sanding face nailed floors

[carolklindsey]

Hi there everyone, I've been reading through this site for a few weeks and have found it very helpful! First time posting, with what might be a silly question, but here goes:

I have wide plank, face nailed, t&g floors that need sanding. The existing old cut nails refuse to be set below the surface (trust me, I've tried) so instead I'll have to pull them out. I like the look, though, so I intend to face nail with new cut nails after sanding.

My question in my situation is this- how do I hold the floors down while I sand them in the meantime? Add redundant screws or nails that can be set/hidden later? Curious if anyone has encountered this conundrum before.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

 

[Itchinfilth]

Do you have any pics of the boards?

 

[Cubist]

I would strongly advise you to stop - you are in danger of causing considerable, and perhaps irrecoverable, damage to the surface of the boards AND the structural integrity of the floor.

Even the most efficient tools for the job - a catspaw nail puller - causes damage as it gets a grip on the nail head and further damage to the board as the nail is withdrawn. Simply replacing cut nails with new stock is also unlikely to produce a new solid fix to the joists - you cannot re-use the same holes in the boards unless perhaps you use a larger nail and that then introduces the risk of new damage to the boards and the joists. Please do not be fooled by what may seem to be a simple task.

If you can, please send some photos of the floor and any information you have concerning the timbers used for the floorboards and the underlying joists.

 

[carolklindsey]

I should have mentioned that the boards are in pretty rough shape to begin and are already riddled with so many nonsensical nail holes it boggles the mind. Previous owners appear to have treated them as nothing but subfloors (or possibly target practice!?) and before that they were painted with many layers of paint I’ve already removed. In other areas of the house the boards have been crudely cut, lifted/leveled, and renailed. There are a lot of damaged areas to repair already. It would’ve been easier to just paint over them again (and worst case I still can) but I’m determined to try to show the natural beauty of the original boards in at least some areas of the home if I can.

For context, the home is an 1810 colonial in upstate New York. Not sure of the species but I’m guessing pine or hemlock. I’m not at the home currently to take additional photos, but am attaching what I have on hand. Thank you for your replies!

 

[Cubist]

Looks like pine to me, as do the joists. Both would not put up much resistance to the nails being punched below the surface. What tools were you using and was the floor bouncing as you tried - much of the imparted kinetic energy can be lost that way?

 

[stuart45]

You often get a problem with batten bounce when nailing slates on thin battens, so it might be an issue here, although I would have thought with the right nail punch and hammer the joists would have held up. If not, try some support from below.