Screw and Glue Vs The Nail Gun are Both Equal?

[Billy123]

Back in 07 I thought I was never going to finish my new 3/4 ply floor. You see we had to build a frame to put that 3/4 floor back down in a very old 70's style trailer with aluminum wire and all. The floor joist went long ways and it was an all out night mare. We screwed and glued the whole thing with 2 inch deck screws and construction grade adhesive.

Fast forward to now and this new project a 14x70 and I dread doing a whole new screw and glue with the new 3/4 ply.

So my questions are...

1) Can a framing style nail gun make short work of this?
2) Is gluing down all the new floor still recommended?
3) Will the floor still be just as strong after nails as opposed to deck screws?
4) How much time will I really save with nail guns?

Tia
Billy

[HouseMedic]

Is the 3/4 plywood just being put down on top of the floor joist? If so I just put a bead of glue on the joist and then use my nail gun with 2" ring shank nails in it to fasten down the plywood. The glue will help with squeaks later. What are you putting down as your final covering? (carpet, tile, laminate)???

Ron

[Billy123]

Ron yes the 3/4 ply will lay right on top on the 2x6 floor joists. We will then have a mixture of carpet and linoleum. I really dread screwing down all the floor like I did before. It seemed like it would never end.

[HouseMedic]

Like I said, Just run a bead of flooring adhesive (you get it in caulk tubes) on the joist then I would use tongue and groove flooring plywood and then shoot it down with ring shank nails. You should be good to go.

Ron

[Greg S]

When gluing anything, regardless of your choice of fasteners (screw or nails), their purpose is only to hold the wood in place until the glue dries. Once it does the fasteners have served their purpose and the glue holds the panel in place from that point on. This applies to any form of construction from floors to cabinet grade furniture.

[ponch37300]

Like mentioned the glue will be the primary strength once it dries. Just like woodworking when you are gluing two boards together you can just glue and clamp. Once the glue is dried the bond is stronger then the actual wood. I always glue down subfloor for strength and also to eliminate squeaks, which are from a loose nail and the plywood riding up and down on the nail.

Screws or nails will work, if you use nails I would use ring shank so they won't pull out years down the road. If you already have a framing nailer then just use that. Another option is a collated screw gun, I have one like this but cordless http://www.amazon.com/Senco-1R0004N-DS2 ... +screw+gun. They also make ones that have handles like this, http://www.amazon.com/Quik-Drive-PRO250 ... +screw+gun. For a while I was doing a ton of tile work for friends and family and almost bought one for screwing down cement board.

When using construction adhesive make sure you have a GOOD caulk gun, not one of the cheap throw aways. Because you are going to be squeezing that trigger a lot! Different guns have different ratios so the nicer ones are easier to use. Buy the bigger cartridges also, if you buy the smaller sizes you will be changing tubes a lot if you're doing a whole trailer. They also make a special caulk gun for subfloor adhesive, http://www.amazon.com/Newborn-Deluxe-X- ... +caulk+gun. Or a cordless caulk gun so you don't have to keep squeezing, http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DC545K-18- ... =caulk+gun.

I'm a tool guy and if there's a tool that will make my life easier I tend to buy it. I figure the tool is cheaper then paying someone to do the work and I will have the tool to use in the future. One of the best "tools" I've ever bought for flooring projects is a set of proknee knee pads. I have bad knees(and ankles and back and neck and....) but these take the weight off your knees and really make flooring work a lot nicer. They are expensive but if you spend any time on your knees they are well worth it, http://proknee.com/. They will make that endless screwing a lot nicer.

[Billy123]

Thanks for all your posts... I went ahead and bought one of those gas charged framing guns tonight a Paslode CF325. It sure looks like it will save me days of work. Thanks for the tip on the nails. I bought 1000 2" and 1000 3" ring shank to get me started...

[HouseMedic]

I have been using my Pasload nailers for over 8 years now and I can't live without them. I have the older version of the framing nailer you mentioned and I also have an angled finish nailer. Good luck with everything and let us know how you make out. Maybe even some pictures.

Ron

[Billy123]

Pictures I have man! Just of the gut job atm tho...

http://www.mrrepairs.net/mh/laborday2013/

As you can see in those i have a mess where the bathroom once was. I need to replace some joists and the the outer face board. I'm still not clear on how to pull that off yet but the ideas are flowing.

I went ahead tonight a bought one of those porter cable multi tools. In the hope of that helping with the old floor under the walls. In the old MH I just left it there but this MH I want all that particle board gone. I hope the porter cable works well...

[Billy123]

I have been using my Pasload nailers for over 8 years now and I can't live without them. I have the older version of the framing nailer you mentioned and I also have an angled finish nailer. Good luck with everything and let us know how you make out. Maybe even some pictures.

Ron

Yep I pulled the trigger last night on the 16 gauge angled finish nailer from Hd. I also bought every size nail the gun could handle.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Paslode-16-G ... imG8n_DJrM

My ol lady can't wait to use both of them guns! She says I can't touch them lol...

I had the Ridgid cordless screw gun in the cart but it was so cheap money wise I figured I would go back and buy it when we put the drywall up.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18-Vo ... imIDX_DJrM

It looks like that will save me a lot of time too in the end. Plus I get to add another cool tool to my ever growing collection of stuff.

[JD]

Great pictures, Billy! Great work, great house, great location!