LESLIE: Jennifer in Texas is on the line and needs some help with a flooring project. Tell us about it.
JENNIFER: We are planning on laying hardwood floor in our home. We have a two-story home and I’m wanting to know if it is better to lay each plank the same direction, upstairs and downstairs, or can we switch it up?
TOM: Generally speaking, you want to go in the long direction of the room. So in other words, you want the boards to be parallel to the longest wall. I don’t – I would not switch that up because it’s going to look odd, don’t you think?
LESLIE: Yeah. It makes the room seem bigger.
JENNIFER: Oh, OK.
TOM: Now, what kind of hardwood floors are you putting down, Jennifer? Are they prefinished hardwood floors?
JENNIFER: Yeah, it’s the snap-and-lock.
TOM: OK. So it’s an engineered floor. So, make sure they’re parallel to the longest wall. And remember, nothing is square about a house.
LESLIE: Yeah.
TOM: So, measure the center of the room as determined by the center point between the walls. And figure it out so you don’t end up with a sliver of hardwood floor on the end.
JENNIFER: OK. Thank you.
I have a hallway and bathroom to put new flooring in. I’m installing that luxury vinyl plank flooring with the wood look. In order for the wood to go the “right way” in the bathroom (parallel to the longest wall) the planks will be perpendiculuar to the hallway. Will this look right? Is this a no no?