Hardwood Floor Nailer Shoe

Here's a new tool addition that makes installing solid hardwood flooring easier. Shown on the right is a standard Bostitch MIIIFS flooring stapler before someone came up with something called a nailer shoe.

What's a nailer shoe and why is it advantageous to have? The gizmo attaches to the bottom plate of many nailers including the following manufacturers:

• Powernail
• Senco
• Bostich
• Porta Nail

What Does It Do?

If you look closely at the photo on the right we have the stapler in action. It is necessary to have the bottom plate slide along the top of the board while nailing and positioning yourself for the continuation. Often what happens is the nailer will not seat correctly when the plunger is tapped which forces the nail or staple above the tongue and into the subfloor at a 45 degree angle. The result? A fastener that has been "nailed" improperly. It may have found a home well above the tongue area or on the face of the board. The latter will have to be removed; not an easy job considering how a pnuematic hardwood floor nailer drives nails.

The Benefits

The addition keeps the flooring nailer better aligned during the course of nailing a hardwood floor. The tool will no longer wobble as it now has a seat into which it lays. It becomes more balanced. An added benefit is the shoe provides better surface protection of the new hardwood. This is particularly important when installing factory finished flooring. In other words, the likelihood of premature scratching from the actual nailer is reduced.

Related Link: http://www.originalnailershoe.com/images/sweezy.pdf

Interesting Ways To Find Websites

I had a long list of funny search queries I put together five years back, but as luck would have it; gone in one of my numerous computer crashes. Use Firefox...Yes I do..now.

What's a Search Query?

It's the words you type into a search box. In order to find out what people are searching for you need a stats program. Google analytics (tough word to spell) is a freebie that's used for this blog, but I've been hooked on www.sitestats.com since 2003 for the main site. Not all stats programs are created equal but having one for six years is great for comparing and improving your website traffic.

Here's a funny search query. I wonder what was on this persons mind?

"installing hardwood floors yourself sucks"

Initially I thought I would not see the visitor spending much time looking around, but sitestats shows where the person went and to what page after landing on the website. Maybe it was a he trying to please the wife? "Look honey, this guy says it does suck, let's hire a pro"

They were a previous visitor from October 16 while spending 38 minutes the first time, 18 minutes another time and today 23 minutes. Folks will tell you keywords are important to be seen in search engines, but "sucks" does not exist on the site anywhere. Maybe it's that semantic search stuff Google has been working on that got the person to the site. Actually I have a better idea how it ranked or how the term ranked well. Hey, I'm not tellin:)

Some folks don't spend much time trying to get a search query right. You have to wonder what are they are actually looking for.

"can i sanding cork?"

Huh? Yes. I know what you mean

"diy floor sanding australia"

Well, sure you can do it down under.

"hand scraped wood floor with pegs china"

I guess they have pegs in China. Yea..I know what they were looking for.

"examples of door trim while tiling a floor"

What am I, John Bridge? It's a tile forum

"pecan ahrdwood flooring"

Hey I do it too. Many, many times...misspell words. I found it interesting someone from Google stated 20% of the searches people do on their site have never been used before. I thought that was astounding until I thought of my own habits. Most of it must be from misspellings?

That's just a sampling from this morning.

Engineered Floating Wood Floors - Kahrs Hardwood

Here's an article I wrote almost two years ago for this blog but never got around to putting it up.

12/20/07

Upon starting this product review category I thought, okay tone it down, give people what they want; honest reviews of a product. Running a small online business(as of December 2007) that sells these products while offering a fair opinion is not an easy task. It didn't take me long to come up with a product that probably ranks the highest in this category.

I'll be straightforward, we do not sell much of the Kahrs product online these days because of the pricing. Other competitors are happy to make 30 cents on a product that costs about $ 3.70. It is likely to be the leader in it's field when it comes to lack of consumer claims. Or at least that was our experience when we did sell a lot of it. Others that fit this bill are Mirage(which we'll get to at a later date) and Lauzon. The latter of which we cannot provide a review because frankly we cannot get a sales rep to call on us.

Kahrs has several lines, most of which are the Woodloc installation system. Woodloc is their own proprietary name for their locking mechanism. The beauty of the Woodloc is it provides a wonderful square edge appearance once installed, opposed to many of the beveled products out there today.

Square edge is the appearance of what one board adjacent to another looks like when installed. It becomes a near seamless fit, similar to a traditional floor that is installed, sanded, and finished.

Kahrs offers three different appearances in their Woodloc line. All are approximately 8 inches in width, with some being slightly different as they are manufactured in different facilities in Europe. In pricing terms, the narrower the width the lower retail cost.

• Three Strip- three strips across the face of the board apprx 2 5/8" wide(shown above)


• Two Strip- two"strips"(planks) across the face of the board apprx 4" wide


• One Strip- one "strip"(plank) makes up the whole board or 8" wide

October 25, 2009- Back in March I also put together a video on Kahrs and their other lines. I shelved it until September because I wasn't happy with how it came out. Not being able to find the original video draft file I could not change it. Upon looking at it I thought, "what the heck it's not that bad..." I was really nit picking, but it doesn't have the lighting I'm after with "action shots."

Since that time the two strip has been discontinued. It took too long to start a new video, so I just let it ride. Many of their products are now manufactured in the US instead of Europe. Surprisingly, Kahrs has also jumped on the made in Asia bandwagon as the new Spirit Collection is manufactured there.



Another video, from Kahrs directly, dealing with installation of their products.

Very informative for those seeking how to.

Cleaning Hardwood Floors - What The Infomercials Don't Tell You

Be careful out there when it comes to cleaning your new or older hardwood floors. Some cleaners may sound great by advertisements or infomercials seen on TV. However chances are the makeup of what's in the cleaner may void any warranty you may have not only prefinished floors, but site finished as well.

For a badly neglected floor you may be telling yourself, anything may be better. However if results are not up to your expectations, you may need the rescue of a professional floor finisher. What you originally applied to the floor may be more troublesome to fix than without. Why?

Some cleaners not recommended by hardwood finish manufacturers may contain residues that dull or cloud a finish appearance. Depending on how much was used, and the condition of the floor, these residues can go deeper into the actual pores of the hardwood (if bare wood is exposed) creating a potential bonding problem with any new finish being applied. In some cases floors have to be sanded to bare wood, getting rid of the harmful residues so a correct finish and proper bond is achieved.

I've seen the same commercials in the likes or Orange Glo or Glow. From a professional and more realistic standpoint I have to wonder how some consumers think such a low cost product is worth using. Ask yourself; would you use a similar product on an antique piece of furniture? That antique could be worth thousands, the same as your hardwood floor.

I have seen some complaints, but I'm not the type that will blame the manufacturer. It's likely what was on the floor originally that could have compounded the problems. It's best to follow manufacturers specifications on prefinished floors and listen to the guy that just refinished your older hardwood floors. After all he's been in business to keep people happy. A wrong suggestion is likely to lead to a failed floor and plenty or irate customers.

Better products to clean hardwood floors.

Floating Strand Bamboo Floors

Being out of the loop of sorts when it comes to newer products, I've always maintained if you want a durable bamboo floor go strand. Unlike your basic bamboo floors that tend to be oversold on the hardness factor, woven strand bamboo does offer the durability some may be looking for, but don't expect it to take care of itself. Everything needs care and attention.

Who Makes Floating Strand Bamboo Floors?

I thought Synergy from Teragren was was the only one currently offering a wider plank type strand floating floor until I found some interesting pics from J& L Bamboo. Shown above is click engineered bamboo from the company. They're also into some fancy looking distressed strand flooring as well. The next pic shows what almost looks to be a French Bleed type bamboo; first one I've seen.

So why are strand bamboo floors the ones to turn to if you're seeking bamboo? It's the manufacturing process that enables the increased durability. More can be found at the J&L Bamboo link above.

Strand bamboo products offer a different appearance opposed to common bamboo floors. Hence the look may not be for you if you like that bamboo appearance with the knuckles littered over the floor.

Recession? - Lumber Liquidators Rolls On

I like to follow Lumber Liquidators both on the web and off. How can you not see them all over the place? Baseball games for example. Look behind home plate where Major League ball teams offer advertising. Look on the web; these guys spend a lot of money on advertising.

Growth?

They continue to open many new stores by my surprise. One would think with the economy and the shrinking demand for hardwood flooring they'd be a bit more conservative. Sales for existing stores are down a bit according to their reports but they continue to open new stores at a considerable rate.

Lumber Liquidators has a secret. Keep it simple and offer low prices. You won't find them in the high rent district, but off the beaten trail. Yet they attract many. Although they don't see the massive lines of recent years when a great advertisement hit the streets, people are still magnetized to what they offer.

Clamps For Floating Hardwood Floors?

I noticed a discussion over at Finehomebuilding.com that's been going on for a few weeks now. The poster had been having problems with a glue together floating floor; namely with the floor making all sorts of noises after it was installed. Temporary creaking with glued floating floors is common as the floor needs to find it's "equilibrium point" after the installation

But the questions among many became is clamping a floating floor necessary? Let's go back to the original types manufactured by Kahrs, and Harris-Tarkett. These floors were always milled with such precision that once the glue is applied and the boards tapped into place there wasn't any seperation unless you had a heard of elephants running across it. Once engaged it was tight as a drum, because they were designed this way.

Today many manufacturers give the green light to floating floors that they never advised of before. The products did not change in their construction whatsoever. It became more of a matter of "let's keep up with the do it yourself trend before we're left in the dust." Floating hardwood floors had become the mainstay of an easier hardwood installation.

In any event (I don't have all the exact product line names) suddenly a few dozen brand lines manufactured by Armstrong( Bruce, Hartco, Robbins) were considered okay for a floating type installation. Many in the installation industry were left scratching their heads.

To The Story...Are Clamps Needed?

For thinner engineered floors or those that fit loosely before glue is applied clamping would be beneficial for two reasons.

• Keeps the floor tight before the glue dries.
• Keeps bowed pieces tight and eliminates or cuts down on gapping before glue dries.

Other reasons clamping may be necessary include the makeup of the material being used. Back in the beginning with Kahrs and Tarkett, their products were long and wide or on the order of eight feet long and 7 or 8 inches wide. Coined longstrip. Nowadays it ain't like that at all. Many of the Armstrong lines would need 5,6, or seven pieces to makeup the orginal longstrip hardwood.

In essence if you were working side by side with one installing the Longstrip and the other a common Armstrong hardwood, you'd be installing more boards. Chances of boards gapping are greater.

clamps for floating floors