Expansion & direction

[Desmac]

This topic has been covered before, but I would appreciate advice from anybody.
I've got two hallways which I am going to cover with 14mm solid wood flooring, laid on Elastilon Strong.

One of the hallways has an exposed brick wall along one side. is it feasible to have a very small expansion gap at this side, and a larger one at the other side. This is to try to avoid undercutting the brick. i can still leave a small expansion gap at the brick. The hall is 3.6m wide, and the boards will run perpendicular to the brick.

The other hallway is 10m long, and varies from 1.1m to 3.3m wide. I am intending laying the floor so that the boards run across the hall to avoid a tramline effect when looking down the hall.. This will mean that the main expansion direction is 10m long (on the understanding that timber expands in width much more thwn in length). Is it feasible to have a 25mm expansion space at each end of the 10m length (and on other parallel partitions? How will I know if the flooring needs to expand or contract? I don't want to lay the floor, leaving as much expansion space as possible, only to find later that it has shrunk away from the skirtings.

Sorry for the longwinded queries. any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Desmac, when you reduce expansion gaps at one end do you think the wood will know this and only expand in that direction where you have left more?
No, it won't - so you will have to keep your expansion gaps the same width everywhere or any of them is rendered useless. Read more about it here

As for your 10 meter long hall, installing the wood like you plan to do will create a very strange look, specially if your boards are bevelled too. Your eyes will 'stutter' on every bevel, the light might create false shades etc. Not the best way to install a 10 meter long hallway. Besides that, there is this rule of thumb for expansion gaps with solid oak floors: 3 - 4 mm per meter width = 40cm.

Better option would be to install the boards along the length of the hallway to get a better overall look and smaller expansion gaps.

 

[Desmac]

Thanks, WoodYouLike. I suspect that I knew the answer to my questions before I asked them. You confirmed what I thought, but I would just as soon hear the voice of experience rather than act on my own assumptions.