Which way should you lay parquet flooring in a hall ?

Question

I'm laying some flooring at my parents house. My mother, (who always knows best :-p ) is under the impression I've done it completely wrong. I understand you're supposed to lay flooring in an opposite direction to the original floorboards. However, in this hall I chose to lay it horizontally because I thought the alternative looked really odd... like a beach deck walk or something. Which way round would you say the wooden slats have to appear as you open a front door ? Horizontal or sideways / vertical.

Answer 1

The general rule of thumb is to lay the flooring to run lengthwise down the hall, irregardless of what's underneath.  Aesthetically speaking, this is the way most people do it.  It also saves you a lot of cutting.

Answer 2

The reason you lay wood floors perpendicular to the joists is for support.  Also if you run the long pieces parallel to the joists you risk greater squeaking down the road as well as the possibility of waves.  The waving affect is unlikely if the sub floor is of good quality.  In newer homes with 4 x 8 sheets as a sub-floor this is an non issue.  

HOWEVER with Parquet they usually come in squares and not long pieces so the direction is a matter of how it looks and support of the joists does is not an issue.

As to what looks best when you walk in is really up to you.  As a personal preference I prefer my long lines to go with the long lines of the room.  It also depends on what the room leads to and the overall visual effect.

Lastly tell your Mother you love her very much, but it is YOUR house.

Answer 3

I would personally have laid the flooring so that the long way goes in the same direction as whatever the long way is in the room.  IE  Long side parallel to longest wall.  Usually you will want the boards to run with a hall way, it looks best that way.  To tell you the truth, the herring bone idea would have looked the very best in an s shaped hall, and would not be any harder than straight one way or the other.  You might consider getting the right tool for the job, you really need a miter saw for a project like this, a compound miter even better yet, that way you are not guessing on the angles and you get perfect cuts every time.  The only funny cuts on the herring bone pattern could possibly be at the wall, but with a miter saw, that is a non issue.  Especially since you are going to be putting base board back up (or at least I assume as much)

If the hall turns 90 degrees, you might consider putting a butt joint of the floor pieces at the corner.  Cut each piece at a 45 degree angle and line all the cuts up so it makes one continuous line from the inside corner of the hall to the outside corner.  That looks nice too.  Don't skimp out and do it the easy way, make it look nice, for your dear old mom...

Good luck

Answer 4

The best way to lay parquet flooring is in the herring bone pattern (diagonaly stepped) which looks good from all directions and is a stronger and more stable way to lay them.