Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Laying Engr Hardwood Planks Perpendicular to Each Other

First question is I have been told laying floor planks parallel to incoming natural light is the best orientation for wood floors. Is this true, make a big difference?

I plan to lay out flooring in the family room and the living/dining room area and these areas are adjacent to each other with no definite transition (the floor plan is very open and no architectural elements really define what is family room vs. hall vs. living/dining room). So the rooms have windows with natural lighting coming in perpendicular to each other.

Second question is whether I should lay out the planks parallel to incoming light in each room and then herringbone the merger of the two floors? Will that cause expansion problems (we would prefer a seamless looking floor, i.e. not use a wood transition.)

In general, is laying some board perpendicular to others a bad idea? i.e. making a border with planks.

The flooring I am considering is Thomasville Engr Hardwood and have been abusing it greatly to check the expansion. So far, I have seen less than 1/16th of an inch expansion after soaking it in water.

Thanks all!

I'll jump on this bandwagon, as well...

I want to lay a darker laminate "frame" around the perimeter of the room, parallel to the walls all the way around, with a 45* miter angle at the corners. Then I want to use a lighter shade in the middle.

Ideas? Is it possible?

The trick will be that with a T&G floating floor is that you need to maintain a pattern stagger in the lay of the planks. To do this, alternating boards will not have a tounge or groove in them as they are cut to fit.

You will need to use a table saw to make your own "groove" side on a cut board (or at the 45* miter) and match it up to another groove on the main floor. Cut a spline that you can insert into both grooves (think like a biscuit joint) and glue together. Keep in mind that your cuts will have to be precise and exact or it will look odd (raised or sunken joints, etc). same goes for any toungue cuts that you will need to make.

See if the manufacturer makes a spline for this specific purpose.

This may work with engineered flooring, but I doubt that laminate is strong enough to support all the cutting of the material along the edges.

Direction changes are on the custom side of things, but quite possible. Floor joist will dictate flooring direction, so you may need a direction change to stay within industry requirements.