Dive Brief:

• Builders can do some relatively simple things to make it a lot more likely that nails will stay where they're put and avoid issues later on, such as floor squeak because nails have backed out of the wood.
• One step the APA recommends is to use dry lumber or engineered wood framing. Green wood will dry and shrink a good bit, and even kiln-dried lumber still has enough moisture to shrink some.
• When attaching underlayment to sub-floors, ring or screw-shank nails help fight nail pop, and using foot pressure near the nail site is a good idea if a nail gun is being used.

Dive Insight:

The booklet on avoiding nail pops is the third so far in a series that APA is offering.