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Hi 1945 A, I think that all of what wyod had to say is completely accurate. Whichever way you decide to run the flooring, here is how you deal with beginning and ending the layout, and this applies to any kind of flooring with a visible pattern to it. Take the measurement across the room perpendicular to the length of the flooring. Divide that measurement by the width of a single piece of flooring. The amount that is left over is the amount you want to split between the first and last course of flooring so that you will not end up with an extremely narrow strip along one wall. For example, if the room is 113" wide and a strip of flooring is 4.5" wide, it will take 25.1111 courses of flooring to cover the room. If you were to start with a full width piece on one side, your final course would consist of pieces 1/2" wide. Instead you add the 1/2" to the width of a piece of flooring, divide that in half and cut your first and last course that wide. In this case you would be adding .5" to 4.5" so the first and last course would each be 2.5" wide. Result, 24 courses @ 4.5" = 108", 2 courses @ 2.5" = 5", 108"+5"=113" When you make your initial measurement, if the remainder is more than 1/2 the width of a piece of flooring, then you can choose to start with a full width course and still end with pieces that aren't peculiarly narrow on the final course. You might also save yourself an unpleasant surprise if you measure the width of the room at several places. A layout that's just right for the room based on the width at one end might not be so right at the far end if the width there is an inch or more different. It happens. Putting down a floor is a very gratifying project, and it's even better when you get it right the first time. All the best, Stan
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