Pyramid nailing pattern (hardboard on floors)

Saytan · 3 Sep 2019 at 12:49

I'm planning on hardboarding over my floorboards so everything is nice and smooth.

The articles are all nice and sensible, except they all say "nail in a pyramid pattern", without giving a description of what a pyramid pattern is that makes any sense to me.

can anyone shed any light?

tonys · 3 Sep 2019 at 14:02

I think they mean offsetting the rows of nails so that they are not all in the same lines.

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 3 Sep 2019 at 14:03

i think it means where you have a sheet you start the next one half way along, like the bricks work on a house in effect

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 3 Sep 2019 at 14:06

Oh sorry thought you meant the sheets

This will explain it.
It means as you are using thin material, you start in one corner and work along/out so that you have a large area fixed. IE you dont skip and do all corners and then fill in, you work your way along, so you are never going back to fill in gaps

https://www.leaderfloors.co.uk/how-to-level-a-wood-floor-i401

Marc2180 · 3 Sep 2019 at 14:39

will laying hardboard on top of floor boards cure creaky floor boards? my whole house is terrible for it, apart from the living room which has hardboard sheets on top of the floor boards which were there before we moved in.

Saytan · 3 Sep 2019 at 14:43

squeaking comes about because they get loose around the nails and start shifting slightly under foot

screwing them down good and properly will solve that, and that's probably been done under the hardboard.

Marc2180 · 3 Sep 2019 at 14:45

Saytan said:
squeaking comes about because they get loose around the nails and start shifting slightly under foot

screwing them down good and properly will solve that, and that's probably been done under the hardboard.

would it probably be best to sheet it in hard board with loads of screws in a grid pattern like the link above?

Saytan · 3 Sep 2019 at 14:59

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
Oh sorry thought you meant the sheets

This will explain it.
It means as you are using thin material, you start in one corner and work along/out so that you have a large area fixed. IE you dont skip and do all corners and then fill in, you work your way along, so you are never going back to fill in gaps

https://www.leaderfloors.co.uk/how-to-level-a-wood-floor-i401

I think I get you

so sort of like this

with the colours being "rounds" of nailing?

Saytan · 3 Sep 2019 at 15:00

Marc2180 said:
would it probably be best to sheet it in hard board with loads of screws in a grid pattern like the link above?

no you need to screw the boards themselves down. But be careful of what lies beneath if you're doing it, and use good screws

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 3 Sep 2019 at 15:56

Saytan said:
I think I get you

so sort of like this

with the colours being "rounds" of nailing?

I think so, the pattern can vary, you can go along one edge then do another row etc but in theory you never go back so you are always working in the same direction so you cannot end up with something thats raised that you need to go back to.
You normally do the opposite and nail at least 3/4 corners to stop it being able to move but now your not so you need to be careful to ensure your keeping straight.

I would probably just put 1 screw/nail loosely in the opposite diagonal corner to start, do a few as you demostrate and then remove the other corner to allow the piece to move as I work across.

Saytan · 3 Sep 2019 at 15:58

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
I think so, the pattern can vary, you can go along one edge then do another row etc but in theory you never go back so you are always working in the same direction so you cannot end up with something thats raised that you need to go back to.
You normally do the opposite and nail at least 3/4 corners to stop it being able to move but now your not so you need to be careful to ensure your keeping straight.

I would probably just put 1 screw/nail loosely in the opposite diagonal corner to start, do a few as you demostrate and then remove the other corner to allow the piece to move as I work across.

gotcha, thanks

ANDARIAL · 3 Sep 2019 at 16:22

Wet the hardboard before using it and leave gaps all around each sheet otherwise you will get `bubbles`

Saytan · 3 Sep 2019 at 17:29

ANDARIAL said:
Wet the hardboard before using it and leave gaps all around each sheet otherwise you will get `bubbles`

I will be. I've read all the articles, just they all assume you know what pyramid nailing is!

Tinders · 3 Sep 2019 at 19:37

Should you nail or screw, im always a bit weary of banging too hard (ooh er missus!).

Saytan · 4 Sep 2019 at 08:03

Tinders said:
Should you nail or screw, im always a bit weary of banging too hard (ooh er missus!).

depends greatly on what you're doing. Floorboards can be either nailed or screwed. Screws stay in place longer and hold better, but nails are more pleasing if you want the boards on show

screws are also better for future access

when I hardboard out this room there's one section with pipe junctions underneath that I will screw down for potential future access.

Tinders · 4 Sep 2019 at 08:36

I’m just thinking of ease. Screws with a impact driver would be less strenuous than hammering?

Saytan · 4 Sep 2019 at 08:44

yes, but I cant stress enough

CHECK WHAT IS UNDERNEATH FIRST

Tinders · 4 Sep 2019 at 09:13

Oh yes, been there done that! I was planning to use short screws, the floorboards are 25mm thick!

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 4 Sep 2019 at 10:01

Nails are designed to allow some movement (versions such ring shank excepted)
screws are designed to not allow movement (bar ones such as decking screws with a plain section)
If wood needs to move and its nailed it will, if its screwed and it generates enough force you get either the screw pulled through or it will snap.

Nails are faster to put in, but more tricky to get out, and cheaper.

Personally I use screws in this sort of situation, you want them to be as tight as possible generally on floors.