So I have stacks of hardwood sitting in my house and I can't decide what line to start the installation on. Here is a pic of the floor plan with the three options I have http://imgur.com/AnNY6Jl

The house is square except for the family room. There is a 3/4 inch difference from right to left between the front and back walls. The front wall of the great room is square with the back of the dining room as well as the bathroom wall in the middle of the house.

Option 1: If I start with the longest line running from one side of the house to the other I'll have to use starting blocks and a slip tongue to go in both directions but I think that might be my best bet for meeting throughout all the rooms by the time I get to the front.

Option 2: I could start in the front of the house and work my way back. I could just snap a guide line to help me meet nicely from the dining room through the kitchen and into the family room.

Option 3: Start in the family room with a correction to split the difference of the 3/4 inch discrepency. I'm concerned about finishing flush when I come backwards with the help of a slip tongue to the front of the great room.

What option would you guys choose?

Note: this is my first time installing hardwood flooring but I've done loads of reading and research. There just isn't anything in my resources to help me with a specific floor plan like this.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Joseph

I like option 1. To help meet after the island you can use the same nailing technique so the rows match. To help the uneven walls come out right it's possible to plane off some of the groove side of the planks on a taper without affecting how they match all along the run. I use an electric hand plane to remove up to almost an eighth inch without having any trouble with a gap between rows.
Using the planer to take a little off several rows will not look uneven.

What type of flooring do you have...solid...thickness, width? Based on the size of the area you should run in 2 directions for expansion purposes. What is the fireplace hearth like...raised or flat and what is your plan for wood at the hearth....this is a focal point and should be considered in your upfront planning. Will you be removing base boards or using shoe molding?

I have 3/4 in solid white oak, 5 in width, clear grade, unfinished. It's really beautiful. The hearth is raised and I undercut it with my angle grinder to allow the wood to slide underneath and still have an expansion gap. I removed all of the baseboards and I was going to reattach them with 1/4 round upon completion.

Joseph

Thanks for the tip! Only problem is that I don't have a planer. Is it possible to achieve this with a table saw rip?

Joseph

What's your plan for an expansion gap at the sliding doors and front door? Also, what about the stairs and the top landing tread?

I have unfinished white oak end cap threshold to use when I get to the sliding doors and front door.

Rule of thumb is if an area is over 20 feet wide flooring should be laid in both directions to help with expansion....option 1 would do this but the area below the option 1 line would be over 20 feet.
To avoid surprises and to make it around the closet/bathroom I would lay down 5 parallel baselines to see where adjustments and cutting would be required. Doing this would allow you to adjust these lines in order to avoid narrow boards, etc.

I think you'll notice a 3/4" difference won't stick out (on a five inch wide board) as you may think by starting off Option #3.

I'd go with line one cept closer to the bathroom wall.