When we install hardwood floors, we occasionally get requests to orient the flooring planks in a certain direction.
Perhaps the most common example of this is homeowners who want the planks to be oriented crosswise rather than lengthwise in a hallway (i.e., the length of the planks running perpendicular to the hallway walls instead of parallel).
Some people want to make a room feel larger, and running the planks perpendicular to the walls that are the farthest apart in a rectangular room can help with that.
Others have even wanted to have us install planks diagonally in a room, to give their floor a really distinctive appearance. That’s creative thinking about hardwood flooring that we applaud!
Whatever the reason for wanting to orient boards in a certain way, we can usually accommodate the request. However, there’s a reason boards are installed in a certain direction, and changing the direction for aesthetic reasons makes the installation significantly more complex.
It’s construction 101, when you think about it. The flooring is installed over floor joists, and to give the flooring support, it is installed in the opposite direction of the joists, forming a crisscross structure. Otherwise, the planks would sink because they would have no joist support underneath them.
That said, we never want to disappoint our customers, and we have expertise in the techniques for installing planks without floor-joist support. If your heart is set on planks running in a particular direction, talk with us. We can help you make that vision a reality!
To discuss your hardwood floor project or to make an appointment with one of our hardwood floor experts, give us a call at 920.984.3383 or 800.354.9902. Or stop by our showroom, which is open from 8 am-5 pm Monday through Friday and 9 am-1 pm on Saturday (8 am-noon on Saturday, starting June 1).
Image courtesy of Mitch Barrie, Creative Commons.
