The rule of thumb that professional flooring installers follow is to stagger the end joint of adjacent rows by a distance equal to 2 or 3 times the width of the plank.
How to lay wood flooring staggered seams.
Most hardwood floors consist of many individual planks or boards measuring differing lengths but having the same width.
Another way is to avoid regular stagger patterns such as steps or lightning and h patterns.
To start row 3 cut a full width plank to the length of the trimmed ripped piece at the end of row 1.
Lay out your wood planks by size.
How to install laminate flooring like a boss laminate floor blog.
Ensure you maintain a minimum length for end boards.
Today s wood flooring products have tongue and groove construction or click lock fasteners that hold the planks of wood together.
Separate them by length so you can grab different lengths each time.
Here s how to install click lock engineered hardwood flooring.
How you arrange these planks in size is up to you and the result has little effect on the functionality of the floor.
Its end should be at least 6 to 8 inches apart from the closest seam in row one.
How to stagger floating floors.
One way to do this is to maintain a minimum distance between adjacent end joints of at least 6 inches.
That s what you re after.
Even with proper connections.
This will stagger the seams between the adjacent rows in a random way.
As a rule you never want the seams of adjacent boards to be less than 8 inches apart i.
For row two score and snap the first plank in half.
But aesthetics matter and that means you should stagger the joints while laying out your flooring.
The national wood flooring association recommends maintaining randomness when staggering floor planks.
Some wood flooring comes with several lengths in the same package to help you stagger the seams.
You can print this out and follow it whilst laying laminate flooring.