At the stroke of midnight

The floor is finished (well all the boards are down). Just in case you ever lay a board floor and like me you don't have a floorboard clamp (like me) here is how you can add lib and make a reasonable floor clamp:

Two pieces of softwood and a g-clamp do the trick.

For the floor I'm using cut floor brads. Turns out these are not available in France so I had to import the nails from England. This may sound a bit excessive but trust me they are the very best nails for the job. Because of their shape they pull the board down nice and tight, something any other nail will not do. If your wondering why there are two hammers in the picture that's just to illustrate the difference between an English and a French hammer. They both have their place but being an old fashioned kind of guy I still prefer the weight and balance of the English hammer. Especially for a floor where square "rose buds" just look wrong.

As an aside I love my new saw. The quality of Makita tools is just staggering, and made in England too. Considering it was just 20 pounds more expensive than the cheap Chinese stuff, I think its well worth the difference.

The finished floor; OK there are tools still strewn about the place but hey is was midnight by the time I put the last board in! Tired now......going to bed.