The sub floor is laid perpendicular to the beams and the current flooring is laid perpendicular to the sub floor.
Hardwood floor perpendicular to the floor joist.
A flooring contractor howard brickman responds.
When done properly for wood flooring you will stagger the blocking 8 between joists to make installing blocking easier and chalk line the floor above so that every other nail in an 8 nail schedule goes into the blocking or joist.
With the above specs the flooring should be installed perpendicular to the floor joists.
And if your hardwood was installed professionally it should run perpendicular to the floor joists once again not always the case and you maybe be able to find nails around the edges but can t be sure of these.
Move the hammer to the left or the right until the sound changes from hollow to solid.
I am replacing the flooring in a 50 year old house with 1 1 2 tongue and grove sub floor.
Over diagonal solid subfloor boards install perpendicular to joists or subfloor.
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.
Inspect the subfloor from below and note the direction of the joists.
If the subfloor is stiff enough there is no reason why solid nail down strip flooring can t be run parallel to the joists.
Hardwood flooring must be installed perpendicular to the floor joists or on a diagonal for any single layer subfloor.
However if we install with the more standard nail down method over plywood the direction of the floor joist must be taken into consideration.
Installing them parallel creates the possibility that the floor will sag.
The flooring can be laid parallel to floor joists but you may need to add a 1 2 inch layer of plywood diagonally or perpendicularly to the joists or install a brace between the joists.
Flooring with blocking every 16 will be as stiff parallel to the joists as it is perpendicular to the joists.
Flooring experts recommend installing flooring boards perpendicular to the floor joists in a house with a plywood subfloor.
The floor joists are large beams on 4 centers.
To run parallel to the joists you ll need to add a 1 2 plywood underlayment or brace every 16 between joists with a nominal 2 x 6 spf nailed in place.
I ve never seen a studfinder work well on anything thicker or denser than 5 8 drywall but their could be one out there.
Tip hardwood flooring will only lie as uniformly as the subfloor.
Installing hardwood floors faqs do i have to install the new wood perpendicular to the joists.
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.