Hello, I am about to install pre-finished hardwood floors on my second floor. The layout is a long hallway connected to 2 bedrooms. The hallway is around 4 feet wide, and one hallway wall runs continuous thru the 2 bedrooms interrupted by the doors (load bearing wall for ceiling joists). The floors will run longways down hallway into the bedrooms without a transition.

1)Should I start first row 3/4" away from this wall or
2)Should I start in middle of hallway?
3)Other?

Thanks,
Scott

Can you post a picture or a drawing of the location of the hallway in the area of the bedroom doors?

Couldn't pic to embed. Here's flickr link to layout.

https://flic.kr/p/2jqsGjm

I would start on the wall that has the staircase entrance and bathroom entrance and proceed toward the exterior wall. What are you doing for the stairs? What is the bathroom threshold? You need to square the flooring to the stair landing tread ( the piece of flooring that overhangs the top step) and the bathroom threshold. If you don't start here you may not approach the top of the stairs or the bathroom threshold squarely. Remove all baseboards and undercut the door jambs. When you reach the bedrooms you will continue laying the flooring toward the exterior walls in both bedrooms. Then you will use splines/slip tongues in the bedrooms so that you can lay the rest of the bedroom flooring in the opposite direction.
When you lay the flooring around the door jambs make sure everything is square. Draw some lines on the subfloor so that you go into the bedrooms squarely. You can screw some straight boards on the lines to keep the new flooring square.
Take measurements from the stairway/bathroom toward the exterior wall and through the bedrooms and draw baselines so that you can make sure things are square.

Thanks so much for the reply. I think I understand what you're saying. Here's a few pics of the actual space. There is currently 3/4" flooring in the hallway only, running with the joists, and carpeting in the bedrooms, tile in bath. Let me know if these change your previous reply.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hJKm2kd43ktrF2eHA

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EAAreqKU1dbsNpv69

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qAjDroRCG1SyXQTc6

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FZFnB8LLNoghMrhM7

You'll be removing all the existing flooring and replacing it? No change to my answer. Lots of layout lines and measuring to keep things square and to ensure that any new flooring pieces that have to be ripped down wind up in places that aren't visual focal points. What is the new flooring size i.e. width?
Stair nosing piece should be at least 3 1/2" wide.....wider if necessary.

Did I make sense on how to do the bedrooms? Flow into the bedrooms from the hall and continue laying the flooring toward the exterior wall just like in the hallway. Then to finish the bedrooms install a spline/slip tongue into the groove on the first row that you ran into the bedroom from the hall and install flooring toward the front of the house. The spline/slip tongue will provide a tongue to allow you to do this.

Note: I assume the staircase would take you to the front of the house.

Yes, I'm removing existing floor. I'm including a pic of the new flooring laying next to what I'm calling stair nose (piece with paper on it). I think I understand about switching once in the bedrooms. I purchased the little strips (splines) to do this. So basically the whole layout will be tied to that piece next to the stairs so that visually it's not a cut piece seen when climbing stairs.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/WM6fmZyioVYT7Q9ZA

The starter row needs take into account the stair nosing piece and bathroom threshold so it runs in a straight line down the hallway. Do the staircase doorway and bathroom door align? Think of the starter row as one long board....would it abut the stair nosing and bathroom threshold evenly if in between it could slip under the hall baseboard between these 2 doorways?

The bathroom and stair doorways do align. I'll have to check and see how the stair nosing and hall baseboard lie wrt each other. To recap and verify what you're describing: Try to align the 2 entrances, build toward exterior wall (tongue toward ext wall) , extend a row (temporarily) thru both bedrooms and check distance at ends to the exterior wall to see if nearly square. Once in bedrooms, install towards exterior walls, then install splices and install towards front. Right?

You've been a great help. Thanks.

If the new piece of flooring that you have up against the stair nosing piece were longer and the wall between the stairway and bathroom did not exist would this imaginary piece of flooring also butt up against the bathroom threshold? If so, then imagine it extended the entire length of the hall in both directions into the bedrooms. The walls and baseboards and door jambs do exist so in order to accomplish this you have to remove baseboards and undercut door jambs and notch flooring pieces to create this straight line. With this straight first row installed the remaining rows will work off of this.
Yes, install with tongues facing the exterior wall.
Don't know what is on the edge of the stair nosing piece. If it has a tongue you're all set. If it has a groove add a piece of the spline to create a tongue on it.
Do the imaginary extend into the bedrooms making sure everything is straight/square. The bedroom(s) flooring from the doorway toward the exterior wall gets installed the same as the hallway and is basically a continuation of the hallway. The rest of the bedroom flooring gets installed working toward the front of the house. The spline that you bought will create a tongue so that you can install these boards with the tongue toward the front of the house.
What brand of flooring did you buy? Installation instructions? Expansion gap instructions?

The manufacturer is a local company called WFS in Florence, AL. Here's a link to the flooring, but I didn't buy through them
https://floorsdelivered.com/collections ... 1380649017.

I bought directly from WFS (https://www.woodfloorstore.net/)

Around 5 years ago we had it professionally installed on the 1st floor (around 2000 sq ft.) It's been great.

Thanks, I understand your instructions. I'll probably post back with more questions when I get started.

edit: No instructions I can find. The installer on first floor left around 1/2 -3/4 inch expansion gap.

Nice flooring!
Have fun. Stagger the end joints.
Will be here if you have more questions.
Please post pictures.

Hello,
I'm framing in a new pantry where there was existing HW flooring. See pic. I'm going to install a perpindicular transition piece going into the pantry. Is there a way to clean up or cover the cut pieces in the entry way? I was thinking of getting piece of laminate tape and folding it about 1/8" over the edge and staining it, then installing the perp. piece? Just want to make it look nicer since I had to use a circular saw to make the end cut and it's rough looking.

https://flic.kr/p/2jPyAPn

Thanks, Scott

If you use a piece of flooring for the header at the door, you can use a block plane to get the header to fit better. It's better to keep the floor smooth.