Hardwood Floor Jack - Gets Boards Tight

Here's a great tool used mostly for mechanically fastened wood floors when you get up to that last wall line and run into some boards that aren't very straight. Often installers will use a long handled screwdriver with a hammer and drive the screwdriver into the floor, pry back the crooked boards then nail into the tongue.

With hardwood floor jacks (there are other names as well) there will be no grumbling when those screwdrivers slide out of from position, or when you miss pounding the end and hit the back of your hand. No dinged board edges either as the floor jack mechanism grabs the tongue side of the board, far below the face surface.

The jack extends far enough away from the final wall when you can't use the power of a mallet trying to squeeze those last boards together. Once it's ratcheted, simply blind nail into the tongue, or if you're too close, top nail to fasten the boards.

Versatile - Use In Middle Of the Room

Some products can also be used for stubborn boards in other areas of the installation by screwing a block into the subfloor in front of the work. The block will offer the same structural strength as a wall shown in the above photo example.

View The One Minute Quickie Video

2023 Update - Other Sources?

Since Powernail first produced this cool tool, all sorts of knockoffs and or copycats have come on stream. Most sell for over $ 150.00 with some of the better ones coming from Bostitch and Roberts. I got lucky and found this one (in video) back in 2011 from Harbor Freight that ran only sixty dollars or so. It’s crude but very effective. Not sure what happened. Read more. It was rediscovered!

Upon further review it appears this tool can be obtained through Amazon for about $ 45.00 (right). One word of advice; do not force it. It is not intended to tighten the entire floor piece by piece.

Transcript of the video

This tool works wonders in pulling boards tight near baseboards or walls. It’s a love hate thing with installers. A lot of em’ just don’t want to drag another tool into the job and prefer this technique, that can damage board edges if you’re too aggressive.

For the most part it’s used on the last few rows where the boards can’t be tightened up by the mallet or flooring nailer. Here the installer is three rows shy of finishing off a 5 inch wide hardwood. A scrap is used against the base to protect while he then places the jack into place and begins ratcheting. Once it’s tight he nails in the row and goes to the next row. Once tightened with the jack it gets top nailed. Finally the last row that had to be ripped to size on the table saw is tightened and top nailed as well

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