Can I Run Hardwood Floor Parallel To Joists

Discussion starter 1 dec 31 2015.

Can i run hardwood floor parallel to joists.

This is on the first floor the sub is plywood and the house has an unfinished basement. The span is about 14 feet from foundation. First renail the existing plywood subfloor so that the old nails are tight and add new nails to achieve a maximum nail spacing of 6 inches. The floor joist are rough cut 2 8 spaced 24 oc with a 8 span.

Joined nov 16 2015 43 posts. The most common way to lay install hardwood flooring is by aligning the planks parallel to the longest wall or run in the installation. There is a steel i going through the middle of the house. A flooring contractor howard brickman responds.

If the subfloor is a concrete pad these structural considerations don. Hardwood floor installed parallel to joists what are my options to fix it. I have added 7 16 osb to the t g and plan on putting 2 8 blocking every 24. I have always installed hardwood flooring perpendicular to the floor joists.

I believe the national wood flooring association recommends a glued 5 8 1 2 subfloor combination for a parallel application. If the subfloor is stiff enough there is no reason why solid nail down strip flooring can t be run parallel to the joists. I have a client that would like their 3 4 birch flooring to run parallel to the joists. Apart from a few exceptions like sagging joists this is the preferred direction to lay wood floors because it provides the best result aesthetically.

The flooring is 3 4 t g nailed directly to the floor joist. 3 4 plywood over joists 12 oc should be quite stiff enough. The subfloor is tji joists with 3 4 t g osb glued and screwed. One of the problems when running parallel is that if some joists are higher than others you get a roll in the floor lengthwise that makes the floor very difficult to sand and it can be seen.

Will this support new 3 4 t g running parallel to floor joist. Joist spacing will be 16 oc tji and subfloor will be 3 4 ply. Flooring is tbd but will probably be either 3 4 hardwood or 1 2 engineered. My question pertains to an upcoming job.

Older houses with 1 inch planks running diagonally to the joists can support flooring planks running parallel to the joists. I have a 80 year old home.