Staples will have better holding power in OSB , but tend to give you more tongue splits then cleats.


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## PrecisionFloors (Jan 24, 2006)

Staples have much better holding power but are more prone to split tongues on very hard woods like hickory, pecan, and exotics like ipe and jatoba. What I use depends on the wood going down and the substrate. Staples hold much, much better in osb than cleats. Fastener angle and operating pressure adjustment can keep a staple from splitting the tongues sometimes also.


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## bluebird5 (Dec 13, 2010)

does bostich make a pneumatic gun that shoots cleats?


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## William James (Mar 5, 2010)

Bostitch pneumatic cleat nailer
Google is your friend. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.html?a=B0000302TH

Definitely go pneumatic either way. It'll be well worth the extra dough.


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## RhodesHardwood (Jun 28, 2010)

Cant really go wrong with the Bostich.


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## pinwheel (Dec 7, 2009)

bluebird5 said:


> i've pulled up stapled floor and cleated floor and the staped floor with the coated staples was much harder to get up



My experience has been the opposite.

I've got 2 primatech nailers. I put down 20,000 plus ft of solid wood a year & rarely have a hickup outta either nailer. Pricey, but money well spent if you're gonna do much of it.


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## Floor Surgeon (Dec 3, 2010)

I use staples almost excllusivley and the four bostich staplers we have are workhorses. I use a primatech (permabroke) 18 gauge for strand bamboo and the like. We had a 15 gauge primatech cleat nailer and it was always out of commission now the 18 gauge we have is constantly giving me headaches. Just two examples, and I am sure there are many satisfied primatech owners, but I don't trust them.


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## Repairman615 (Jan 10, 2011)

I started out with staples, then went to cleats...no real reason. I guess I just like the feel better and they look mean.

Due to the package qty, 
I have been using cleats for small one room jobs. Staples for the bigger jobs.

One bonus with cleats, that I feel, is that with a bad hit where the cleat doesn't sink, hammer it back and forth and it will break at the bend.

Also a box of cleats is easier to store. :thumbsup:

Lastly I think that clients feel better about cleats as they are unsure of the holding power of staple vs cleat...even though we know they rival.


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## 3bar (Jan 14, 2011)

shall i dare say that stapled floors may squeak more?? particularly in the dry winter months...


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## PrecisionFloors (Jan 24, 2006)

3bar said:


> shall i dare say that stapled floors may squeak more?? particularly in the dry winter months...


You can say it - doesn't mean it's true. I've found the opposite. Look guys this has been debated on every flooring forum in the known universe for years. The ONLY people that claim cleats have better holding power are cleat users :whistling People that have extensively used both and have extensively pulled up both _know_ that staples hold better. Cleats are cheaper, have less of a chance not seating fully, don't split tongues as much, and are easier to pull out in the event of a miss fire or poorly seated fastener. They do not hold better, period. Drive four fasteners into a piece of 3/4 oak on plywood and see which one takes the least effort to pull up - it's not rocket science. It is simple mechanics and leverage. Two glue coated staple legs that splay apart are gonna be a helluva lot more fastened than one serrated cleat. I don't care how "cool" the cleats look. They both have they're place and I use both depending on the situation at hand. It is shortsighted and foolish to discount a tool at your disposal based on opinion or pigheadedness. It's kind of like arguing that air wrenches are better than combination wrenches. One is not _better_ simply used for a different scenario.


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## nymasterfloors (Jan 28, 2011)

I see your very adamant about your staples


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## Repairman615 (Jan 10, 2011)

I once used 16ga 2 1/2s out of my trim gun...:shifty:


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## PrecisionFloors (Jan 24, 2006)

nymasterfloors said:


> I see your very adamant about your staples


Nope, just adamant about stopping the spread of misinformation and opinion being told as fact 

edit: You did see where I said I use both right? If I thought one was better why ever use the other :whistling


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## lawndart (Dec 3, 2006)

PrecisionFloors said:


> You can say it - doesn't mean it's true. I've found the opposite. Look guys this has been debated on every flooring forum in the known universe for years. The ONLY people that claim cleats have better holding power are cleat users :whistling People that have extensively used both and have extensively pulled up both _know_ that staples hold better. Cleats are cheaper, have less of a chance not seating fully, don't split tongues as much, and are easier to pull out in the event of a miss fire or poorly seated fastener. They do not hold better, period. Drive four fasteners into a piece of 3/4 oak on plywood and see which one takes the least effort to pull up - it's not rocket science. It is simple mechanics and leverage. Two glue coated staple legs that splay apart are gonna be a helluva lot more fastened than one serrated cleat. I don't care how "cool" the cleats look. They both have they're place and I use both depending on the situation at hand. It is shortsighted and foolish to discount a tool at your disposal based on opinion or pigheadedness. It's kind of like arguing that air wrenches are better than combination wrenches. One is not _better_ simply used for a different scenario.


Amen brother! I've had the task of pulling up floors with both. It's not even close. Staples are a *****, because they typically stay into the substrate, after the strip/plank has been removed in many pieces.


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## cinder11 (Dec 17, 2007)

Bostich with cleats. I have torn up both cleats and staples and cleats are much, much harder to tear out.

Haven Hardwoods, Inc. (Pittsburgh Hardwood Floor Refinishing and Installation)
www.havenhardwoods.com


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