Herringbone vs. Chevron Wood Floors in Bellingham (2026)

Herringbone lays square-ended rectangular blocks in a broken zigzag, while chevron miters both ends of each board so the rows meet in a continuous V. In Bellingham, herringbone hardwood typically installs for about $14 to $22 per square foot and chevron for about $18 to $28, against $8.80 to $15.40 for the same wood laid straight on the hardwood installation service. Both patterns need a flatter, drier subfloor than a straight-lay floor, and chevron is the less forgiving of the two. This guide covers how each pattern is cut and laid, what moisture and flatness checks come first, and what a patterned floor costs at published Bellingham Floor Pros rates.

Prices verified October 2026 against the published Bellingham Floor Pros service rates. Installed prices are per square foot, before Washington sales tax. Pattern prices are estimates for a typical room and move with species, subfloor condition and room shape.

Herringbone and chevron compared

The single difference between the patterns is the end cut. Herringbone uses plain rectangles. Chevron uses parallelograms with both ends cut at an angle. That one detail changes the milling, the waste, the layout and the price.

How herringbone is cut and laid

Herringbone uses rectangular blocks whose length is a set multiple of the width, such as 3 by 18 inches or 4 by 24 inches. The end of each block butts against the side of the next at 90 degrees, so the zigzag steps rather than meeting at a point. Because the tongue has to sit on opposite sides in alternating rows, herringbone blocks ship as left-hand and right-hand boards, often labeled A and B. Mixing them up is the most common layout error on a first pattern job.

The square ends make herringbone the easier pattern to correct. A small drift in the first rows can be taken up across the field before it reaches a wall, which is one reason herringbone costs less to install than chevron in the same species.

How chevron is cut and laid

Chevron boards arrive pre-mitered at both ends, typically at 45 degrees and sometimes at 30 or 60, so two rows meet in a clean V. Every joint has to land on the center axis. A starter row that is off by a fraction of an inch carries that error down the full length of the room, and by the far wall the points wander visibly. Pre-cut boards also mean a mis-cut piece cannot be flipped and reused, which is why chevron needs the higher waste allowance.

The look each pattern gives a room

Herringbone reads busy and textured, and it suits older houses with trim and plaster detail, such as the Victorians in Fairhaven and the bungalows in Columbia. Chevron reads cleaner and more directional. Run the points away from the front door and a narrow hallway in the Lettered Streets looks longer. In short winter daylight, a mid-tone oak in either pattern hides dust and grit better than a very dark stain, which shows every crumb under flat light.

Moisture and seasonal movement

Neither pattern is more stable than the other, but both show seasonal movement more than a straight-lay floor, so moisture control matters more. Wood swells as indoor humidity climbs and shrinks once the heat runs. In long parallel boards that movement spreads along the run. A pattern puts short joints in two directions, and the same movement opens small triangular gaps at the points where they catch the eye.

Moisture testing before a pattern goes down

The subfloor and the flooring both get a moisture reading before install, and the readings go on the paperwork. NWFA guidelines call for the wood and a wood subfloor to sit within 4 percentage points of each other for strip flooring under 3 inches wide, and within 2 points for boards 3 inches and wider. Most herringbone blocks are narrow enough for the 4 point rule, while wide chevron planks fall under the 2 point rule. Over concrete, the slab gets a relative humidity probe test under ASTM F2170 or a calcium chloride test under ASTM F1869, and the reading is compared with the adhesive maker's limit. A slab that reads high needs a moisture mitigation system, which runs $880 to $2,750 at published rates, before any glue-down pattern.

Crawlspace and basement conditions

In older Bellingham houses the moisture problem usually sits under the floor. A vented crawlspace with no ground cover lets damp air push into the subfloor all winter, and a pattern installed over that subfloor gaps and cups at the points first. A ground-cover vapor retarder, typically 6 mil polyethylene, runs $1.65 to $3.30 per square foot, and the subfloor and moisture service handles that work before the floor goes in. Basement slabs and rooms over a garage get the slab test above.

Engineered or solid wood for a pattern

Both patterns come in solid wood and in engineered blocks with a hardwood wear layer over a cross-ply core. The cross-ply core moves less with humidity, so engineered blocks hold tighter points over a slab, over radiant heat or in a room with large seasonal swings. Solid blocks can be sanded more times over the life of the floor. A wear layer of 4 millimeters or more on engineered stock allows at least one full sanding later. The engineered versus solid hardwood comparison covers wear layers and refinishing life in more detail.

Installing a patterned floor in the heating season

A pattern installed in November is installed into the conditions it will live in for the next five months, so the heat should run at normal living temperature for several days before the wood arrives and the whole time it acclimates. The boards are ready when their moisture readings settle near the subfloor readings, not after a set number of days on the calendar. Solid wood laid in a damp, unheated house in fall and then dried out by the furnace is the classic source of gaps at herringbone points by February. The guide to when to install hardwood in Bellingham covers the dry-season window, and the acclimation guide covers the readings.

Subfloor flatness for patterned floors

Chevron needs the flattest subfloor of any wood layout, and herringbone needs a flatter base than a straight-lay floor. A high spot that a long plank bridges shows up in a pattern as a lifted point or a lipped joint, because the short blocks follow every hump and dip.

Flatness tolerances

NWFA guidelines for glue-down wood call for a subfloor flat to about 3/16 inch over 10 feet or 1/8 inch over 6 feet. Pattern installers hold the whole room to that figure, not just the main walkways, and chevron installers often check the 6 foot reading along the center axis where the points meet. A floor that looks flat by eye can still fail a straightedge. Grinding high spots and filling low ones with self-leveling compound is common prep, and self-leveler runs $1.65 to $4.95 per square foot at published rates.

Square rooms and layout lines

Patterns show a room that is out of square. The installer snaps a working center line, dry-lays several rows to check it, and floats the pattern off that line rather than off a wall. Border boards along the walls are then scribed to fit, so any taper in the room disappears into the border instead of the field. Expect a pattern crew to spend real time on layout before the first block is fastened. In a Edgemoor living room with a fireplace hearth and a bay window, that layout work can take most of the first day.

Subfloor repair before a pattern

Soft spots, delaminated plywood and old adhesive ridges get fixed before any pattern starts. Sheathing replacement runs $5.50 to $13.20 per square foot with a $330 minimum, and sistering a weak joist runs $220 to $440 per joist. The walkthrough on leveling an uneven subfloor before new flooring covers how that work gets scoped and priced.

Herringbone and chevron floor cost in Bellingham

Herringbone hardwood runs about $14 to $22 per square foot installed and chevron about $18 to $28, compared with $8.80 to $15.40 for the same wood laid straight. The premium comes from three places: more waste, slower layout and cutting, and the extra flatness work a pattern needs. The installed hardwood band is the published service rate, and the pattern figures are estimates for a typical room.

Herringbone hardwood floor installation cost per square foot

For herringbone in a mid-grade white or red oak, budget about $14 to $22 per square foot installed. A 200 square foot dining room lands near $2,800 to $4,400 for the floor before any subfloor work. The low end assumes a square room, engineered prefinished blocks and a flat subfloor. The high end assumes solid wood, a site-applied finish and a room with angles or a hearth to cut around. Removal of the old floor is quoted on its own line; carpet pull and haul runs about $0.50 per square foot.

Chevron installed cost

Chevron usually costs 15 to 40 percent more than herringbone in the same species, because every board is mitered, the waste allowance is higher and every joint has to land on center. Budget about $18 to $28 per square foot installed. The same 200 square foot dining room runs about $3,600 to $5,600 in chevron before subfloor work.

Five patterned-floor jobs, priced

What drives the final price

Species is the largest material lever. Red oak, with a Janka hardness around 1,290, costs less than white oak, hickory or walnut, and the hardwood species guide compares them. Block size matters too: smaller blocks mean more pieces per square foot and more labor. A site-applied finish lets the crew sand the whole pattern flush, while prefinished blocks install faster and keep a small bevel at every joint; the prefinished versus site-finished comparison covers that trade. A border or a feature strip around the field adds cutting time and gets priced as its own line.

Quote line items for a pattern job

A pattern quote should list the field price per square foot, the waste percentage, the border, removal of the old floor, subfloor prep and the finish as separate lines. A single blended rate hides where the premium went and makes two bids hard to compare. The flooring quantity calculator applies a pattern waste factor to your room size, and the guide to reading a flooring estimate walks through each line.

Herringbone floor installation in Bellingham

Herringbone is the more common of the two patterns, and it comes in hardwood, engineered wood, LVP, laminate and tile. The material decides the price band and the room it suits. The pattern decides how much layout labor goes on top.

Herringbone in LVP, laminate and tile

Rigid-core LVP and laminate both come in herringbone formats with left and right boards that click together. They suit kitchens and entries where wood would see water. LVP installs at $4.40 to $11 per square foot and laminate at $3.85 to $7.15 at published rates, and a herringbone layout prices toward the top of each band because of the cutting and the 10 to 15 percent waste. Herringbone tile prices near the top of the $11 to $27.50 per square foot tile band for the same reasons, plus the extra flatness work large or long tiles need. The LVP and laminate service and the tile flooring service cover those installs.

Refinishing an existing herringbone or parquet floor

Older houses around South Hill sometimes have oak parquet or herringbone under carpet. A solid pattern floor with enough wood above the tongue can usually be sanded and refinished at $3.85 to $6.60 per square foot, the same band as a straight-lay floor. The sanding is slower, because the grain runs in two directions and the crew sands at an angle to the blocks before a final pass with a multi-disc or orbital sander to remove cross-grain scratches. Loose blocks get reglued before sanding. The hardwood refinishing service covers that work, and if the finish is only worn, the screen and recoat guide covers the cheaper option.

Hiring a crew that lays patterns

Pattern work is a separate skill from a straight-lay install. Ask each bidder how many herringbone or chevron floors the crew laid in the past year, whether they dry-lay and snap a center line before fastening, and how they record subfloor and wood moisture readings. Ask whether the installer has completed NWFA training for pattern work. Check the contractor's Washington registration, bond and insurance before signing; the contractor verification guide walks through the state lookup.

Herringbone and chevron FAQ

Summary

Herringbone and chevron differ in one cut, and that cut decides the price: about $14 to $22 per square foot installed for herringbone hardwood and about $18 to $28 for chevron, against $8.80 to $15.40 laid straight. Both need moisture readings on paper, a subfloor flat to NWFA tolerance across the whole room and wood acclimated to the conditions it will live in. According to the National Wood Flooring Association, wood flooring gains and loses moisture with the surrounding air, which is why those checks come before the first block goes down. For a measured quote on a patterned floor, request a free flooring estimate.