question about buying and installing wood floors.

It might not be anytime soon, but Im wondering how to install wood floors and how to buy them.

There is a place in my local area(not sure if I"m allowed to give out the name) that always advertises hardwood for cheap: bamboo flooring for 1.19/square feet, 49 cents laminate, etc etc.

I know a bunch of people who have wood floors and they all say it's not *that* complicated to install.

Question(somewhat basic and sounds bit novice):
If my home is 1800 square feet, does that mean buying 1800 square feet of wood floors would be enough to cover the whole house? Realisticaly, I probably will not do the whole 1800 square feet as the kitchen and some bathrooms already has tile. So how do I accurately know how much materials I need and also account for the 'ends,' corners, etc etc? My kitchen and bathrooms arent exactly square. any tips or suggestions on how to measure square footage of a house?

Wood floor is simple to install. Make sure your sub floor is level and secured to the floor joists ( i put screws down every 6 inches before i installed hardwood) to eliminate the squeaks. Lay down a layer of felt paper or underlayment of some sort. Mark the floor with a chalk line where you want the first row to go so you make sure you keep it strait, then start nailing down the floor. the first row you face nail, then the second row and there after you will only need to use the special nailer (rent this from the flooring store or home depot or any tool rental barn). No seams within 6 inches of each other in 3 to 4 consecutive rows. cut pieces for the ends so that you have enough to take the scrap back to the other end for your starter to eliminate waste.

As far as measuring your square footage I would say measure the rooms that you want to do. take that to the flooring place and they should be able to help you get the right square footage. Buy an extra bundle or two so that you have extra from the same lot in case your measurements are off slightly.

Hardwood always has to run across the floor joists, never with or you will end up with a wavy floor.

Good Luck
Justin