Apart from a few exceptions like sagging joists this is the preferred direction to lay wood floors because it provides the best result aesthetically.
Direction of laminate wood flooring.
The wood planks that make up your new wood flooring should be laid out in a manner that leads to the center or focus of the room.
Laying down laminate for hallway to bedroom transition.
While personal preference is a factor the direction in which you run hardwood flooring boards is governed by visual and structural guidelines.
The direction that your wood flooring will run is not just a matter of personal taste.
Today we have options such as laminate flooring and engineered wood floors which don t expand dominantly in any one direction so there really is no need to stick with any one direction.
Wood floors should always be laid perpendicular to floor joists across rather that in between them.
We have mostly slab foundations in this area and with engineered floors you have more flexibility.
The correct direction for laying hardwood floors.
It also is governed by several design principles.
If the room is wider than it is long laying the flooring on the vertical will help create the illusion of length in the room and balance it out.
As solid wood flooring was the only wood floor type available up until the 1970 s almost every wood floor plank laid would have run with the length of a room.
When laying laminate flooring board direction is more of an aesthetic issue and less a structural one as it can be when laying a hardwood.
Installing in a certain direction can help bring out textures and colors.
Vertical flooring is the most common orientation for wood floors.
If the room is not overly small floorboards that are placed vertically will work just fine.
The most common way to lay install hardwood flooring is by aligning the planks parallel to the longest wall or run in the installation.
Follow these guidelines and you should be able to decide the appropriate direction.
This will make the floors structurally sound and will help prevent the planks from separating sagging or buckling.
So there is no right or wrong way to lay your wood flooring.