This is going to be a two part question. But first some background. I have installed hardwood floors (nailed down) and various tiles floors in the last several years. But they have all been limited to single room installations.
I am looking at installing hardwood floors throughout the first floor of my house. My goal is to have a continuous hardwood floor throughout several rooms. I will be removing carpet from two rooms and wood parquet tiles (hate these) from the kitchen/dining room. The dishwasher leaked and ruined several sections a couple of years ago. More recently the water line from the refrigerator leaked and ruined several sections. I replaced the dishwasher and I'm replacing the water line later this week and pulling up the damaged tiles. So after I'm done half the kitchen area will be plywood. I've looked at trying to find parquet tiles to match and they don't exist (20 year old floor). I would need to install mismatched tiles.
So my questions are as follows:
1) What can I do in a kitchen with hardwood floors to reduce the risk of water damage from water leaks?
I've toyed with the idea of installing tile underneath the refrigerator and dishwasher but I'm not sure if that's the best plan. I'm concerned of water pooling up on the tile and damaging the cabinets or drywall behind the refrigerator. I'm looking at Oak flooring but maybe I should use a different type of wood that stands up to water better? I'm looking at 2.25" wide planks, maybe I should go with 3.5" wide planks so there are fewer seams for water to seep into?
I'm hoping that 3/4" thick hardwood planks will hold up to some water better than the thin 1/4" parquet tiles that seem to swell and buckle extremely quickly.
2) How important is it to install hardwood floors perpendicular to the floor joists? Can I get away with installing them parallel to the floor joists?
I was told by a professional installer that hardwood floors should be installed perpendicular to the floor joists to prevent the planks from flexing with the subfloor.
This wouldn't be an issue except the floor joists under my living room were run in a different direction than the rest of the house. So I plan on installing the floors perpendicular to the joists in the kitchen and dining room areas (which make up 2/3 of the total floor space) but then when I transition to the living room I would need to either:
A) run the hardwood floor planks parallel to the floor joists.
B) Change the orientation of the planks to be perpendicular to the floor joists and therefore have a seam between the two rooms and not a continuous run from the rest of the house.
Thanks ahead for any thoughts and suggestions
Submitted January 17, 2017 at 02:44AM by Baron164 http://ift.tt/2iFevd4 DIY
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