First off - I have to say this board has been extremely helpful in me going towards putting in my own floors. Thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge and experience. I have been viewing this board for a while now - figured it is time to post as I begin my project.

From information that I have picked up on this forum, I purchased a Bostitch MIIIFS nailer, Crain 812 supersaw and a Bostitch 15 gauge nailer. I got these all used locally for very affordable prices.

The plan is to use 4" prefinished Brazilian Walnut. These are solid floors, are 3/4" thick and are handscraped.

Here is a house plan from back when my house was built, where the areas being run with hardwood are darkened in. The floor joists run from top to bottom, so my plan was to run from side to side so they are perpendicular.



I have several questions about this:

1) Where is the best area to start.
- Do I start at the bottom and work my way up (after marking all kinds of chalk lines)?
- Do I start on one edge of the hall and work my way in one direction, and add a spline and go the other way? Unfortunately, there is a fireplace in the way from making a straight pass through, so somehow I will need to transfer the line to the other side.

2) Looking at the image where #1 is noted, the kitchen floor is ceramic tile, but it is lower than the hardwood by 1/8-1/4". I am trying to explore my options here, but it looks like I will have to put a transition piece here, which I can likely make with a tablesaw and router. The tile is new and put up by the previous owner, so I would hate to pull it back up again.

3) The master bedroom (top left) currently has parquet flooring (noted with #2). The parqet floor is around 1/4-3/8 thick. I am concerned that when I take this up, the plywood will be destoyed underneath, as some of the top ply seems to come up since the floor is bonded to it - should I be concerned? Are there any ways to run the hardwood over this and still get a good transition (without having an obvious step)?

1) Tough call on where to start. I'm guessing that's your fireplace there in the middle. There's no optimum start location. I think I'd start in the hallway and plan on reversing direction a few times. Snap control lines and refer to them often.
2) T-molding.
3) Don't go over, unless you want to cover the rest of the house in plywood that's the same thickness. Tear it out and repair the subfloor or install plywood over the rest of the flooring locations. Those are your only good options.

Thanks - I appreciate your help.

Yes that is a fireplace in the middle. I plan on starting in the hall, as it seems like the easiest way to keep track of things.

I did decide to pull out the flooring in the other room, as I could not stand to have a raised portion or a ramp in the floor.