Floating Floor Have To Be Perpendicular To Floor Joidts
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.
Floating floor have to be perpendicular to floor joidts. If the old subfloor is wood planks you should install the finish floor perpendicular to them which will be parallel to the joists. This provides added strength to the floor and helps cut down on bowing in the laminate. Generally floor or ceiling joists run parallel to the rafters. A flooring contractor howard brickman responds.
The nofma specifically states this in their instalaltion guidelines for nail down hardwood flooring as does almost every hardwood manufacturer. If the subfloor is plywood of marginal quality then the finish floor should be perpendicular to the joists to stiffen the overall assembly. Flooring experts recommend installing flooring boards perpendicular to the floor joists in a house with a plywood subfloor. Plank should be stiff enough to span the joists with no problem.
Some houses have the shiplap on a 45. Just make sure the subfloor is flat and the proper thickness e g. If you go parallel to the joists you may end up with areas of flooring that aren t fully supported. If the subfloor is stiff enough there is no reason why solid nail down strip flooring can t be run parallel to the joists.
In these cases the conservative choice is to go perpendicular across the floor joists and allow them to support the new floor as well as the sub floor. Most directions recommend running laminate flooring perpendicular to floor joists. I guess you wouldn t have to lay it parallel but the shiplap has a lot more movement then plywood or osb. Installing them parallel creates the possibility that the floor will sag.
That said some times it s not possible to do this.