In our
primo piano we are going to lay parquet into two rooms and the corridor.
Angelo already has ordered the amount of parquet, natural oak (
rovere naturalizzato). The planks we will use are quiete large and long: 18,9 cm wide and 186 and 190 cm long.
second last: rovere naturalizzato
The only thing we are not yet sure about is the laying direction.
Angelo has send me the following drawings of version A and B:
There are two bedrooms and one corridor in an 'L'-shape. One part of the 'L' is very narrow (about 100cm). There are three balcony doors from where the light comes in. Before asking my dear readers for advise and comments, I researched a bit the www and found the following about
how to lay parquet in a home:
- usually the direction of the wooden panels follow (parallel) the direction of the light incidence. That means it starts in an 45 degree angle from the window (is this clearly described?) - in our case this would be Version A
- some say simply: from the door to the light, which is not often fisable as the window is not always opposite the door.
- others say, if you lay it across the light incidence (parallel to the window) you could make appear the room wider - in our case Version B could do that to the upper bedroom
- another specialist was saying that you cannot always follow the 'light incidence direction method'. You should consider the dynamic of the room, walking directions and shape of the room.
I understand the last answer. But what is the dynamic of my rooms ? I am thousands of miles away to feel the dynamic. We never lived inside and we have not yet dicided where to put the beds.
And then we became another interesting advise from our archtiect, a Version C, which would be a mix of A and B - and does not make the decision finding easier:
- parquet layout in rooms Version A
- parquet layout in corridor Version B
For a better understanding of the premises, here some pictures:
this is one of the rooms and its balcony door
this is the balcony door in the corridor
When you come up the stairs - and turn left to furhter go up - it would look better to have the panels parallel to the window, across the light incidence, in the same direction as you walk, I think.
one more part of the corridor in the primo piano
Dear Readers, come along with your suggestions !
Here is a visual summary for you:
Version A - classic - direction follows the incoming light
Version B - parallel to the windows, this layout underlines that both rooms are connected via the corridor
(I think, this is the better solution for the corridor and the upper bedroom as it could look a bit wider in its slimmer part where we cut away space for a bathroom)
Version C - a mixture
So please vote on the blogroll, or leave a comment !! GRAZIE !!!
At the end I found another hint, I am sure, my experienced worker on site, Angelo, knows it already:
When the parquet is delivered, wait 48 hours to let the wood acclimatise. The ideal condition would be a temperature above 17 degree (which we have for sure) and below 70% humidity (which I do not know). Not sure from which latitude this hint came from, but waiting 48 hours seeems to make sense.
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UPDATE May 2012:
This post got a mention in the
NYTimes.com and
International Herald Tribune!
Unfortunately, I never saved the voting chart, but the winner was Version C !
It got a few more votes, and we were finally convinced to use Version C, the mixture of A and B. - Thanks for all your valuable comments!
And here are some pics of the result, taken in 2011:
 |
| A change of laying direction is perfectly fine! |
