Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Nailer or Stapler for 3/4" Solid Red Oak Flooring?

Hello,

I'm planning to install about 500 sqft of 3/4" x 2-1/4" solid red oak tongue and groove flooring. The subfloor is OSB and the house was built in 2002.

What will have more holding power to secure the boards, a stapler (I.e. Bostitch MIIIFS) or a L shaped cleat nailer (I.e. Bostitch MIIIFN)?

I installed the same stuff into my dining room, about 170 sqft, using the cleat nailer, and noticed that when i walk on certain parts near the corners of the room, i hear very slight cracking and popping noises as if the cleat nails were not gripping as well as they could. Another section of the house that had hardwood already installed when i moved in, does not have this problem (probably stapled?)

I did some reading and heard that staples are coated with a resin glue and activate during installation and hold better.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

That crack and popping noise may be the subfloor. I've made some mistakes when putting down my 2 1/4 x 3/4 white oak floor using those cleat nails and had to remove the boards and it was really tough to get those nails out. I don't know about the staples. I would think the nails hold better because of the serrated edges.

Staples hold way better then cleats

thanks for the replies! in my dining room, i added extra screws down to secure the subfloor to the floor joists, also went inot basemement and screwed up to hold the floor joists to the walls above. so i'm pretty confident that the prep was done correctly- but this same area is where i noticed the popping noises.

so i guess i'll be renting the stapler from home depot instead of the cleat nailer.

Thanks for the input!

OSB doesn't hold a cleat very well, where staples will.