I plan to replace carpet on my 2nd floor with hardwood (Bruce Dundee strip). 3 bedrooms, hallway and stairs. Below is my floor plan.



Joists run from top to bottom, so I plan to layout all bedrooms and hallway in one direction: from left to right. Pre-finished oak nosing will be used for stairs. My question is where should I start? Can I start it from the bedroom #2? Or should I start from stairs and continue into hallway?

Also, Is it safe to run floor across all rooms or should I use T-molding between bedrooms and hallway to allow more space for hardwood expansion?

Any suggestion would be welcomed.

If you intend to do it, I would start at the stairs then continue down the hallway keeping a straight line. Don't use t-molds, just bring it in the bedrooms.

I'm with Jerry. Do the staircase first, and continue the hallway, off the top stairnose, so it is square to the install, and fits perfectly. Then from the hallway, split off into each room. Run the boards side to side in your diagram.

Easy layout. I wish they were all like that!!

ditto

Good to know, that's basically what I have to do with my setup. So after doing the stairs, you are saying that I keep the hallway boards lined up/square with the stairs? I hope my stairs are square with the hallway! Or maybe I'm missing something...

When you go into a room, do you just continue it through the doorway into the room, or should you plan the room itself, and prepare to have a strip cut at an angle in the doorways to keep the rooms square if they're a little off?

I don't think I make sense.

Come off the stair nosing and run a straight line down the hall... keep working until you hit the opposite hallway wall, and if you are pretty square on that side , the other side will be the same way. Bring the wood under the door jamb and then pop a straight line for the second row of the bedroom starting wall. That line will be on the tongue edge. (Nailing the second row works best for me, then I rip and install the first row behind it using a powerjack or pull bar.)

Take a measurement on both ends of that starting line and see how that corresponds with the exterior wall... if its close, your good. If its off alot you may have to finagle with ripping a wedge board right there at the doorway. That situation would not be real common.

Even if your steps are out of square you are installing a new stairnose. So install your stairnose square even if the steps meet the hall a bit out of square. Try to measure off exterior walls and use chalk lines as reference points.
Absolutely start your wood in your hall begining with your stairnose. Its the first thing and last thing you see when walking up and down the stairs. If you didnt start at the nose, you could end up having a small ripped piece there and not only is that unsightly but also creates a weak point in your floor where you definitely want it to be strong.
You want the wood to flow. Nobody WANTS transitions you just use them because sometimes you have to.