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nailing 1 3/8 Jatoba flooring directly to joists

10/26/15       
bruce long Member

building my home in the US Virgin Islands. We've milled Jatoba flooring (1 3/8"x4" & 6") which we'll install over 4x10 Andiroba mahogany joists, no subfloor as the joists & underside are visible beneath in the bedrooms.
Any experience/recommendations for what flooring nailer to use for this species & thickness? As we are preparing all materials here in my Granada, Nicaragua shop we could consider pre boring holes for screws & shipping up a zillion pre cut bungs. Looking for suggestions.

10/30/15       #2: nailing 1 3/8 Jatoba flooring direc ...
gary

Hi Bruce,
Is the material tongue and groove or just butt joint ?

10/30/15       #4: nailing 1 3/8 Jatoba flooring direc ...
bruce long Member

t&g. Best suggestion received so far is to pre bore through tongue then use SS trim screws. Unless I see a better method, think this will be my route. 3M 5200 on top of 4x10 joists to assure adhesion & to reduce noise.

10/30/15       #5: nailing 1 3/8 Jatoba flooring direc ...
gary

I would lean towards a normal head screw for more holding power. 5200 is amazing stuff and also quite expensive in Calif. I have used Sika 1A with same results for half the price. Would love to see some photos of your shop and house; sounds great.

10/31/15       #6: nailing 1 3/8 Jatoba flooring direc ...
Gene Wengert - Wood Doc

No question that pre-boring is essential for jatoba wood. It is very dense and will either bend the fasteners or split if you do not pre-bore, or the fastener will break.

The hole, however, should not just be a vertical hole, but needs to slant inward so that the the screw holds through the tongue and through the bottom of the piece. The hole must be large enough at this point as the strength is based on the head that is in the tongue (actually the screw is at the tongue joint with the main piece of flooring and not really "in the tongue") and the screw that is in the andiroba. You do not want any resistance in the jatoba...if there is, then you will not have the floor held tightly against the andiroba and so it will squeak.

You do not need to pre-bore the andiroba.

No question that screws are "better" than nails, but installation is intensive. If you opt for nails, which is what most floors use, a power nailer is essential and then you need to inspect each nail to make sure it penetrated far enough so the head is not sticking out. Of course, nails also should not penetrate too deeply either. It is likely that nails also must be purebred or else you will get some humps in the finished floor where the nail wedged the wood apart.

A special note...the dust from sawing the ends of the flooring off and the dust from pre-boring needs to be captured and removed from the dwelling as this species does have allergy issues, especially from the dust. You do not want the dust floating around, getting into the bedrooms, etc., or getting into the air while installing the floor.

10/31/15       #7: nailing 1 3/8 Jatoba flooring direc ...
Bruce long Member

Thank you Gene. Had already made the decision to go with screws into pre bored holes. Your advice coincided with how we'd decided to work & again, thank you. We've nailed with 16 gauge nail guns about 1500 sq ft of Jatoba flooring in my home here in Nicaragua with fair to good success. About 10% of the nails needed to be set with a punch, which obviously slows down the installation. But that was all 7/8" flooring not the 1 3/8" that is for this next project.
Regarding Jatoba dust & irritation from it, we've encountered no issues with myself or our workers. However Ipe & Cocobolo Rosewood are another issue, especially Ipe. My best craftsman, & shop foreman, has severe skin reaction to it, whether from dust or just touching the surface of a board. Has to leave shop when milling it. Cocobolo is more of a respiratory issue & one we pay attention to.

11/12/15       #8: nailing 1 3/8 Jatoba flooring direc ...
Jay

my Bostotch flooring nailer drives 'em home through "Brazilian Cherry" tongues as does my Paslode15ga DA nailer. But as they say: "YMMV"

now 5200 is amazing stuff, but gluing flooring to joists is not always a good idea... Id investigate carefully before proceeding with that.
have you considered half lap joints? for the situation youre describing, half-lap (as opposed to T&G) might be a better choice.

Sounds like you're "living the dresm"! Good for you! & best wishes on your project
btw, Waterlox creates a STELLAR finish on Jatoba (actually, I haven't come across a species that doesn't turn out splendidly, with the stuff, and the application is as simple & foolproof as it gets. try a test panel on your flooring, & I'll bet you'll never look back ;)
I'm fab'ing some more wood countertop samples the 1st of next week, & a 8/4 Jatoba (with 14mm Festool Domino joinery) -Im sitting on a rough 7ft "slab" of the stuff as I type this!
Its finish will be Waterlox Original on one side & one edge/end, and SW F3 Kemvar on the opposite (side, edge & end)
if you'd like to see finish process pics, just lmk,

no doubt Jatoba is quite hard -but not THAT hard.. if you run up the pressure & dial in your gun, you'll be properly setting your fasteners.
EB-Tie (EB-Tye?) biscuits can be used on flooring (with a slight modification). Id probably use one (with a SS trim screw ) every 3rd or 4th joist & nail the rest


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