Perpendicular with joists is correct and I have always felt floors look better if they run the length of a room which normally coincides with the way joists run but not always. However, in certain circumstances it doesn't matter. In our case, we used web truss joists 16 inches on center with 7/8 in Plytanium T&G plywood subfloors. Given that the distance b/t joists is only 12 inches and we are using 8 inch wide flooring, architect, floor guy and GC all agreed that it did not matter which way we ran the floors. B/c, as I said, the joists normally run the width of a room, most of our floors run the length and across the floor joists but in certain areas they run parallel with the joists and you cannot tell any difference. Then to address the main question, we turned our floors where needed to run the length of the room (master bedroom and dining room)and it looks fine and logical. It also breaks things up a bit and defines the space. The rest of our floor plan is very open so the floors run the length of the house (which is different from master BR and DR). For example, what does not look good IMO, is running a hallway the width and not the length. It makes the flooring look like pier planking, not the end of the world but I have avoided it when possible. In our kitchen, the floors run the width (less than optimal) but to have turned it there would not have flowed with the rest of the house and, b/c the kitchen is so cut up, you would have gotten the pier plank effect either way in parts of the kitchen. Hope that helps!

T&G flooring is nailed through the tongue, so you want to start at the wall /edge which the tongues face. The last boards would have been nailed in from the face with finish nails. You will no doubt spoil these first boards in getting them out. A cat's paw nail puller and a flat bar will be useful in getting the flooring up. The fewer tongues you spoil, the better. 600 sq ft would be a very long day. You would not be able to get the wood ready for transport in that time. You will need to carefully pull all the nails so that they don't damage the face of the wood. If you let the flooring get wet, it will be quite ruined, as it will warp, and the nails will stain. If it's nice wood, it could be quite a nice project, but by the end you alone can judge whether your time was worth it. Casey

The fellow who laid our solid hardwood flooring told us he always lays it perpendicular to floor joists. I do not know if engineered planks are done the same way. Congratulations on un-sinking your family room! A good plan.

The ONLY time a recommend that wood floors CHANGE DIRECTION is if the wood JOISTS change direction. If the joists are all running in the same direction, there is no need to change the direction. A *real wood flooring professional will try his/her DAMNEDEST to run everything in the same direction (whenever possible). So long as the structure of the home allows it, the wood can/should run in the same direction. A regular flooring 'guy' will change directions because it is easier on them...see where I'm going? If they need to change directions, the best/pretties option includes a decorative/inlay transition between the two floors. This is expensive AND difficult to achieve. A high-end wood flooring professional can and will offer decorative work. A regular flooring 'dude' will not. A quick discussion will tell us which type of professional you have hired.