I need to complete a hardwood floor that was partially installed several years ago. Looking at the layout, the existing floor is "U shaped". The kitchen is one leg of the "U". Part of a long hall would be the other leg of the "U". and the bottom of the "U" is a short foyer area. This is all continuous hardwood strips running parallel to the bottom of the "U".

The layout of the floor needing to be completed will be a flipped over "U shape". One leg of the "flipped U" is the dining room. The other leg is a continuation of the hall. and the base of the "flipped U" is a landing at the top of 2 sets of steps; one set of stairs going down to the basement, one set on the other side going into a sunken living room.

My problems are:

If I begin at the existing flooring and work up both legs of the base of the "flipped U", how do I make sure the strips are lined up properly when they meet at the base of the "flipped U" AND how do I insure the top step nosings for both sets of steps are properly positioned for the top steps?

If I start at the base of the "flipped U" to make be sure of the top stair nosings positioning, how do I join the new floor to the old since both tongues would meet? Do I cut off the tongue where new meets old, cut a groove and top nail?

Thank you.

john