Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Where to begin laying laminate.

Ok, I'm gearing up to lay laminate in my living room, hallway and front room. The living room and front room are connected in the middle by the hallway. Picture a dumbell shape.

My questions are:
Where should I begin laying? Instructions say I should start in a corner but I've also read that I should start with the longest continuous straight line which would be straight down the hallway. Oh, and it doesn't appear that a wall in my place is exactly straight or a corner is exactly square.

Also, I've done some pre-measuring and it looks like if I decide to start in a corner, by the time I get to the hallway, I'll need a strip that's about an inch going down the whole hallway. If I start with the longest line down the hallway, then I'll need a strip that's about an inch when I finish at the wall.

I appreciate any guidance.

Thanks

A picture and dimensions would help - but I would consider some type of molding to break up the hallway and rooms.

A safe way to do it would be to read the directions that should be in each box of materials and follow the instructions. That way, if issues arise and you've followed the instructions, it's on them and not you. Now that we've covered the technically correct part. here's what I would do if it were my home. Most of the manufacturers want you to put transitions in door ways, at the end of hallways going into large rooms, and so on so each room can move independently of each other, thereby avoiding the laminate coming apart in areas where large areas connect in small places. If I'm doing it as a payin' job, I'll only stray from that if the customer signs off on it. If I'm doing it in my own house, I don't put them in because the transitions scream, laminate. I've personally never had a problem doing it that way which is no guarantee you won't. It sounds to me as if you could snap a chalk line through both rooms and the hall and, in my own house, that's what I'd do. Square it up the best you can off which ever wall is common to both rooms and measure out from that wall in both rooms an amount that will put your line in such a place that it goes through the hall and both rooms. That gives you a control line to follow that is common to all three areas. Once that line is established, your options sort of branch from there. Two methods I've used are: 1) Place a board along the line and weight it down good to give a solid surface to butt to and work from. Then start in one of the rooms and work from said board toward the walls, cutting in as necessary when reaching the walls. Don't try to make any of the runs too long as they tend not to stay together well until there's enough material down to support everything and be sure to maintain your expansion gap everywhere. I would start in the opening to the hallway and work into the room. Maintain a stair step arrangement as you go and try to get at least half of the room done before heading into the hall. Doing all of it would be better so you can then head down the hall and finish it as you go while maintaining the stair step. Once you get to that point, remove the board as needed to finish it. Be very fussy about following the base line. Your eye will fool you so trust the line. 2) Measure off the base line to within four or five board widths from the common wall in one of the rooms. Snap a line parallel with the base line that far from this wall. Start in a corner on that side of the room and work to the new line and stop when you get to it. Once you've filled in the space from that line to the wall, make sure you are dead on with the new line. If you get off, the section you've got together should be together well enough to allow minor shifting to get it right, but try to avoid moving it by keeping it right as you go. It is critical the two lines be exactly parallel or you'll have issues in the next room. Once this area is done and you're happy that it is placed exactly where you want it, put the remaining material on it as weight to keep it from moving around and keep installing from there. If your measurements are good, you should wind up with a joint running right down the base line through all three areas. Another way to do it would be to run the material so the grain runs the opposite way. It would run the width of the hall instead of the length. Putting the manufacturer recommended transitions in would be easier though. I just wouldn't do it in my own home because I want it to look more like a real hardwood floor and I kind of enjoy the challenge of doing it all in one run. It's your house and you need to do what you're comfortable with. Since you're putting it in, you're the guy who has to stand behind the labor.

Wow Smokey! Thanks for all the advice. I really appreciate it. I agree with you about the transitions. I'd like to avoid them if possible. I had already pretty much settled on your suggestion to snap a chalk line down the hallway & work off that. I think that would offer the best look. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Pictures please. Looking forward to seeing the end result. Do NOT neglect the expansion space around the perimeter and any place the material comes in close proximity to posts and such. One trick I've used to help with that is cutting the sheet rock up about 3/4 of an inch from the floor if it doesn't already have a gap at the bottom. That provides a space the thickness of the sheet rock to the plate for expansion under the sheet rock allowing installation to be a little closer to the wall. It also gives more of the floor covered by base so it should never shrink out from under the base, which I've seen when the expansion space was not strictly adhered to. Lay a piece of the pad and flooring down and use them as a thickness guide to draw a line along the base of the wall. Then cut along the line. This will allow a little leeway for imperfect cuts also.