I need some advice . Has anyone installed cottage grade hardwood with lots of short boards . I would like to see some photos of it .In the box it looks great. How about nailing it with lots of short boards . I am worried about about distance between seams .Thanks in advance Chris

I have put down cottage grade with a ton of shorts before and it is fine to put down...it just takes forever unless you have one guy constantly racking out the wood. If you can get a guy to rack the wood out it is not so bad and he can make adjustments for the joints not to match up. It will be hard to get no joints to match over four rows since all of the pieces are short but you shold be able to get them not to match over three rows which should be ok.

Thanks for the info . I will have the wifes help racking sothat will work . What would be your minimum distance between seems ?

Maintaining straight rows is more of a problem unless one is an experienced installer. Try to keep the joint spacing at least 6" - 8" apart and avoid that stair step look.

I agree with Jerry. Keeping straight rows has been the most difficult. I find I either need to measure boards for their widths( second choice ) or do a row at a time keeping an eye on the edges of the boards to make sure they are not too wide or narrow.