Hi,

I'm remodelling my kitchen and am just about to start putting down my 3/4" red oak prefinished hardwood but don't know which wall to start on. Should I start at the top of the picture where I have a doorway going to the rest of the house, or the bottom of the picture on the exterior wall.

Picture posted here that has the layout: http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s360 ... 115104.jpg

I'm leaning towards the bottom of the picture on the exterior wall as it should be easier to put the flooring nails in on the diaganal wall. I'm just worried about being able to stay straight on the daiaganal though.

Thanks for your help,
Austin

Lay out some parallel baselines and adjust them so that you don't have to use narrow strips.....especially at the point where the diagonal ends. Laying through the diagonal area shouldn't be a problem and nailing against the diagonal will be easiest with a pneumatic nailer....15 gauge will be best. Cut the ends of the boards that abut the diagonal wall at the same angle as the wall. What is the finished height of the tile vs the finished height of the new hardwood flooring......you'll need to transition this meeting point.

I'll mark chaulk lines and readjust on the diaganal wall as I go. Will it be okay if I use a 16 gauge nailer instead of a 15? Otherwise I can hand nail the end with a finishing nail.

As for the tile to hardwood transition, the subfloor is currently the same height. I was going to adjust the tile to make it the same height as the hardwood (Useing 1/4" cement board and tile). I am leaning towards using caulk the same color as grout for the gap between the tile/ hardwood but might use a "T" transistion.

Thanks

16 ga. is fine. If you can adjust the height so the flooring is the same height to just a little higher. I would install a header board against the tile with a gap that is filled will caulking, but partially fill the gap so you don't have a gap deeper than a quarter inch. Use thin packing foam rolled up and stuffed in to almost fill the gap. A T-molding will bump up and will be a problem in the long run. A wheel chair will have a hard time crossing. With the factory edge on the header board just a little higher than the tile, the wood will protect sharp cuts if the tile doesn't have a factory edge, which will be more susceptible to chipping at the edge of the tile floor.