1. I have existing Bruce 3/4" (2.25" wide) hardwood flooring in my home entryway and hallway.

2. I have a dining room adjacent to the entryway and would like to add matching hardwood in it as well (it is available). The entryway terminates with a solid strip in the doorway to the dining room. The only way to describe it is that the dining room doorway is perpendicular to the run of the floor.

3. Should I rip up the old floor and run continuously into the dining room or just accept the transition strip (it is 2.25" wide as well). The old floor is down really well.

4. Maybe a diagram will help - see diagram below
The dashes represent the run of the floor, the "l"'s showswhere a perpindicular transition plank currently is in the door threshold.

Entryway planks Door Diningroom (to be hardwood)
------------------------l----------------------------------------
------------------------l----------------------------------------
------------------------l----------------------------------------
------------------------l----------------------------------------
------------------------l----------------------------------------

5. So bottom line, will this just look too amateur if I leave the "transition" plank in the doorway.

Regards,

Bret[/img]

That is a very common transition and was (and still is) done intentionally. So, no, it will look fine. You could even add another strip to the turned one if you wish to make it look more intentional.

I agree and 2 boards do look nice if you have the space. You may have to pull that board out and replace it if the tongue was ripped off. Start your rows off that header board so you won't have to net fit the cuts.

if you want it to look like it was thereforever then take up the strip, cut the boards back to a joint in each row,then cut the bottom of the groove leaving couple inches on it .

To slmsks, could you elaborate on the groove-cutting procedure. Where do you leave the groove intact?

I, too, want to add to an existing oak-strip floor. I want to tie in to the existing flooring, but I really don't want to cut back to the joints on some of those 7-ft pieces. Can I chop a plank off somewhere (router & jig, with a chisel to clean the round parts) and then butt another up to it without having a tongue and groove, then top nail or screw it down?