Hardwood Floor install ????

[Bob Moyer]

I have read that you can not install 3/4" hardwood flooring parallel to the floor joists unless,

1. You put nailers between the joist or
2. You add additional subflooring

I am looking at doing this and for aesthitics (sp) since the flooring will be going down a hallway and the long part of the room; adding subflooring would increase the height of the floor where you enter the house considerably, it would also be almost an 1" higher than the tile floor it is meeting in another area.

I realize installing an engineered floor would resolve part of the problem but my wife is "really" wanting to install a particular type of floor.


Putting in nailers would be a chore since there are finished ceilings, pipes and ductwork to contend with in the basement.

Any help and or observations would be welcomed.

[Brian Weick]

As long as you have a good sub floor down- you can run that flooring in any direction you want ! - Sub floor should have LN applied on and then nailed down.
Brian

[Bob Moyer]

As long as you have a good sub floor down- you can run that flooring in any direction you want ! - Sub floor should have LN applied on and then nailed down.
Brian

Brian,

I apologize for my ignorance, what is LN?

Bob

[Brian Weick]

Sorry- Liquid nails (cartridge for your caulk gun. This helps stabilize the sub floor and and squeaking.
Brian

[Peter Stahl]

I would also pull the nails that are squeeking and replace with a screw. I'd screw the whole floor if it were mine but that's just me. Unless you have acess from underneath I don't see how you could LN it. Make sure the subfloor is tight before you put the hardwood down.

[Terence Richards]

Just finished laying wo hardwoods, and had a similar issue in a hallway. Our solution was to run the boards diagonal (45 degrees) to the joists. We did the entire floor this way, with a 2-wide border (4.5") of jatoba offset from the perimeter. This solves your joist orientation issue, and (imo) produces something more than ordinary.

Hardwoodinstaller.com has a forum http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwoodinstaller/phpbb2/index.php
that is an indispensable resource for all things hardwood flooring.

Best of luck on the project.

[Ben Grunow]

You will notice over time that the boards have high spots wher the joists are if you do it this way. As a builder, I would never do this as it is guaranteed to come back to me.

Walk on a plywood subfloor barefooted and you can feel the joists and bays under your feet. Flooring needs to span that soft spot to remain flat over time. Add layer of underlayment if you must but if you ask me, flooring that goes the short way is easier to install.