Looking from Bedroom before install:



After install:



The end of the hall where the last pieces took an hour to fit. Note that some of the boards have heavy straitions within the wood. We like the look but some others might find it too "crude".



Another view looking from the end of the hall back into the bedroom.



And another view a little later with different lighting.



We really like the look in the heavily trafficked hallway since there's no way you'll ever see a scuff or defect within this pattern. We'll stick with the "Select and Clear" + Tigerwood combination again, as in the first bedroom, when we tackle an ajoining dining room in the Fall.

I can't say enough THANKS to all who contributed to the success of this project. There is no way I could have even started this without the kind input of all.

Looks awesome!

Hmmm... I wonder what happened to all the pics??? They appear fine on my photo server.

It's now been nearly 5 months with the floor down, doors open and no air conditioning during the days. I was concerned about all the maple I have down, given the fact that it is one of the most unstable of woods and I used a considerable amount of "rustic" maple in my hallway, which has got to be more unstable than the "clear' types commonly sold. Anyway, I've had no problems of any kind... no buckling nor movement that I can see. Virtually no squeeks either, which was surprising given the original condition of my subfloor.

I'll report later this summer when the house is locked down and the A/C turned on.

The pics are still on here

What I see here is a lot of...time. Looks great

The hallway took 1 hour per foot... approximately 40 feet = four full work days for me. And that's not counting the sub-floor prep and undercutting. A pro could certainly have gone faster as I was very methodical... and S-L-O-W!

Nearly one year into the installation and only one board is sqeaking that wasn't squeeking within the first month. Maybe I'll nail it down, but only if the tools are handy. It's just not a big deal...

One question: How does one clean these prefinished floors? Wifey has "swiffered" it and I'm wiped up some spills with a damp cloth, but I've never gone over the entire floor. What is recommended?

Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner is what I prefer.

http://www.acehardware.com/sm-bona-hard ... 77711.html

I understand that BONA just came out with a swiffer type of cleaner where the cleaner is attached to the pole and one can spray a small amount directly on the floor. http://www.bonakemi.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=81

I'm updating the pics on this thread as I'm doing another room and need to read how I did it a few years back. It's too bad that I can't edit the old postings so I'm repeating them below with the embedded pics.

[quote="go-rebels"]Here's a pic of my hall with the boards laid out like I'd like to propose. Notice that the cherry edging will be ripped to fit a 1/4" gap covered by a quarter round. The cherry edging will need to be trimmed and cut wider at the areas where I transition into carpenting and tile. The "0" board would be laid first centered between the two walls.

Does this layout look OK?