Nails in floor
Q: I ripped up the carpet and want to refinish the oak floors. I’ve spent 12 hours pulling staples out and am stumped what to do about the nails. There are all kinds of nails in the floor, some I pulled out, all different lengths but with the rest (and I mean about 40) all I am managing to do it damage the floor or pull the nail heads off. Is there a better tool to use - I’m using a hammer, pliers, and a thing that looks like a flat head screwdriver with a slit in it. If I start hammering them down with a nail set I’m going to have an awful lot of ugly putty spots right in the middle of the floor. I was hoping to save some money doing the floors myself, I just want them to look ‘good’ but every professional I contact wants to replace every board with the slightest imperfection and make them look stunning! It’s an old house, I don’t want to pay for brand new looking floors.
A: This really is not the type of work that should be done by an inexperienced homeowner. Pull all the nails you can with the tools you have. Any others that can’t be removed, or have the heads break off, simply counter sink. There are decent wood fillers on the market that come pretty close to matching the floor and accept stain. There are also hundreds of colours in tubes that can be used afterward for any other holes or spots that were missed. Tell the floor company exactly what your expectations are and go from there. If the floor is worth saving in spite of the nail holes, there should be no problem with a company being willing to accept the job according to the visual standards you set.
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