One of the most beneficial upgrades you can do to your house is the addition of hardwood flooring. Wood floors come with their specific maintenance rules However, you might not realize that they have their own guidelines for their installation.
Knowing the structural and aesthetic needs of your new flooring could mean the difference between a disaster and boosting the value and pleasure of your house.
Aesthetic Themes
When working on wood floors, even small mistakes can be costly. In contrast to carpeting it is important to be aware of the wood’s texture and the form of the flooring boards. These aspects can have an enormous impact on the way your new flooring will appear. Here are some of the most commonly used elements to take into consideration.
Diagonal Floors
Though not typical because of the price, it is possible to put your flooring on an angle to help ease the flow from one area to another. In certain situations this angle can assist in linking two rooms. This method is typically utilized for rooms that have unusual shapes.
Inlays and partial replacements
Utilizing a specific section of the floor rather than the whole floor allows for a variety of deviations from the usual aesthetic guidelines. For instance, replacing a part of the floor with a different kind of wood, or failing to match stains is an excellent reason to alter directions of new wood. The transition appears as planned.
Borders, inlays, and other similar elements are an excellent reason to put the boards in various directions from the main part of floor. The fact that there are multiple directions, as in this case will draw more focus to the details. A lot of homes with high-end finishes employ this technique to add elegance and sophistication to a space.
Main Entrance
The direction that boards are laid out can affect how the size of a space is perceived. It is a common practice placing the boards in a way they are far from where the entrance is of the room can make it appear larger than it really is and provides a cleaner appearance.
If you are installing wood floors in several rooms, and a hallway connecting them the boards should be positioned towards the entrance towards the hallway. The adjoining rooms should follow in the same direction.
Staggering and Length
The general rule is to look for longer flooring boards. The larger the floorboards will be, the more appealing your floor will appear. In smaller rooms it could also mean that you don’t have to arrange the boards but instead be able to run them from one side that of your room and the opposite without breaking.
Most of the time you’ll find yourself stabbing boards. The edges of every board will be an obvious element, therefore it is essential to determine the amount of staggered before taking the boards. Certain designs can switch boards in such a way that a particular board finishes at the center between the boards that are next to it. However, the majority of floorings are staggered so that there is no pattern apparent.
Structural Questions
When laying wooden floors, although it requires the most aesthetic of planning however, there are some important structural factors that can impact the appearance and the durability of your wooden floor. These elements can impact the amount of work that goes into laying the flooring.
Subfloors, Floor Joists and Floor Joists
When you are laying the floor for the first time it is important to consider the subfloor type is in place. Subfloors made of stone or cement are durable and will be able to be able to support the wood boards in any the direction. Older floors that have planks that are diagonal and one-inch wide can be used to support boards in different directions.
But, on a light subfloor, like plywood, you’ll need to put in an additional layer of three-eighths inches plywood if you want to connect the floorboards with the floorjoists. It is not possible to run the boards perpendicular or diagonally to the joists with a solid subfloor, since the boards require support to stop them from sliding.
Walls that aren’t even Walls
Walls that face each other aren’t always parallel. Also, the angles of the corners of rooms may not be precisely 90 degrees. This could have an effect when you install flooring boards, as you could need to cut the boards in order to accommodate at different angles.
It is always advisable to assess the size of a room before deciding whether the boards need to be laid straight or at a slight angle in order to match the walls.
