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Roomba: the NightHammer mod

 
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The house I'm currently living in has hardwood floors covering all of the ground level portion of the house, with the exception of the two bedrooms. The problem I have noticed so far with this flooring is the nails and staples that are poking up all over the damned thing. I can't walk around in socks because they get holes ripped in them every time my feet find a stray nail or staple. Walking barefoot isn't *as* bad, but I do still get nicks and cuts from stepping on the nails.

And it's not just anathema to my socks, either. Mops and Swiffer pads don't last long, either. Hammering them down doesn't seem to last very long... they pop right back up a few days later. Whether this is bad flooring are just needs a professional touch-up, I haven't got the time or money to have it seen to professionally. Surely this must be a common problem with hardwood floors?

What I would like is a Roomba that can use a very simple laser system to detect these wayward nails and staples as it goes about its normal cleaning routine, and uses a pile-driver-like hammer attachment to pound them down where they belong. Given that Roombas can be programmed to run every night, and cover every square inch of their territory at least twice, this should ensure that the nails never have a chance to rise high enough to become a pain in the foot or a menace to the mop.

21 Quest, Jan 15 2010

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       I like it, but sleeping is going to be difficult (BANG!)
normzone, Jan 15 2010
  

       But think of the deterrent it would serve against would-be burglars! Or, if you don't want to be bothered at night, set it to run while you're at work.
21 Quest, Jan 15 2010
  

       Sounds like another rant born idea. This is not a problem you would typically have with hardwood flooring. I advise you to get a large nail that is blunt and just drive down all nails to 3 millimeters below the surface, problem solved. You mention staples? My suspicion rises that this not really a herdwood floor at all but instead some panneling that's made to look like hardwood, if so: remove staples and insert small mails and drive them to millimeters below surface. Or you might hire a professional floorsanding guy and let him sand your floor and deal with the problem.
  

       I wish you and your family happiness with your new home. - to the idea, just fix it old school style.
zeno, Jan 15 2010
  

       OW! My toe!
DrWorm, Jan 16 2010
  

       Zeno, re the small mails to be inserted after the staples are removed....what envelope size do you recommend? should it have been posted, or can I just attach the stamps and then use it?
senatorjam, Jan 18 2010
  

       he meant e-mails, silly.
pocmloc, Jan 18 2010
  

       I only had a few nails in my house that did this, but the problem persisted until I found ring-shanked nails slightly larger than the old smooth surfaced ones and replaced them. [zeno], this was 100-year-old maple flooring, definitely not a laminate. All that said, I like the idea of a Roomba with a hammer in principle, though I suspect my dogs would hate it. [+]
batou, Jan 20 2010
  

       Like the idea. But I hope there's a monster truck version of this for the deck. Larger wheels, a gadget to pry out the offensive nail, and a screw gun for placing a proper deck screw. I'd suppose a modified dog door would allow the thing to do it's carpentry repairs indoors and out.
  

       Since this thing is laser guided, would I be able to use a hand held laser pointer and guide it whack an unruly visitor on the toe? [+]
StationPilot, Jan 21 2010
  

       Sure. Heck, enough mods like that and we could start calling them mature Battle Bots. Give 'em a PTSD program so they randomly attack small animals, maybe?
21 Quest, Jan 21 2010
  

       "Like the idea. But I hope there's a monster truck version of this for the deck. Larger wheels, a gadget to pry out the offensive nail, and a screw gun for placing a proper deck screw. I'd suppose a modified dog door would allow the thing to do it's carpentry repairs indoors and out."
  

       why not make an actual monster truck version, it could go around smashing those driving prius' and smart cars. If your gonna be a gas guzzler might as well go out with a bang rather than a wimper
metarinka, Jan 21 2010
  

       Wear slippers.
rcarty, Jan 22 2010
  

       I suspect that the right application of electromagnets and capacitors could drive those nails in relative silence.
BunsenHoneydew, Jan 24 2010
  
      
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