What direction to lay wooden floors

budgemook

Hi, I am doing some diy in the house to modernise it - it's a house from 1970. In the sitting room / dining room we have old carpet which I want to replace with wooden floors. The obvious direction seems to be lengthways with the longer side of the room however the ceiling is wood and goes the other direction. Should I go with the length of the room or should I match direction of ceiling?

There are windows on both sides.

Thanks!

Jim Herring

Is diagonal an option?

magicbastarder

Are you lifting the old floorboards first? If so, you will have to match the existing orientation, assuming it's a suspended floor.

budgemook

I guess diagonal would be possible, would that be better?

budgemook

It's currently carpet on a concrete floor

geographica

length ways for visial effect, makes the room look longer

mulbot

Surely length ways, looks better, and as above, room looks bigger. You'll surely take down the timber ceiling at some point if your modernising the house. Definitely don't put diagonal flooring, it'll look terrible

BK5

Lengthways in the room to make it look longer or as I was told before go lengthways from the main window(s)

suvigirl

Depends on the width of the planks I think. Thinner planks, definitely lengthways in the room. If they are wide planks, then they may look better widthways. I'm assuming you will not keep the wood ceiling?

budgemook

It's a good point about taking down the ceiling. It'll have to go at some point I suppose so I shouldn't overthink it. Thanks