Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Errant Nail/Broken Piece - Hardwood Flooring

We have one nail in our hardwood floor in our living room that we noticed had popped out awhile back. We banged it back down. However now it slowly comes back out of the floor, and becomes a puncture/tripping hazard for people walking on it. Any permanent way to take care of it?

Also one piece of our kitchen hardwood broke off. It is a long, but not thick piece (<1cm) and we're wondering if we can simply use wood glue to put it back in?

Thanks a bunch!

Remove the nail, and fill the hole.

Renail it close to the existing one.

What type/length nails are these?

The nail doesn't come too far out of the floor, so we've only seen less than a cm or so of it. However the head is thicker than "everyday" nails and the shaft is too. I can take a picture if that would help.

Also, what material do we fill the hole with/is there a recommended type of nail to use for the new renailing?

Any more ideas? The head may not be thicker, it's a bit hard to see, but I don't want to yank it until I know what to fill it with.

I have some pictures now with our problem.

I basicaly need to know about the filler for the hole when I pull the nail, and what type of nail to renail with/any tip so this doesn't happen to the new nail.

I also need to know how to refill the hardwood chunk that you can see broke out. We still do have the chunk.

On a side note, if anyone knows how we can quiet some of our squeaky hardwood, pass on the information! I recall seeing some kind of jig that allows you to pass a nail through the floor then break the head off cleanly, re-securing the floor.

Thanks a million!

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9176/p7181022wr9.jpg

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/7596/p7181025sh4.jpg

That looks like an ordinary finish nail. It was probably a previous owners attempt to fix a squeak. It missed anything solid so you needn't replace it when you remove it.

A squeaky floor is best fixed from underneath. Can you get at the floor from below? If you can get to from below then you can tell us what the subfloor is made from: plywood, osb, car decking etc..

That screw thing leaves the shaft of the screw showing when it's broken off. It's a fix for rooms with carpeted floors.

Some Titebond II should do for clueing that chunk back in.

Thanks for more information, I am eager to get this fixed.

What do I fill the hole with after the nail is out?

Also, I will verify what the subfloor is. I do have access.

From looking up in my basement, I'd guess our subfloor is "car decking". It looks basicaly like a deck with the wood running diagonally.

Decking like yours was commonly used years ago. Unfortunately it was all nailed down. Over time the nails holding the decking come loose and then the floor squeaks.

Personally I've only down a small project to fix this kind of problem. I drilled through the joists into the decking at an angle and then used deck screws to pull the decking back down tight. It did work but I think it might be tedious for a large area. Perhaps some of the other members will jump in and tell us their techniques.

Yeah decking makes sense, the house is 80+ or so years old.

My only other question is what to fill the hole with after I pull that finishing nail?

Much thanks.

Parks makes a wood floor filler. Around here it's sold at Home Depot.