In this article, we will be looking at the best type of nail gun for attaching laminate beading. This is something you may need to do when fitting laminate flooring to existing skirting board. The beading is designed to cover the expansion gap and give a neat finish.
In an ideal world, you wouldn’t need any laminate beading. Instead, you would fit your skirting on top of the laminate flooring. By doing this, you hide the expansion gap with the skirting boards.
However, this is not always possible. Many people already have skirting boards installed, so removing them and then replacing after laminate flooring, adds lots of extra work. For a DIY project, this means time and effort, and if you’re hiring a professional, it will mean extra expense.
The laminate beading can be installed manually with a pin hammer and some small lost head nails. But this takes time, and many people would prefer to use a nail gun for the job. Not only is it faster, but the nails are often smaller and easier to fill and hide.
The best nail gun to fix laminate beading, is a 2nd fix nail gun. These will usually fire nails between 15-65mm long. For this particular job 30-35mm brads would be the best fixing.
3 good 2nd fix nail guns for laminate beading
In this section, we will look at 3 different nail guns that could be used for laminate beading. The first two are cordless and these are certainly more expensive.
The last option is a great cheap alternative. Unlike the first 2, it is a corded electric tool. However, it is far cheaper, so if the tool is only needed for DIY jobs, such as laminate beading, this cheaper option might be your best choice.
For more details see below:
Option 1 – High end 2nd fix nail gun – Paslode IM65A Finishing Nailer
This tool is top of the range. Paslode are the longest standing brand in the cordless nail gun space, and they are considered to be the gold standard by professional tradespeople.
The tool is powered by lithium batteries, combined with a gas cell. This enables it to fire up to 1000 nails on a single charge.
Whilst this is a fantastic tool, it is rather expensive, and if you only need it for beading, it might be a little overkill.
However, if you do need a 2nd fix nailer for lots of other jobs and you want the best, this is definitely top of the range.
You can read more about the Paslode IM65A and read customer reviews by clicking here
Option 2 – Slightly cheaper 2nd fix nail gun – DeWalt DCN680N Brad Nailer
This is another option, from a well-known professional brand. However, it is quite a bit cheaper than Option 1.
In terms of performance, the DeWalt is very close to the Paslode gun, and it has some benefits. These include:
- No gas is required
- The batteries are interchangeable with other DeWalt tools
- If you already have DeWalt batteries, you can buy the bare gun for considerably cheaper
Whilst this is still a high-end tool, it can work out less than half the price of a Paslode if you already have batteries. Again, it is still quite expensive if you only need it for this job.
However, if you already own DeWalt batteries and chargers, and you need a nail gun for more jobs, this is a much better option for the DIY’er.
To learn more about this tool and read reviews click here
Option 3 – Cheap 2nd fix nail gun – Tacwise 1705 Electric Nailer
The previous options are not cheap, so if you only need a nail gun for laminate beading, then paying the price for these tools might not be an option. However, there are cheaper tools on the market, especially when we look at corded electric nail guns.
Realistically, you won’t find a decent battery nail gun for under £250. Also, whilst air compressed guns often appear much cheaper, you also need to buy a compressor, so these don’t offer much of a saving, plus they are heavy and need more storage space.
The beauty of corded electric tools, is they tend to be much cheaper. Whats more, you don’t need to worry about changing batteries. This might not be ideal on a building site, but in your own home, with plug sockets in every room, it really isn’t a problem
The Tacwise 1705 is currently one of the most popular electric brad nailer sold in the UK. This is with good reason because it is far cheaper than its cordless counterparts.
Whats more, it comes with 1000+ free 35mm nails, which are perfect for fixing laminate beading.
You can learn more about this nail gun and read hundreds of customer reviews by clicking here
Conclusion
There are lots of nail guns on the market, and some of these tools can be quite expensive. With that said, if you do need a nail gun for lots of second fix work, it could be worth paying for a premium cordless tool.
If on the other hand, you just need a basic nail gun to use around the home, something like the Tacwise 1705 is a fantastic option. This tool is more than capable of fixing laminate beading, and it won’t break the bank.
