Hi,

I am installing an engineered floating floor by Coswick Floors with the CosLoc5G system. The subfloor is an old pine 5" wide plank and is in fair condition (slightly uneven in some places). The engineered floor is 7.5" wide. My home is an old Brooklyn row house and is 16' wide x 35' long. The old subfloor (which has been used as the finish floor) runs the long length of the building.

My contractor recommends installing the new floor perpendicular to the plank subfloor with a membrane underneath. This means the new floor will run the short 16' width of the building, which I do not think will look very nice. Can I run the new floor in the same direction as the old plank subfloor? I understand that there is a risk of the parallel boards pushing up the new floor. But isn't the click lock system more stable than a T&G? Also, keeping in mind that the joists run the short width of the building, isn't there some benefit of running the new floor perpendicular to the joists? For various reasons, I would like to avoid adding an additional plywood subfloor above the plank subfloor, so that's not an option.

I would like to know if there is a strong argument against running parallel or if there are any suggestions on how to make it more stable when run in this direction.

Thanks

You can run a floater any direction you want. Only when fastening (mechanical or gluing would you want to run perpendicular