How to cut t&g?

[Tom.]

I have a large pile of solid oak flooring, t&g, which I will be using to refloor my bathroom (directly onto the joists, its easily thick enough).

Some of the boards are longer than the room, some are slightly shorter, and others shorter still (I got it all very cheap).

Whats the best way of laying the board down and creating a pattern, and whats the best way of creating tongues/grooves in the ends of the boards? Should I just use biscuits instead? Every board has t&g right now, on all sides, but when I cut them to length, and create the pattern, I'll have some flat ends.

 

[anobium]

you do not need to form a t @g joint at the end of the boards if you lay the floor as follows.
If you lay the boards directly on the joists at right angles, there is no need. Start laying the boards from the left hand side using various lengths,(note you do not need to cut them on a joist like the original floorboards, the ends of your oak flooring are tongue and grooved for this reason. ie it is strong enough to carry a domestic load)
When you come to the right wall cut the last piece to length and the section left becomes the starting piece on the next row and so on.
In theory there should be no waste when the boards are layed in this manner. Remember to stagger your joints to a minimum of 250mm and to secret nail the boards.
However if you want to create a pattern,beit herring bone or whatever you will need to lay a sub floor of ply or similar on the joists in order to support the boards.

 

[Tom.]

Thanks anobium. Thats excellent advice. I was concerned that the diagonal line of joins would not hold as some of the wood might be too short, but I may be able to get away with it

Anyway I have to wait for the plumber to replumb the bathroom, so it will be a while yet.

I'll lay the entire floor out in another room, to try and guess how it all fits.