Old flooring (your maple is not original to the house---it's too narrow) can be a full 7/8." The new stuff is a full 3/4."
If you could make "mallet-space" to actually utilize the toungue and groove of some real flooring, you'll be far better off in the long run. If not, I'd still face nail (ring finish nail) as much of it as possible. Are you sure you have sufficient basement access to reach every inch of up-screwing that you'll need to do?
An no liquid nails! If you have a leak in there in future and the floor gets damaged, you will kill yourself for having done that. Or, if you prefer, when that DOES happen, I can come up and rip them out for you, then I can kill you and Joyce can still collect the insurance payouts.
Edit: If you do have to get real maple, home center maple is soft maple---always. You need Rock Maple, or Hard Rock (Yeah, baby!) Maple. You have to go to a harwood dealer, and those are soooo hard to find in your part of New England (insert "pfffffttt).
Then, natch, you have to resaw, rip, size, trim, blah, blah.
There HAS to be a flooring dealer near you than stocks hard maple.
And, please Gawd, no pre-finished in your cool old house, pleeeeeeease?!?
Last edited by BobKay; 01/19/12 03:49 PM.
