Perpendicular Wood Floors

Join the ends of the boards over a floor joist where possible avoiding joints that form an h.

Perpendicular wood floors.

If you go with the direction of the floor joists the weight of the wood floor could cause the sub floor to sag over time. In most cases you should try and go perpendicular across the floor joists to allow the boards to span the gaps and be supported by them. Install hardwood floors perpendicular to the floor joists parallel to the longest wall leaving a inch expansion gap around the perimeter. Installing them parallel creates the possibility that the floor will sag.

Is there any reason i can t do it. If you really want to run the hardwoods perpendicular to the windows and your floor doesn t meet our recommend specs you could glue and screw a half inch of plywood to the existing sub floor. For strength and durability installing hardwood flooring perpendicular to the floor joists is recommended. Glue using liquid nails and screw the floor down every 10 12 inches square.

Before starting calculate the width the last row will be. We chose to add a second layer because some of our flooring runs parallel to the floor joists. Many installers will lay hardwood over one layer of 1 2 in. Choosing which direction to install wood floors is often a confusing choice for many.

Flooring experts recommend installing flooring boards perpendicular to the floor joists in a house with a plywood subfloor. In these cases the conservative choice is to go perpendicular across the floor joists and allow them to support the new floor as well as the sub floor. Therefore you should consider going perpendicularly across the floor joists. If your sub floor is a concrete slab you can run the floors in any direction you prefer.

For aesthetic reasons i would like to run 3 4x3 inch oak strip flooring parallel to the floor joists instead of perpendicular as is typical. If you re laying your new floor in an older home that has a plywood sub floor the first thing to consider is the direction of the floor joists that support it. Sight lines and aesthetics. This can eventually lead to the subfloor sagging in between the joists.

Keep joints that line up at least two rows apart. The subfloor is 3 4 inch tongue and groove plywood. By way of explanation as you walk into the foyer the floor will be installed perpendicular to the front door threshold. In a nutshell the preference calls for running the flooring front to back as you enter the home.

When hardwood floors are installed parallel to the joists they will sag squeak and gap. The floor joists under the wood floor hold the sub floor in place.