There is an extensive literature on pulsed laser-induced surface thermoelastic and ablative excitation of opaque solids. This paper treats the intermediate situation where the laser intensity is high enough to cause local melting near the surface of a metal sample, but below the ablation threshold. Detailed consideration is given to the spatial and temporal profiles of the laser pulse, penetration of the laser beam into the sample, and the subsurface thermal diffusion depending on the thermophysical properties of the medium. Calculations are reported for a scenario bearing relation to a recent published account of nanosecond laser ultrasound measurements carried out on tungsten. The simulations have been performed on a tungsten sample exposed to a laser pulse with Gaussian spatial profile and temporal pulse profile with full width at half maximum of about 4 ns and tail extending to 30 ns. Above the critical pulse peak intensity, melting occurs. The simulations describe the detailed thermal spatio-temporal evolution of the irradiated metal in this situation, the temperature rise of the solid preceding the melting, the first appearance and subsequent growth and then contraction of the melt pool, and the time dependent thermal flux in the melt and surrounding solid throughout. In the near-surface region where this occurs the molten metal is stress free, the solid which has not undergone melting is in an evolving state of lateral compressive stress, and the re-solidified and cooling solid is in a state of lateral tensile stress. The stress gradients yield a distribution of transient force, and the epicentral displacement in response to this force distribution is computed. Particular attention is given to the spreading out of the longitudinal and transverse wave arrivals.