When installing 5'; wide solid-wood, prefinished floor do I need to nail AND glue or can I just nail it down?

We're going to be installing a lot of wood flooring in our new house, and I'm thinking about doing it my self. I've done it in the past with no issues. The difference this time is that we're going with pre-finished, solid wood that is 5'; wide. I've heard that you should use glue AND nails for planks that are 5'; wide. If I should be using glue in addition to nails, where does the glue go? In between tongue/groove? Down under the plank between plank and sub-floor? If the latter, then how does that impact the need for Rosin paper? Thank you for your help.When installing 5'; wide solid-wood, prefinished floor do I need to nail AND glue or can I just nail it down?
Sound advice from Glenn and poobah, Just a thought and a note ..Any wide plank such as your 5 inch plank is subject to warping in high humidity areas. Keeping your humidity constant as to your manufactures recommendation is important.I heard of guys( homeowners) ';nail'; their wood down real well and complain of noisy floors. Come to find out they nailed w/ a finish nail gun, this will not work and can void any warranty. There are 2 ways to nail a floor down , one is to use the cleeted nail that you can get at the rental place when you rent a gun and the 2nd is to actually use a staple that is used in the same looking flooring gun.. Check w/ the maker of your wood to see if the staple type is allowed in your particular wood.. Most allow it now but check w/ your manufacture GLWhen installing 5'; wide solid-wood, prefinished floor do I need to nail AND glue or can I just nail it down?
I have laid a good deal of solid wood flooring including pre-finished and I have never heard of gluing it down. That is usually used for parquet tiles and laminates. We just nailed the tongues with a Porta-Nailer or a power nailer. Otherwise you would either have to glue the rosin paper as well or eliminate it altogether. Also, the glue would keep the boards from expanding and contracting which would lead to warping and buckling.
You should use the glue to prevent spaces under the planks that don't touch the floor. If you get these spaces the floor will squeak when you walk over them. You do not need to use the rosin paper if you use the glue. The rosin paper is used to prevent the same thing, though. If you use one do not use the other, your choice.





http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwoo鈥?/a> This is a good link to learn about gluing.
If you are buying a product made as finished flooring, there will be a manufacturers install guide. Follow that guide. Don't listen to people who are giving general advice about products they think are similar.





Find out who manufactures the flooring you are going to use and go to their web site or ask the lumberyard for an install guide for that specific product.





Good luck!
hi josh, just secret nail the floorboards, through the tongue so that the nails are hidden. you can hire a porta-nailer very cheaply and its also pretty much foolproof to use...if your boards were any wider, you would need to face nail too. the only place you should use glue is between butt joints (where the end of one board meets the end of another) im assuming you know all about expansion, contraction, acclimatising the floor boards etc. if you don't email me and ill give you a crash course! take your time and enjoy it, its a satisfying job. best of luck!
Poobah is correct. Nails only. Start at one wall, face nail the planks very close to the wall (these nails will be hidden by base and shoe trim) and tongue and groove nail the other side. All other rows get t%26amp;g nailed until you get to the other end of the room. Rosin paper is a necessity for two reasons. 1) it acts as a release barrier so your plank floor can expand and contract with the seasons, 2) it prevents the wood on wood squeaks you will get as you walk across the floor. Run quickly from anyone who suggests glue on this type of floor.