Which Way Should I Run Wood Flooring In Bedroom?
I’m having a major remodel done on my house. As part of an inspection to add more structural support to the first floor (adding larger beam, removing space robbing posts in the basement), we had to remove a section of the subfloor in a 2nd floor bedroom to confirm the direction of the floor joists. Having had to pull back a big part of the wall to wall carpet, I would like to tear out the old rug and install a real wood strip floor, 3/4 inch thick, 3 inches wide, in this bedroom.
The subfloor is just cheap old plywood, 3/4 inch thick, no T&G. The house was built in 1995, but they used every old building technique they could think of. Floor joists are 2×10 in a 14×16 room. There is a fair bit of bounce and squeek in the floor now.
The floor joists run pararell to the front window wall, which is the long side of the room. The flooring in the hall way is runing 90 degrees. Visually the room would look better if the floor boards ran the long way. Structurally, the floor boards should run perpendicular to the floor joists. I’m concerned that running the boards the short way will make an already small room look smaller.
This bedroom is directly over the living room on the first floor. I’m not opposed to opening up the ceiling to sister either 2 x 10’s or 3/4 inch plywood to stiffen the floor. Is their another method to improving or reducing the bounce in the floor from the floor side?
I’d like the forum’s opinion as to which way to run the floor boards in the bedroom. Since the bedroom will probably have a queen size bed, a dresser, probably a couple of chairs and a night stand or two, does it visually matter which way the floor boards run?
Is running the floor boards perpendicular to the floor joists the best way from a mechanical and sound issue?
Thanks in advance,
Mark
Replies
Which way will help keep the bed from sliding around the best?
diagonal looks cool
Install diagonal wood bridging every 6' between the joists (may be there already,) glue and screw down the 3/4" ply, run your floor boards long if you like. Some bounce is ok... and should be less when floor is loaded with furniture etc. Looks like the floor is designed for 30 lb/ft which was standard for bedrooms.
Run it the way it looks best. It will not affect structural one way or the other.
Visually speaking, I'm not sure it makes that much of a difference. Your room is 14x16 ... nearly square, when you think about it. It's not like e.g. a hallway or some other long, narrow space. IMO I wouldn't put much weight on flooring direction from a visual standpoint. If you want to gain some strength, run it perp to the joists. With the furniture in place, the flooring direction isn't going to dominate your visual impression as you walk in.