Behold my lame attempt at taking a very quickly-made floorplan sketch, scanning it and using MS paint to illustrate my question:



The stairs go down. The area marked with grey is where the wood is going, Lord willing.

If the joists run up and down on the picture, I need to run the boards from left to right, correct? How in the heck do I work around the wall? Just do the field up to the begining of it, work one side and then the other until they magically meet on the other side?

And for the hallway, do I need to have seems or if I had the right supply of wood could I do it with all full sticks?

Okay, after further review, I think the joists run the other way, from left to right... <flail>

So, should I *start* at the center wall and work to the left, then make a spline and go the other way through the kitchen? I'd rather start on the left wall and work right, but what are the chances I'll still be square when I hit the hall?

Wood does not get out of square. If the place is framed right, everything will line up. If'n I were you, I would make a start line that had the flooring meeting the stairnose with no rip. That does not necessarily mean starting in the middle of the hall, though.

It depends on how much you are equipped to accomplish. I would start that job on the left side of the page and take of running, but I have a bevy of tools to make sure everything stays t&g. If you want to check the hall against another wall, all you need is some string and a pair of nails.


And a hammer.

I also think starting at the stair nosing might be the best.

I have some pictures that may help you understand out how to split off and meet back up again.

http://www.custom-surfaces.com/35.html

Great site there, Jerry, with some awesome pictures!

That made it crystal clear.

And yes, I will start with the stair nosing and measure back. Thanks, all, for the tip.