The one thing that worried us most about installing the new bamboo flooring was ensuring that we got an accurate reference line
for the first row. If that line was out of square, or off by even a little, by the time we got to the opposite wall there could
be a nasty fan effect. The other problem was that neither side of the living room is square. Homes of this age are never square,
and ours is no exception. The far wall also has a slight wave to it.
The solution: The focal point of the room is probably where we keep our TV, which is right between the two bedroom doors.
So, I measured out a few inches from the outside of each door and snapped a chalk line between those two points. I then used
a square to measure a perpindicular line to this, and extended it to the other side of the room. From there I measured out
4 1/4" (the wood slats are 3 1/2, plus 3/4" for expansion). I used the square again to create another perpindicular line and
then extended that across the entire room. So we ended up with two parallel lines, one in front of the two doors and the other
on the opposite side of the room. Make sense?
I then installed the first row of flooring, being extra careful to keep each piece perfectly lined up with my reference line.
Due to the wave of the wall there was actually one area where the wood had to be cut on the back side a bit with a jigsaw to keep
it from butting up against the wall. Next was two full days of installation, with the end result below:
Before getting the bamboo into the bedrooms I decided I had better finally address the issue of the doors being out of square and
too short. The solution to the master bedroom door:
Yes, I was very proud of myself, thanks for asking ;-)
Luckily the spare bedroom door was square, it just needed to have its header raised up 6". That's the current status.
The living room has its floors, and the entry way is partially done. Over the course of this week we'll install the bedroom
floors and finish the entry way. Within the next few weeks we'll hopefully be able to get our new molding (which I'll be
custom making from 1x6" pine) and our two new doors.
Stay Tuned...