Installing hardwood floors becomes much easier if you use a finish nailer. Finish nails can provide flooring expansion and contraction along with their extreme holding power. That’s why finding the best finish nailer for hardwood floors is important.
Almost every top competitor in the nailing world manufactures various finish nailer models. Some of them are rich with features, and some of them have the ultimate performance. There are also a few models which have many necessary features and top-class performance.
You can’t imagine a nail gun either without nail jam-clearing technology or a depth adjustment feature. Also, you’ll demand exchangeable firing mode, comfortable grip, and safety options. The best finish nailer tag should be applicable for a nailer when it’ll come with all of these features.
Top 5 Best Finish Nailers for Hardwood Floors
Finding the best finish nailer for hardwood floors starts with understanding their specifications. Here you know a detailed overview of some top finish nailer models.
Freeman PDX50C
Brand: Freeman
Color: Black and Orange
Material: Aluminum body
Operation Mode: Automatic
1. NuMax SFN64 Finish Nailer
Product Description:
Quick jam release mechanism
NuMax SFN64 has a quick jam release feature that helps to extract jammed nails quickly. It’s all about taking off the latch and opening the front door to extract jammed nails. This feature helps you to get back to the pavilion of installing hardwood floors quickly.
Depth adjustment feature
You may need to drive nails on various wood surfaces and so, it’s difficult to adjust the correct depth. Using this feature, you can countersink nails on hardwood floors more accurately at the right depth.
360-degree air exhaust:
The 360-degree air exhaust is an adjustable part that helps in removing the internal air. It helps to blow away the nailer’s internal air and keep the user safe.
Build quality advantages:
This nailer’s durable engineered body results in a rugged and lightweight tool. Despite using aluminum, its weight balance is appreciable. You can easily transport it.
Comfortable grip
This nailer comes with an ergonomic grip. The build quality of the grip ensures the highest support to the user. It provides anti-vibration comfort while firing nails to the nailing surface.
Also, it provides a secure grip so that the nail gun won’t fall easily. When installing hardwood floors, your gripping experience will be incredible with this nailer.
No-mar safety tip
This nailer has a top-quality no-mar safety contact along with a tip. This safety option is added to ensure the safe firing of nails. While working on a surface, there might be dents created by your nailer.
No-mar safety tip prevents the surface from denting. Hardwood floors require remaining with zero damage. So, this feature will uphold the aestheticism of the floor effectively.
Selectable firing mode:
There are both bump and regular firing modes. In case you need to fire continuously, you can shift to the bump firing mode.
Pros & Cons
2. BOSTITCH Finish Nailer Kit
Product Description:
Key Features
Quick firing mode exchange
Exchanging between contact and sequential firing mode is just a matter of seconds. Press on the firing mode exchange trigger and enjoy the desired firing type. When installing hardwood floors, requires joining wood pieces quickly. Shifting to bump firing mode can help you in that case.
Easy jam release
Its jam-release mechanism is pretty simple. You need to take off the latch and open the door. That’s how you can dispose of the jammed nails without a tool. You’ll need to fire thousands of nails while installing hardwood floors. So, there will be certain jammed issues and you can overcome them easily.
Dial-A-depth
This nailer’s depth adjustment feature is incredible. The precise countersink of 15 gauge nails is ensured by it. On the hardwood floors, nails will be fixed in the correct depth. That will help to hold the hardwood pieces strongly for a long time.
Integrated air blower
An integrated air blower is used to clear away debris from the work surface. It protects the user’s face also. Its real-time application is incredible while installing hardwood floors.
Other features
Like other finish nailers, its magazine capacity is 100 nails. The magazine allows slide loading and so, it’s easy to use even for newbies. Due to the nailer’s 70-120 PSI operating pressure, it fires nails inside the wood nicely. It also has a no-mar safety tip and a comfortable handle to make your hardwood floor tasks more expedient.
Pros & Cons
3. Metabo HPT Finish Nailer Kit
Product Description:
Key Features
Selective actuation mode:
You can shift between the firing modes with the simple flip of a switch. When rapid firing is required, go for the bump firing mode. Otherwise, contact firing is okay. This firing mode provides the ultimate speed to install hardwood floors in time.
Convenient magazine:
The magazine of this nailer is 34 degrees angled for accessing the critical corners. It can hold up to 100 nails at a time. As it’s a rear-loading magazine, it’s easy to operate. While installing hardwood floors, requires changing nail strips again and again.
The rear-loading system makes it highly convenient. Besides, the nail-holding capacity is sufficient for joining hardwoods together. You won’t need to reload nails eagerly as the 100 nails can support you for a long time.
Lightweight:
Only 4.2 lbs weight makes it transportable anywhere. The well-balanced build for easy maneuverability and less fatigue is ensured here. Its center of gravity is optimized due to its user-friendly design. For this reason, it can be lifted firmly even if you’re dealing with a critical angle.
Factory Installed Air Fitting:
Its air fitting is designed angled upwards. For this reason, the compressor hose stays conveniently out of the way of the user.
Other features
Like other nailers, it comes with an ergonomic grip. The grip is comfortable because it’s made of top-quality rubber material. There is no chance of the nailer as its rubber grip provides sufficient friction.
This nailer has a depth adjustment feature that helps to countersink nails precisely. Hardwood floors require joining hardwoods using nails at the correct depth. With a professional finish, the depth of drive can be fixed for hardwood floors.
Pros & Cons:
4. NuMax SFL618 Pneumatic
Product Description:
If you’re going to install a lot of bamboo wood flooring then you’ll need this gun! It’s cheaper than renting if you’ll keep the gun for more than 2 days (and you probably will:) Plus I think it’s a good idea to have it handy if you do more or need to replace any flooring. However, you can always resell it.
Nails/Cleats – I used the brand “PowerNail” from Home Depot, 1 1/2 inch L-Nail 16 gage Powercleats L 150-16. NOTE that they can ONLY be found in the tool rental department. $16 a box of 1,000. They are in a white box with black lettering and have an image of a flooring nail gun on the box.
Jams – only had one and it was very easy to remove the nail without any tools used to open the gun. When I first began my project I rented a Bosch nailer from Home Depot and it jammed twice. Both times I had to take it to the store for them to fix it. The last time it took them 20 minutes to remove the nails so I left it there and bought this gun.
Air Compressor – I used one that I had bought on Amazon – Porter Cable 6-gallon set at 100 psi.
Ease of use – Very easy! I like it better than the Bosch I had originally rented.
5. Freeman PDX50C
Product Description:
We bought this to install some pre-finished, solid maple flooring. This was the first time we had done hardwood flooring ourselves, and we figured this price was better than the price to rent the tool locally, considering we were doing about 750 sq. ft. of floor and the time it would take us to complete the floor. The Freeman nailer was an excellent choice, as the tool worked very well at driving the approximately 4,000 Bostitch L cleats that we needed for this project. There were a few jams early on, but after realizing that we hadn’t released the pusher and were relying on gravity to feed the cleats, we didn’t have a single jam.
The only complaint we have is that it is rather easy to accidentally position the nailer incorrectly on the boards, and drive a cleat into the middle of the board rather than the tongue. This incidence of this decreased significantly over time, but it would be nice to have the foot-shaped slightly differently to not have two steps in it to reduce/eliminate this problem.
All but one of my other pneumatic nailers are Porter-Cable, but I would not hesitate to buy another Freeman product.
What Type Of Finish Nail Gun For Hardwood Flooring?- Buying Guide
A pneumatic finish nailer is the right choice for installing hardwood floors perfectly. You need to consider these factors while purchasing a reputed brand’s finish nailer.
Power source
There are two types of power sources for a finish nailer- pneumatic and cordless. Both power sources are reliable depending on your project type and location. A pneumatic finish nailer is lightweight but requires some initial setup and maintenance. On the other hand, a cordless nailer is slightly heavy but devoid of any gas cartridges.
Nail size
You can use both 15 and 16-gauge finish nails for installing hardwood floors. When dealing with thick weed pieces, 15 gauge nails are best. Minor carpentry projects like trimming or base molding require using 16 gauge nails. So, choose the right nailer after knowing about your project in detail.
Magazine angle
Straight or angled finish nailer?- people can’t decide between them easily. If your project has many tough corners, then an angled finish nailer is mandatory. Straight nailers drive nails perpendicularly into the board without sagging. That’s why you should prefer the angled finish nailer over the straight finish nailer.
Nail jam clearing function
The most desired jam-clearing function is the “tool-free jam release mechanism”. Nowadays, almost every finish nailer manufacturer provides this feature. This feature is highly important to take away jammed nails instantly.
Depth adjustment feature
The tool-free depth-of-drive adjustment feature is the most effective depth adjustment feature. Using this feature, you can drive nails in various densities of wood accurately.
Dry-fire lockout option
This lockout feature prevents your nailer from firing nails when it’s activated. You may unwillingly press the trigger and damage the surface by nailing. This feature stops firing and prevents nail wasting.
No-mar pad
Without having a no-mar pad, the chance of damaging the working surface is much higher. Also, it protects the nailer from being damaged by the surface. So, never think about purchasing a nailer without the no-mar pad.
Expedient dimension and weight
A lightweight and compact nailer can accelerate your work and bring the highest perfection. If the nailer is heavy, it’s difficult to hold for a long time as well as transport. Going for a pneumatic nailer is a good move because you won’t need to carry heavy batteries.
16 Gauge vs. 15 Gauge Nailer for hardwood floors?
A perplexing situation arises when people talk about 16 vs 15 gauge, finish nailers. Let’s check the quick table so that you can make the correct decision.
| 16 Gauge Finish Nailer | 15 Gauge Finish Nailer |
|---|---|
| A 16 gauge finish nailer usually can’t hold more than 100 nails. | A 15 gauge finish nailer holds up to 110 nails per magazine. |
| The nails from this nailer can reach around 2-1/ 2” depth. | The nails from this nailer can reach around 1-1/4” to 2-1/2” depth. |
| 16g nailers are generally light and easy to transport. | Manufacturers produce 15 gauge nailers with some extra weight. |
| Most 16 gauge finish nailers are found at a reasonable price. | A 15 gauge finish nailer is more expensive than a 16 gauge finish nailer. |
| Installing trim, cabinets, and other light to moderate projects can be done with this nailer. | This nailer is useful for any heavier work like framing. |
FAQ
Here you get the answer to some common questions related to the finish nailer.
What size finish nails should I use for hardwood flooring?
Using 8D or 8-penny size finishing nails is recommended for hardwood flooring. Most hardwood floors are installed using 15 or 16-gauge finish nails. It’s better to use the 15 gauge finish nails as it offers some extra holding power.
Can you use a Brad nailer to install a hardwood floor?
Theoretically, you can use a brad nailer to install a hardwood floor. But, there is a matter of perfection. To ensure that the boards are tightened together, you should avoid the brad nailer. A finish nailer or a flooring nailer is good for installing hardwood floors.
Conclusion
Hardwood floors require nailing perfectly unless you want to hear disturbing sounds from them. Bringing this perfection is only possible by using the best finish nailer for hardwood floors.
To select the best finish nailer, you need to prioritize the project details. First, finalize the pneumatic or cordless version. Then, go for other features like used nails, magazine capacity, and size, extra features, etc.
However, the depicted three finish nailers are good enough to complete any hardwood floor project. All of them have a lot of similarities, and all of them have a few negative aspects. It’s your turn to make the right pick for installing a hardwood floor.