Which direction should I lay the floor?

16 years ago

We are installing Mannington Castle Rock Birch engineered wood throughout our house, except in the kitchen and bathrooms. I'm having a hard time deciding which way to lay the floors.

Here's the layout of our house. (It doesn't include kitchen, garage, or dining room (those rooms are on the left side and don't factor in to my decision). It's not to scale. "FP" stands for the large see-through fireplace that divides the office and living room.)

So far, I have heard these tips on how to decide which way to lay the floors:

1. Parallel to the direction that sunlight comes into the windows

2. Running away from you (instead of side to side) when you come in the main entry

3. Running the long way in the longest room

4. Running the long way in a hall

These don't all give the same results:

Numbers 1 and 2 support running north-south. The main feature of our house is the gorgeous view you see out the back doors when you walk into the front door, and there's a lot of natural light that comes in through those doors. Most of the windows are on the south side of the house.

3 and 4 support running east-west, parallel to the back wall of the living room/office and the long way in the hallway.

The shop owner who sold me the wood said it's not desirable to change direction on the floor. He said that changing direction is only common in older homes that have had additions when new floor is laid.

So what do you think? All north-south, all east-west, or change directions?

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Comments (14)

srickard
16 years ago
In your situation, I'd run the flooring north-south. My house is oriented like yours with lots of windows on the south side. The flooring looks great with the light coming in from the windows.
jennymama
16 years ago
I just posted a question regarding the Castle Rock series. We are looking at the Gunstock Oak. We went to a house and they were in the process of laying the Birch. It was very pretty.

Did you get very much info on the wear and tear and how it holds up? I would love any information you could provide!

In answer to your question, I agree with srickard...north-south.
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Shannon01
16 years ago
Your layout reminds me of my home in Atlanta, same north/south facing too. The wood ran north/south. I can remember the hallway being that way and it was fine. Another rule to add is that in long rooms there is a maximum length allowed to maintain warranty. If you go beyond the max you must put a transition strip thingy between the rooms. For example, my laminate max is 30'. My dining/livingrooms total 25'. I am ok but if I really wanted to I could put the strip thingy between the rooms. If you are going north/south it does not look like this will be a factor for you. Thought I would throw it out there for others that may be reading.
kgsd
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the replies. I'm leaning towards north-south. I'm also thinking about just running the hall in a different direction - what do y'all think about that?

Jennymama, I found a great source for the flooring. I haven't received the order yet so my review isn't really complete, but the price was the lowest I found anywhere, and the guy I talked to was very nice and helpful. He told me I could call him any time with installation questions.

I asked the guy what he thought about the durability and he said he thought it would hold up well. He said that they are reinstalling the flooring in their shop and they are using one of the Castle Rock floors.

Let me know if you want the link.
jennymama
16 years ago
kgsd-the link would be great, thanks!
Are you going to install the flooring yourself? Are you using any underlayment?
carpetguy4
16 years ago
As you walk in your door you want to look at running long ways, but you can be creative and break it at the hallway and run it a different direction...then back to the same direction........Good Luck...Eric
premier
16 years ago
Hardwood flooring should be laid perpendicular to the direction of the floor joists.
kgsd
Original Author
16 years ago
Oops, sorry - I should have mentioned that we have a slab foundation.

Here's the link:

www.truehardwoods.com

If you call and talk to Justin (it's a family-owned and run business), tell him hello from the customer that bought 70 cartons of Castle Rock Birch shipped to Texas!

We're installing it ourselves, so we decided to do floating. He recommended we use the Silencer underlayment.
jennymama
16 years ago
Thanks for the link. Surprisingly, my local store can give me a better price!

I'm trying to decide between the Mannington and Somerset.

Good luck on your installation! Let us know how it goes and post pics when you can!
kgsd
Original Author
16 years ago
Jennymama, if you don't mind me asking, what is the price at your local store?
jennymama
16 years ago
$6.00/ft. installed!
kristenfl
16 years ago
We have a similiar layout. We were told to run them north/south. I opted east/west and I'm glad we did. It really makes our house look bigger and takes your eye from the living room into our family room in the back.

Sorry! Just when it seemed unanimous.
jennymama
16 years ago
Hi kgsd,

Wondering if you can give an update on your Mannington Castle Rock flooring. What do you think about the quality? Any pictures you could share?

I e-mailed you as well.
oruboris
16 years ago
My first instinct would be to go east/west to keep your master from seeming as long and narrow. Running it the length of the room is like putting pin stripes on a tall, skinny guy.

Which direction should I lay the floor?

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srickard

jennymama

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