Which direction do you lay a wood floor?

[longerdays]

Choices choices. We want a floor leading from front door and narrow hallway through to a kitchen (rectangle) and a lounge (square) and off to one side a downstairs cloakroom. Which way do we lay the wood floor? I would do it north/south so it is away from you as you go through the door but we have been told if you lay across ways then it makes a narrow room seem wider? Are there any rules to this? Thanks.

Longways.

Yes, longways.

Longways in the hall. No doubt.

Ours are all along the lines of the light. If you lay the planks across, their will be shadows caused by the small spaces between the planks, which draws attention to them. So laying along the lines of light will make the floor look more uniform.

*there

Along the longest length iyswim. So if going between rooms it goes through the door.

We did our kitchen/dining area on the diagonal, at the suggestion of the guy who did it. I would never have thought of it myself but it actually really works.

Just bought our flooring today as had the same discussion. Our old floor was laid horizontally in hallway and it's definitely the wrong way!
Go long!

Sorry I don't understand what that means? Do you mean you have them in different directions in different rooms? Think that may look a bit odd in our case as you can basically see into all the rooms (bar loo) I have described from the front door.

You should lay the boards lengthways toward the light source of the room. Imagine all the cutting if you did it width ways.

This is what we've gone for - really stood out to us in the shop.
Will be laid lengthways from the hall all the way thru the ground floor

www.flooringrepublic.co.uk/122mm%20Tigerwood%20Engineered%20Oak%20Flooring?search=Tigerwood

Well you go with the flow, having it across the room reduces the life of it. Meaning replacing it more often.

Yes longerdays- our hallway boards were laid horizontally and then all the others laid lengthways! Same floor throughout and no idea why they did it that way

This is what I meant

Ok I know I am being thick but why would there be more cutting width ways than lengthways? The same area is being covered.

Firstly it depends what sort of wood flooring you are laying. If it is a traditional timber floor, i.e. Wooden boards which are nailed to joists beneath, you have to lay them across the joists to sit directly on top. However if you are laying into concrete or ply you have choice.

Lengthways through the hall and flowing into whichever rooms come off this in the same direction. Our old hallway was laid (not by us ) width ways and I really didn't like it. (Yes Mr estate agent it did make it feel 'lovely and wide', but it didn't look or feel right at all!!).