Flooring Same Direction As Joists

Common sense tells you that large floor joists can carry more load and spacing joists closer together also increases the load bearing capacity of a floor.

Flooring same direction as joists.

Another way to determine the best possible direction for your planks is by following the lead of your room s features. Most flooring installers will lay the flooring parallel to the long length of the room to avoid the ladder affect. However if you have 3 4 plywood or osb you can change the direction. Exceptions can be made with the use of additional subfloor use to strengthen the existing subfloor.

If your sub floor is a concrete slab you can run the floors in any direction you prefer. So if you re redoing the floors in the foyer run the planks in the same direction as the front door. When hardwood floors are installed parallel to the joists they will sag squeak and gap. While personal preference is a factor the direction in which you run hardwood flooring boards is governed by visual and structural guidelines.

The most common way to lay install hardwood flooring is by aligning the planks parallel to the longest wall or run in the installation. When a load is applied to a joist the wood fibers along the bottom edge go into tension and those along the top go into compression fig. The general rule of thumb is to install perpendicular to the floor joist doing so will allow the flooring to keep its structural integrity if the joists sag. How joists support floors and ceilings joists the horizontal members that span two walls and or beams have to carry the weight of the walls people furniture appliances and other stuff we place on them.

But larger is not always better when builders are constructing a home or adding a room addition. Floor joists are used to support a floor over an open area like a basement crawl space etc. The correct direction for laying hardwood floors. Apart from a few exceptions like sagging joists this is the preferred direction to lay wood floors because it provides the best result aesthetically.

When many joists are installed next to each other and a sub floor like plywood is nailed on top they create a large floor area called a floor system. For example you can follow the direction of the main or most frequently used entrance of the room. I agree that if you have less than 3 4 of you should definitely run the flooring perpendicular to the joists or at a 45 degree angle. It s like a mini bridge that s only supported at each end.