What Direction Should You Run Your Hardwood Floor?

 

There’s a secret to a hardwood floor that some people aren’t quite aware of. Luckily for you, dear reader, I’m willing to spill the beans during this post and reveal it to you. It’s one thing to pick out your flooring, making sure the color and design meshes well with the rest of your home, but it’s another to make sure it’s aesthetically pleasing upon install. One of the secrets I’m talking about is its appearance. The longer the board, the more grandiose it looks. The shorter the board, the cheaper it usually is. Taking this into account, you can determine how best to run your floor. First universal rule: The planks should always run perpendicular to the floor joists. This allows for the board to be spanned in the correct manner, ensuring stability.
 
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Run Your Hardwood Floor From Your Door

No matter which flooring you choose, the ultimate goal is to achieve that elegant, professional look. Starting from the door, running the floor perpendicularly from it, will give your hardwood floor a seamless appearance. Imagine you’re looking down a hallway, toward your entryway, and you can visualize how if a floor is set in one motion – it will do wonders. Now, of course, there are some exceptions to this rule. If  you’re laying a special pattern or in-lay, this would of course switch things up a bit. Essentially, it all depends on the layout of your home. In small areas, for example, different layouts look as I discussed before – choppy and out of place.

Running Your Hardwood Floor Diagonally

As far as stability goes, running your floor diagonally is just as sufficient as running it perpendicularly. It’s really all about the look with this approach, and it’s best achieved in large rooms like a living or dining room. The appearance is so appealing, stunning really. The degree of the angle really depends on the look you want to achieve, but 45 degrees is the most common by far. Although, there’s variations, especially when dealing with a skewed wall or a small space. Note: This method usually takes more time (a bit more expensive) because you end up wasting quite a bit of wood from all the desired cuts. But, in my opinion, it is well worth it.

How Not To Run Your Hardwood Floor

Whatever you do, try to refrain from breaking up the patterns in a floor. Try not to use different patterns in different rooms because where it may seem like a great thing to do at first, using other designs for each room, the finished product will end up looking broken. It’ll be distorted in a way that makes each floor look messy and unorganized.
The proper way to run your hardwood floor pretty much depends on your choice of flooring. What is fundamentally clear, however, is that with whatever choice you pick, there is a sure way to make your flooring both visually attractive and concrete in stability. Just take note of the angles you’d like to use, the size of the room you’re working with, and be mindful of your transitions. Always be cautious of which way your joists lay for stability.
 

Builders Surplus is a full service renovation company with locations in Louisville, Kentucky, and Newport, Kentucky, which also serves Cincinnati, Ohio. We are the leading provider of Ledge Stone, wall tile and backsplash tile in Louisville, Newport, and Cincinnati. We specialize in interior design, kitchen design, bathroom remodel, building materials, and home improvement. Interior Design and measurements come as a free service to our clients. We sell building materials ranging in every price point, from unfinished kitchen cabinets to top of the line Wellborn cabinets. In addition to interior design, we also offer installation services. If you have any questions or would like to set up a free design consultation with one of our interior designers, we would encourage you to do so. We love sharing our knowledge with clients & potential home renovators. We write about interior design, home decor, decorating ideas, and home improvement. We hope you’ll check back in for our next article! Happy Renovation!
Written By: Chris Chamberlain