One thing I have often done in the past, is to take a plank and cut it into 4 inch wide strips.
Once done, lock all of those small strips together and keep them together using duct tape. You might get 6 feet or more of material in real time width.
Now you know the exact dimensions of the flooring material in accurate dimensions.
It's called a story board. Measuring that way excludes a few tenths here and there if the dimensions are in metric equivalents.
Snap a chalk line in the center of the main room and use that as a starting point.
Now, drag that taped together chain of pieces to the center of the chalk line and make a mark. Now slide it north and south, to every wall or doorway you will encounter. Mark wherever a board width ends, mainly at important locations............ doorways and walls.
You will see exactly where every plank ends up. If it ends up with you cutting a 1/2 inch strip along a 14 foot wall, you need to relocate the starting point to eliminate that situation.
This story board gives you a quicker visualization of the layout than by using a tape measure and math computations..
Never....never ever, simply start the installation with a full board at a convenient starting location because it's easy. You want to know all of your beginning and ending points before you begin the installation.
