Finding the first straight line

Hello,

My wife is telling me I am being to anal about this but I want to ensure that my floors will be straight.

The room I am working with is an upstairs bedroom with concrete floors and the walls are not straight.

I am putting down 3/8 Maple Engineered floor with Bostik Adhesive and I do not want to end up pulling up the floor as I was not straight on the first run.

I used a square on every corner of the room and there is not a straight corner anywhere.

Any and all help would be appreciated.

[Curt Durand]

Straight walls are not always square walls anyway. Best way to lay out a straight line would be to drop a string line or laser line down the center of the longest run you have and measure off of it to either side and find the even units of planks or strips which end close enough to the wall for a baseboard and quarter-round to cover gaps and hide some of the irregularities in the walls. You can then adjust your start line from side to side to best fill the area with full planks or strips. Usually you lay down a starting piece either centered over the line or aligned along one edge. One of these will give you the best fit.

Curt,

Thank you for the reply.

I do not think I am understanding what you are telling me.

1. find the center of the room?
2. then lay down the boards so see which once fit best against the wall?

How does this ensure my lines are straight?

If I measure on one side of the room on lets say on the right side of me it measures 194.25" and left of me measures 193.185" then even if I run a laser or chalk line down the center it will not be true center and how to I compensate for the difference to ensure that I am straight?

I could create an X in the room to find actual center but what would I do from there to ensure a straight line with nothing straight to start against?

I am probably over thinking this but I do not want to make a mistake.

[Floorguy]

At each end of the room, measure from wall to wall or base board to baseboard(if you leaving them on)

Is it equal?? or is it kinda off or WAY OFF.

Usually they are pretty close if not right on. If they are more then an inch wider at one end of the room compared to the other, adjust your starting line.

Rack out and put together about 6 boards, if it is plank, and about 10 to 12 boards if it is strip wood flooring, making them tight. Use that to gauge both ends of the room for your popped starting line. Work from the line, back to the wall, and then turn around and work the other way across the room.

I have had a room be 3½" wider on one end of the room, compared to the other end of the room, where the framers missed the X and put it on the wrong side when framing.(a 2x4 is 3½" wide)

I made it all up in the big room, buy leaving little tiny gaps at the one end. I made up that 3½" where you could not tell.

[Curt Durand]

Unregistered. Floorguy has it. I am assuming that you are going to run the strips/planks the long way in the room. Basically, forget the walls (they only help determine the center points the center line will run through), you are interested in getting a center line which is drawn after you get center points at each of the far ends of the longest open area and then think of the flooring first. Walls do not help draw the straight lines except for the center point determination. You need a straight line down the center of the longest open area first. You then work off of this center line to determine your actual start line and the strips/planks fall where they may up against the variable walls. You can adjust the starting line one way or the other after you get a centerline. Your actual straight start line should not be dependent on the straightness of the walls. The idea is to not end up against the walls with narrow strips that will totally disappear into the walls.

[Daris Mulkin]

Usually-not always- the outside walls are the straightest walls in a building. I would figure from there where to get your center point and make adjustments if needed.

Daris

[Kman]

Another idea: If your walls are so out of square that you have a piece on one side or the either that is going to be wider at one end than the other, you could put that against the wall that is the least visible, for instance if one side of the room has furniture along that wall, that's where I would put the uneven piece.

You can compensate for the wall that is out of square, i.e. if it's one inch wider at one end, you could center it up so that the last strip "grows" a half inch on either side of the room, which is probably the most accepted way of doing it. But if it's going to grow a significant amount on one wall or the other, I would try to keep it on the least visible side.

I did a recent wood floor with living room and dining room connected. The entry that was next to both the dining and living room was tile, and the tile was laid out of square. So when I got to the edge of the tile, I had a one inch difference over 13 feet. And it's noticeable. But it was better than squaring off the tile and having it two and a half inches out of square with the 33' run of the living room and dining room. It's kind of a give-and-take deal, where you have to decide what would be the least noticeable.

[Robert Akin]

You can never be to anal!

[skhardwoods]

I made it all up in the big room, buy leaving little tiny gaps at the one end. I made up that 3½" where you could not tell.

Wow. I can't even imagine how you did that. If it was a gluedown, the gap would want to close up with every row. And, to be able to taper that gap across the length of the room. Amazing.

[Floorguy]

Originally Posted by skhardwoods Wow. I can't even imagine how you did that. If it was a gluedown, the gap would want to close up with every row. And, to be able to taper that gap across the length of the room. Amazing.

Lucky it was a dark wood(Santos), so the gaps didn't show, unlike a natural Oak, Maple, or Hickory would have. 1/32 in 32 boards, is an inch made up. The room was a Family room and formal dining room tied together in a long wide run, with the staircase as you came around to the entryway.

[cproader]

....Floor could ya turn some lights on in that room I aint havin any luck seein the boards..............good lookin tape job though........

[rgfloor]

Cp, remember he's got gaps!

Turn the lights out and nobody can see the gaps, brilliant idea!