Hardwood floors

[David Lamken]

I have hardwood floors in my dining room and hallway which run perpendicular to the floor joists.


I have a 15 by 18 den which adjoins the dining room but the joists run in the opposite direction of the rest of the house.

Do I follow the same wood pattern as the dining room which necessitates running the new wood flooring parallel to the joists in the den? Or - do I change the direction of the wood in the den, thereby running the wood the length of the room and perpendicular to the joists like it does in the rest of house?

Any and all help in determing the proper layout for this new flooring would be appreciated.
Dave Lamken

[Lee Koepke]

my wood flooring is installed over plywood sheathing. The joists change direction a couple of times.

As for the orientation, sometimes a change of direction helps make the room look larger. ie rectangular rooms, run the long direction.

[Bryan Berguson]

From my own experience David, I don't think it matters which way your flooring runs. I have an apartment with 720sq ft of hickory that run perpendicular to the joists. In the house, we have about 1700 sq feet that run parallel. In the dining room, the boards run perpendicular and parallel to the joists. We've had no problems with any of it. This is all on 3/4" T&G plywood subflooring on joists that are on 16" centers. If your floor system isn't that sturdy, you may need to run the floor across the joists. Otherwise, do what suits your eye.

Bryan

[Lloyd McKinlay]

for installation parallel to the joists is to stiffen it, generally by getting at least 1 1/8" thickness. It's generally best to go perpendicular to the joists.

[Greg Funk]

It's best to run it perpendicular to the joists unless you have a thick subfloor. 3/4" plywood is marginal, 1" would be better.
Is there a doorway separating the den and dining room or is it wide open? If there is a doorway I would use a wider board for the threshold and change directions. It will look fine.

Greg

[David Lamken]

There is a archway leading to the den, but the den is open to the kitchen and hallway - sort of a 50-50 split along one side. That's why deciding which direction to run the wood is taking up so much of my time.

I'm leaning toward changing the direction of the wood and staying with running it perpendicular to the joists as I've been told it should be done (as well as it going with the length of the room), but I don't want it to look odd, either, if I change direction.

Thanks all for your advice.

Dave

[Barry Reade]

There is a archway leading to the den, but the den is open to the kitchen and hallway - sort of a 50-50 split along one side. That's why deciding which direction to run the wood is taking up so much of my time.

I'm leaning toward changing the direction of the wood and staying with running it perpendicular to the joists as I've been told it should be done (as well as it going with the length of the room), but I don't want it to look odd, either, if I change direction. Thanks all for your advice.
Dave

So Dave what did you end up doing and will you post pictures please.:)

I am replacing all the carpet in the main floor of the house 3/4"x4" Red Oak Std unfinshed flooring, about 1800 sq. ft.:eek: Your actual experiance would be appreciated;)

[David Lamken]

Barry - Sorry I don't have a digital camera to give you a visual of how pleased I am with how things worked out for my wife and me.

First of all, I did go with how the joists went - meaning I laid the new wood flooring perpendicular to the joists. Everyone I spoke to about it said that was the right thing to do - with some then adding it doesn't really matter.

With that said, I was lucky that the new flooring went with the length of the room (a 15x20 den), even though the flooring in the dining room went the other way (but still the length of its room).

At first, I was concerned that the flooring in the dining room (with pre-existing hardwood floors done a few years ago) that butted up to the den in the archway would look 'funny' with the wood not all running in the same direction. Boy, was I wrong.

The den now has it own character and feel as does the dining room. I'm really happy that the wood doesn't all go the same way.

I know it's trite to say this, but you can do it anyway you want. My archway from the kitchen-dining room opens only half of a wall into the den (and that is off-center). If it was an entirely open dining room wall running the whole length of the den, then I may have not changed direction of the new flooring, but have run it with the joints for a more continous flow.

By the way, look at it from the propective of how you enter the room and/or question how it might look if you have a fireplace with a hearth (like we do). In our case, because it was on the long opposing wall, it looks better running with the hearth then perpendicular to it.

I hope this helps a little.

Oh, and not to add to your work load, but you could open a few boxes and lay the wood just to see if you like it the way you first envisioned it.

Dave Lamken

[Steve Flavin001]

with it and that's all that counts.:)

Allow a postscript please, as you have discovered...

assuming you have substantial subflooring, out here 10/8 plywood is code, you design the direction esthetically and to fit obstacles without regard to joist direction if possible

I ran some left & right, some up and down 90 degrees, and a sizeable section at 45 degrees to it because of the layout of the room, using 3/4" red oak, too.

Mine has been in place since 1989 and no work to date but we are considering a little refinishing. It was installed with two coats of Sherwin Williams polyurethane.

Enjoy