Wood flooring layout feedback requested

14 years ago

I'm having wood floors installed later this week. It's been quite an adventure trying to figure out which way to lay the planks (3.25" birch). Conventional wisdom and tradition say to lay the planks parallel to the long wall, but unfortunately the floor joists are also running in that direction. My contractor thinks it's OK to install parallel to the 16" o.c. joists over the 3/4" subfloor, but I'd rather be safe than sorry when spending this much money...even though I prefer the aesthetics of the planks running that way. So the choices are:

1) run parallel to long wall, but risk structural issues

2) run perpendicular to long wall, but not like it as much

3) pay 1/3 more $$ to run diagonally

Here are some diagrams showing what they might look like:

Thoughts? Suggestions? The long room (lr/dr combo) is open to the kitchen on the dining room end. There are windows along all the exterior walls.

If I go with the diagonal install, what do you think about the direction of the diagonal? In my diagram I have the diagonal running different ways in the den vs lr/dr. That forms a 'V" pointing toward the front door, which I think is an interesting effect. I'd welcome feedback on this especially.

I'm also having the upstairs hallway done. I was thinking about having a change of direction "log cabin" style where segments of the hallway meet at right angles. Here's what I mean:

Does that make sense? Any other ideas for the upstairs hallway?

Thanks!

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Comments (4)

glennsfc
14 years ago
Don't listen to me, but I think 1/3 more to lay on the diagonal is way too much; it takes more time to do a diagonal job, but in my opinion it is not a 1/3 more time expenditure. But, I am not your contractor, so what do I know?

You won't have structural issues going parallel to the joists...you 'may' get some visual anomolies ,such as sagging between the joists, but I have never had that happen on any of my jobs going parallel and I don't consider minor sagging and gapping to be structural issues. The diagonal layout looks good. The perpendicular layout looks wrong.

A diagonal layout should lead you into a room and be in the direction of most of the traffic flow. I assume when you enter from the foyer the borads will lead you into each room. Yes?
diy_monger
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the thoughts, Glenn. I agree, 1/3 seems like too much. I called around to other contractors and discovered that 10-15% is more typical in my area. Unfortunately I had already signed a contract for the install prior to even thinking about diagonal. So if I have my heart set on diagonal, I'm stuck paying 1/3 more, like it or not. :\

I probably misspoke when I said "structural" issues. I really meant cosmetic, such as the sagging/gapping you mentioned. Those are unacceptable to me, and they appear more likely to occur in a parallel install. I've read a lot of conflicting advice about this though. The "by the book method" demands an additional 1/2" subfloor or other bracing. But some contractors (including mine) will say, "Yeah, but that's not really necessary -- you won't have problems." It's a head scratcher.

As to the perpendicular layout looking wrong, that's what I had thought too. Yet my contractor insists that _most_ of their installs go in that direction, in order to "open up" a narrow room. Looking around my small neighborhood, almost all the houses with hardwood floors have an installation parallel to the long wall. I'm left to conclude that my contractor has not done any installations in my neighborhood -- only in bizarro world. :)

As to the direction of the diagonals. I suppose there would be more traffic entering my rooms from the central kitchen area than the front door/foyer. However, I still prefer the idea of the lines leading from the foyer to the opposite corners of the house. I'll have to give that some thought.
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glennsfc
14 years ago
From the front door/foyer into the opposite corners would be the way I would do it.

Sagging and gapping almost never occurs. Most wood floors gap seasonally no matter what direction they are installed.
diy_monger
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks Glenn. I opted to go with the diagonal install. I think it looks great, but my enthusiasm has been tempered somewhat by a surprising number of dents and nicks in the wood, and some questionable installation techniques. I'll create another topic for that one, with a descriptive title.

Wood flooring layout feedback requested

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glennsfc

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Wood flooring layout feedback requested

Comments (4)

glennsfc

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