The floor was normally covered with square edged softwood boards and finished with a lath and plaster ceiling usually 3 coats of lime plaster.
Floor joists front to back.
I suppose there are some general rules about joist layout.
In the past 2x4s or 2x6s were sometimes used as floor joists.
If your home is more than 20 years old your floor joists are most likely solid wood 2x8s 2x10s or 2x12s.
The joists were trimmed around fireplaces and stair openings as shown in the graphic.
Follow the rules to keep your floor solid.
Therefore you should consider.
On first floors it seems that it might depend on downstairs openings windows and doors.
The correct direction for laying hardwood floors.
If you are installing hardwood in the front room of your house you should take into consideration where the front door is located.
In a semi it seems obvious that ground floor suspended floors should have joists running back to front so that most of the air bricks can be at front and back.
The direction of the joists can either be party wall to party wall or front to back.
Most of the time the standard way to install hardwood in this area is perpendicular to the door.
This size is no longer acceptable when framing a structure.
While personal preference is a factor the direction in which you run hardwood flooring boards is governed by visual and structural guidelines.
The notching and boring rules of thumb for solid lumber are shown in fig.
In buildings with basements the first level of floor joists serves the same purpose.