I will be installing about 500 sf of 5in x 3/4 in Brazilian Cherry hardwood on a diagonal. I havent decided if I would be using borders with the same species. I talked to an installer and he said if I did use a border it would be best to install the planks 1st on a diagonal then cut a straight line where the border would meet. I was going to lay the border 1st then cut the planks at a 45 then butt them but he said that wouldnt look as good. My problem would be how to get a clean corner around the planks. Should I just do a 45 without a border.

It's a matter of personal preference but I never felt that wide planks looked good bordered. It's just my opinion. If you do border, it will be easier to lay the diagonal field first then trim the ends straight for the borders. Don't understand the "clean corner around the planks question". After installing the field long, you install a straight edge as a guide for your router or circular saw (your weapon of choice). Simply trim the boards following your straight edge. Very simple. On inside corners, you finish them off with a chisel. Most NWFA installers will rout a groove in the field board ends to receive a spline to engage the first row of the border boards. If this is confusing to you, perhaps you should just install it diagonally and forget the border.

Thanks for the reply. No its not confusing. It was the inside corners i was referring to. I was thinking if it was necessary for me to do the borders too. The verdict is still up in the air but after I get the wood and just lay it in place, Im sure Ill be happy w/o the border, thanks.

You are going to have to start in the center in order to do a diagonal install. You should do an insert instead of doing the whole border in another species.
Simply make the board next to the field a different species(Ipe would look cool) and then stack Brazilian cherry up to the wall. 2 boards plus the insert should do it.

Oh yeah, you will have to log cabin/ english weave the corners. It will wind up looking stupid if you miter them with a diagonal field.

I would consider the ramifications of excessive expansion of Brazilian Cherry combined with 5" planks. You could expect to see some seperation at your border corners.
If you were my cutomer, I would seriously try to talk you out of that plan. First off, anything over 4" should be screwed and plugged. Not enough nails per square inch. Then, what I consider the abysmal long term expansion/contraction performance of BC combined with a wide width, you could have yourself a "rustic" floor in no time. This is not a floor I would ever consider in my own home.

I know BC stability is lower than most but will I have that much gap. Maybe I need to look at the 3.5 in instead.

Marco:

You sure don't have anything positive to say about Brazilian Cherry. Bad experience? Bad batch? WFI claims average stability.

http://www.wflooring.com/Technical_Info ... erties.htm

Now this is a little confusing, can you show pictures...lol

looking at this chart, BC is more stable than the maple I have down already.

I also am wondering why Marco dislikes B. Cherry. I have installed thousands of feet of it since 1995 and never had a complaint or issue. In one home, I did B. Cherry in the dining room, office and living room (3" width). In the kitchen, nook, family room and hallway, I did 2&1/4" red oak QUARTER SAWN, all solid and sanded and finished in place. The red oak shrank(it was acclimated for three weeks prior to install and another two weeks before sanding and finishing). The B. Cherry looked great and still does. No shrinking, no gaps, darkened to a nice reddish brown. The customers LOVE IT! This is the norm for me so I don't understand why Marco says such negative things about it. In another home, I did B. Cherry in an office. It was alternating 3" and 5" plank on a diagonal, sanded and finished in place. I even stained it with a mix of cherry and rosewood stain for a deep uniforn color. That floor has held up fantastic. It was nailed directly over OSB subfloor over a crawl space. No shrinkage or gapping or cupping. I have had nothing but good results with B. Cherry. Perhaps I always get the "good" stuff while Marco has gotten poorly milled and dried flooring. Don't know! Outside of it being difficult to nail and heavy to move, I find it a nice wood, especially for sanding and finishing.

AS for the corners, Chuck is saying that 45ing the bordered corners will look dumb and I agree. But I also think log cabin corners with wide planks looks crappy as well. I'm a traditionalist and think border wood should not exceed 3" in width with 2&1/4" being the best. Then log cabin (stair step or English if you prefer) corners or 45 miters look good. Just looks strange using planks in this manner as traditional floors did not do this. Fancy floors were made of parquet and strip with some parquets being quite large in their pattern. Border work usually contained contrasting woods and at times, very ornate scroll work and inlays. But the wood size was narrow. Plank floors were always run the length of the room because 300+ yrs ago, they were the subfloor as well as the finished floors and were laid perpendicular to the floor joists, which ran the short distance across a room. So, plank flooring looks best when duplicating traditional wood floors. Not to say esthetic quidelines can't be broken but at least do it in a unique and pleasing way.

Which leads me to my next question. What would be the best nailer. I was looking at the Porter Hammerhead 2. Or maybe a Bostich. Ill probably just do the boards on a 45 without borders.

About BC, Ive layed thousands of feet of it and think it is way oversold. The stability chart claiming it to be more stable than maple is widely known as an anomoly, and I have some of the most respected wood guys in the trade to back that statement. I've worked for one of them, an exotic specialist, and it was always company policy to steer the customer to another red wood if possible. Just an opinion. A better choice is usually Santos Mahogany imo.

That said, NWFA recommends any plank over 4" should be screwed and plugged. I have little doubt our erstwhile poster will see cupping and crowning without it

A cleat nailer works best with BC. Miserable stuff......

Gary, how'd you get quarter sawn to contract across the width?? Now theres an anomaly.

Heres a linkfrom a quick google search to back my statements...

http://www.higginshardwoods.com/resources.php/3

"Although some tropical woods such as Australian cypress, Brazilian cherry, merbau and wenge appear in this chart to have excellent moisture stability compared to domestic oak, actual installations of many of these woods have demonstrated significant movement in use. To avoid problems later, extra care should be taken to inform potential users of these tendencies prior to purchase."

Marco, it says that very same thing in the NWFA Manual: Wood Species: Jatoba / BC

Marco,
I think what happened on the quartersawn red oak was that even though my moisture meter said between 7 and 8 % MC, the environment must have ended up being quite dry. The most shrinkage occured in the family room which had a western exposure and alot of windows and my educated guess would be "solar gain". EI: excessive heat in the room from the windows and western exposure which in essence "cooked" the floor and dried it further. A common phenomena with wood flooring. RE: B. Cherry. Yeah, I've read all those reports about it's unstableness. I just haven't experienced it. But do agree Santos is a much better wood; just costs more!