Transitioning Between Different Laminate Floors

Q: I’ve just had my old Pergo oak floor removed due to warping from water damage. My house is on the market and I can’t afford to wait weeks to match the stuff in my living/dining room. I chose a nice Brazilian cherry (DuPont) and at the doorway between the rooms, I’d like to lay the flooring to maximize aesthetics…don’t want it to look like I couldn’t match it up. Any ideas for direction? The dining room and living room run the “long way” and I thought of going side to side with the different laminate. The slab floor just dried with 3 days of those huge fans and I’m ready to move on this. Your ideas or thoughts would be VERY appreciated!!
Thanks,
Mary
A: I’m guessing this will be one of DuPont’s floating laminate floors so you can install it going in a different direction than your previous Pergo floor. Keep in mind that regardless of which direction you choose to run this floor, you will still have to use a transition molding, likely a t-mold, between the two floors to ensure proper expansion gaps.
Since the transition will be in place, having both floors running in the “long way” direction should be less glaring if the actual rows do not match up, but alternating direction is not going to kill you here. From a floor strength perspective, the direction will not change anything as this is being installed over concrete. In the end here, its all up to you as to what you think will look best. If you want the room itself to appear larger and more inviting, it may be best to install the floor in the same direction as the old flooring. If you want the floor to stand out some and be clearly different, install in the opposite direction of the previous floor, width way, and use transitions to match this floor so your transition to the old floor looks smooth and clean.