Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - To spline or not to spline

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1Goof
02-24-08, 11:44 AM
I will be installing about 200sq.ft of unfinished, 3/4in quarter sawn white oak hardwood flooring. The boards are typically 12 feet long and 3in wide. The edges are tongued and grooved, but the ends are not. The ends are just square cut. My room is longer than 12 feet, so there are going to be some end-to-end joins in every row. The question is, do I need to cut splines into the ends or can I leave them just square ended. Alternatively, I have a biscuit joiner - should I use biscuits? Treating the ends would be a lot more work and would slow me down, but I don't want to suffer from lifting ends later. My labour is free, but if I get slowed down too much it will mean extra rental time on the nailer. The shop that sold the wood said that quarter-sawn is less likely to curl due to the lay of its grain and that no special treatment should be necessary. But, I would like several other opnions before I start the job.