Spent 4 hours trying to fix a squeaky floorboard with the wrong nails

I had this one spot in the hallway near the bedroom that would squeak every time you stepped on it. Figured I'd just nail it down, easy fix right? Bought a box of 1 inch finish nails at the hardware store for $4 and spent a whole Saturday hammering them in. Squeak was still there. After about 3 hours of frustration I finally realized I needed ring shank nails, those grip better and don't pull out. Took me another hour to pull out all the wrong ones and redo it. Has anyone else found a dumb mistake like this that cost way more time than money?

2 comments

2 Comments

wendy39111d agoMost Upvoted

Three hours on pulling nails sounds about right, I've been there. But honestly I think you made this harder than it needed to be. A flooring nailer from the rental place would have done the job in five minutes and cost less than your time and frustration. Sometimes the cheap fix ends up being the most expensive one, especially when you factor in a whole Saturday lost.

mary_foster9211d agoTop Commenter

Three hours on pulling nails" yeah I've been there too but I actually don't agree a nailer would have helped. The problem wasn't the tool it was using smooth shank nails that don't hold. A flooring nailer with the same wrong nails would have just made the same squeak in 5 minutes flat. You still would have had to pull them all out anyway.