Fasteners for underlayment?

[mikek]

I'm putting down a sheet vinyl floor in my kitchen/dining room. I'm planning on putting down 1/4" underlayment to get a nice smooth surface to start with (there was old glue under the existing carpet).

What's the best fastener to use for the underlayment?

thanks
mike

[Tom R]

If you were using a thicker plywood, I would say screws, but for 1/4" underlayment I would use 7d 'ring' nails. Make sure they're set a hair below flush, then fill the dimples and seams with floor patch (like you were spackling the floor). Then sand and 'feather'. Make sure your underlayment (luanne?) is exterior grade (waterproof glue), a lot of floor adhesives are latex (water) based, and can de-laminate interior grade plywood.

[mikek]

The plywood is supposedly made to be underlayment (It's got a bunch of X's all over it to indicate fastener placement).

Is there a nail gun that shoots the nails you are referring to? I've seen brad and finish nailers then they seem to just to roofing/framing.....

I've also heard that the narrow crown staples can be used? Anyone have opinions on them?

thanks again
mike

[Rich]

That staples are kind of a pain because most often they will crack the face of the plywood - makes for a lot of prep work. If I went with nails I would get a coil roofing nailer and use the ringshanks that Tom mentioned.

[mikek]

Good information, thanks!

I'll look into renting a roofing nailer, as they cost a bit more than an 18Ga stapler :)

mike