When building or remodeling a house, flooring can be one of the most significant statement pieces in the home. There are many different options for flooring depending on the space, size, and style you hope to achieve.
If you are using a tile floor that is a non-rectangle shape, this article will be less helpful for you, and I recommend scrolling through the blog to find a reference to a different post on that topic.
And if you discover that we still need to write one on what way to run your tile floor, please feel free to email the co-owner of c2s, Jamie Molitor, and he will fix it ASAP.
Once you have decided on what floor you are going to install, whether it is using plank flooring or laminate, engineered or real hardwood, there will come a time when you will be ready to install it and will face the decision on where to start the floor and what direction to lay it.
Generally speaking, there would be two main ways to run the floor according to the way your house is situated. To simplify our explanation, we will call it east to west or north to south.
There is no correct or incorrect way to run the floor. However, to fulfill this post’s primary purpose and educate you, we want to point out a few things to help you make that decision strictly from a design perspective.
I am sure you have stayed at a hotel many times. You may remember that the design of every hotel hallway (mostly always carpet) usually runs the length of the hall, inviting you to “follow the path.” Then in front of your door, you must cross that design, indicating you have arrived.
Similar to a stop sign, the street lines are running parallel with your car, confirming that you are going in the right direction until you come to a stop sign or a street light, which usually has a line that is running perpendicular with your car. It tells your brain, I need to stop. This concept can be applied to your house as well.
The floor generally runs parallel to the lengthiest part of your house. Typically there are rooms along the hallway, meaning you will follow along with the floor until you’ve reached the desired room.
When looking at other areas of the house, there are fewer deciding factors as there are in the hallway, but for example, let’s use an entertainment/living room. When seated on a couch or a chair, it’s visually more appealing to look down the boards (parallel with them) at the viewing area vs. across the boards.
Furthermore, when thinking about your kitchen, the boards should generally flow in the direction of where the traffic flows.
Not to make your house seem like its a racetrack or a highway, but these are all things to consider.
Likely this is WAY over complicating the idea and may just be ironic but there may be some significance to it.
Another thing to consider, especially when you are nailing the floor down, is what way your floor joists run.
For best results, you should run your floorboards perpendicular to your floor joists for optimal areas to staple to and support.
If you are still determining which way the floor runs, you can look in your mechanical room (if unfinished) and see up into the ceiling.
As mentioned earlier, there is no right or wrong way to install the floor directionally, but if nothing else, hopefully we were able to educate you and offer you a proper design perspective.
