Menu Close

What thickness plywood should I use for flooring?

Jim Brown

What thickness plywood should I use for flooring?

The minimum thickness of plywood for subflooring is about 5/8 inch. Since it does not hold fasteners as well as plywood, OSB must be a little thicker, or at least 23/32 inch. There are several factors that determine what subfloor thickness is optimal for added benefits like insulation.

Is plywood or OSB better for a subfloor?

The National Tile Contractors Association and the Resilient Floor Covering Institute both recommend plywood for subflooring and underlayment, because it doesn’t have the risk of swollen edges that OSB does. Plywood also has a slight advantage in stiffness, which means that subflooring panels need not be quite as thick.

Is plywood good for flooring?

Interior plywood is ideal for rooms not exposed to moisture, such as bedrooms, and makes a good subfloor for carpeting, tiles, vinyl, engineered wood laminate flooring and hardwood flooring. Marine plywood is the strongest and most water-resistant type of plywood, making it a good choice for bathrooms and basements.

What is the best subfloor?

Plywood is considered the most popular material used for subflooring, it has been used since the 1950s and remains one of the top choices for contractors. Standard plywood works perfectly fine as a subflooring material, but the best option is ¾” tongue-and-groove plywood subflooring.

What thickness plywood should I use for bathroom flooring?

If you’re laying a new floor, straight onto the joists, 18mm is normal. If you’re putting a ply sheet onto an existing boarded floor, to level it and give you a nice surface, 12mm is plenty.

Is it OK to use OSB for subfloor?

Most local codes allow OSB to be used for subflooring. It’s always best to check with your local permitting office before using OSB for your subfloor. One advantage that OSB has over plywood is its larger formatting. For plywood, 8-foot and 10-foot long sheets of plywood are standard.

What’s wrong with plywood?

Companies primarily use the compound to make pressed timber products such as plywood, MDF, and particle boards. However, multiple scientific studies have shown a potential link between formaldehyde use and certain cancers. This lead the World Health Organisation to reclassify the compound as a carcinogen.

What kind of flooring can you use under plywood?

Interior plywood is designed for rooms that aren’t exposed to much moisture. They make a good subfloor for carpeting, tiles, vinyl, engineered wood laminate flooring and hardwood flooring. Almost every room of the house uses interior grade plywood including kitchens and baths.

Which is the best plywood on the market?

Marine Grade Plywood is arguably the strongest plywood on the market, and its eye-watering price reflects that. A 4×8 foot sheet of exterior graded plywood can cost around $10 a sheet. Marine Grade Plywood, on the other hand, costs roughly $100 per 4×8 sheet.

What kind of plywood is exterior grade?

Exterior Grade Plywood, (also known as construction-grade plywood), is made from regular grade plywood sheets. Yet, these sheets have been fastened together using water-resistant ‘Exterior Glue’. Exterior grading is usually indicated by adding an ‘X’ letter to the standard grade of a sheet of plywood.

Which is the weakest point of plywood flooring?

You might also know that knots are the weakest point of wood; sometimes, depending on the wood, if you cut through a knot, the remainder of the knot just falls out. In the case of plywood, any knots in the surface are less stable than the surrounding wood.

What thickness plywood should I use for flooring?

Jim Brown

What thickness plywood should I use for flooring?

The recommended thickness of the plywood subfloor is governed by the spacing of the joists. Some experts suggest that 15/32-inch plywood should be standard if the underlying floor joists are spaced 16 inches apart or less, but slightly thicker 3/4-inch plywood should be used for joists spaced further apart.

What kind of plywood do you use for subfloor?

Standard plywood can be used for subfloors, but a better material is 3/4-inch tongue-and-groove plywood subflooring. The tongue-and-groove edges interlock to resist movement along the panel edges and create an overall stiffer floor.

What is the minimum thickness of subfloor?

the subfloors need to be thicker. For joist spacing of more than 16 inches up to 19.2 inches on center, the minimum thickness for both plywood and OSB is 3/4 inch. For joists spaced more than 19.2 inches on center, the minimum thickness for plywood is 7/8 inch and for OSB, 1 inch.

Can 7/16 OSB be used for flooring?

Firstly 7/16 is a roof or wall sheathing and is not for flooring. Secondly you have installed the panels with the strength axis parallel to your joist/ceiling joists. OSB stands for Oriented Strand Board and that means the wood strands are laid up so one direction is stronger than the other; the same way plywood is.

Is it better to use OSB or plywood for subfloor?

The National Tile Contractors Association and the Resilient Floor Covering Institute both recommend plywood for subflooring and underlayment, because it doesn’t have the risk of swollen edges that OSB does. Plywood also has a slight advantage in stiffness, which means that subflooring panels need not be quite as thick.

Which is better for flooring OSB or plywood?

Why is 7/16 OSB so expensive?

Building material suppliers have to have 7/16 OSB to sell to customers, so many of them contract the product from mills. That means they are obligated to buy it regardless of current pricing. As they bought product at the higher prices, they were forced to raise their retail price to keep from losing money.

What’s the minimum thickness for a subfloor under wood floor?

However, as joist spacing increases, the subfloors need to be thicker. For joist spacing of more than 16 inches up to 19.2 inches on center, the minimum thickness for both plywood and OSB is 3/4 inch. For joists spaced more than 19.2 inches on center, the minimum thickness for plywood is 7/8 inch and for OSB, 1 inch.

What kind of plywood should I use for a subfloor?

Oriented Strand Board. It is made from shredded strands of wood pressed together with wax and a special adhesive, then hot pressed into a panel with up to 50 layers of strands. OSB can be used for subfloors, although it is not as common as CDX. For 19/32-inch-thick panels, the joists should be 20 inches on center.

What’s the minimum thickness of plywood for ceramic tile flooring?

You can double up if you want extra support, but the minimum allowance is for 3/4-inch plywood installed on top of joists that are no farther apart than 16 inches on center. The minimum thickness allowed for ceramic tile installations is two sheets of 5/8-inch thick plywood.

What’s the minimum thickness of plywood to lay over joists?

I’m trying to find out what the minimum sensible thickness of plywood i can use to lay over our joists. Its an old house and the joists centres vary from 380 – 400 (most less than 400). The joists are 45mm x 160mm, and there are noggins dotted around the place. Most joists are pretty stable, but there is the odd one that flexes a bit.

What thickness plywood should I use for flooring?

Jim Brown

What thickness plywood should I use for flooring?

The minimum thickness of plywood for subflooring is about 5/8 inch. Since it does not hold fasteners as well as plywood, OSB must be a little thicker, or at least 23/32 inch. There are several factors that determine what subfloor thickness is optimal for added benefits like insulation.

What is best material for subfloor?

Plywood
Plywood is considered the most popular material used for subflooring, it has been used since the 1950s and remains one of the top choices for contractors. Standard plywood works perfectly fine as a subflooring material, but the best option is ¾” tongue-and-groove plywood subflooring.

Do you need plywood on top of subfloor?

Plywood underlayment is typically needed when a floor material must have a very smooth, flat surface. For example, if you install resilient tiles or sheet flooring over a subfloor, any bumps, dips, or voids in the subfloor may be evident in the finished flooring.

Is it better to use OSB or plywood for subfloor?

The National Tile Contractors Association and the Resilient Floor Covering Institute both recommend plywood for subflooring and underlayment, because it doesn’t have the risk of swollen edges that OSB does. Plywood also has a slight advantage in stiffness, which means that subflooring panels need not be quite as thick.

What thickness plywood should I use for bathroom flooring?

If you’re laying a new floor, straight onto the joists, 18mm is normal. If you’re putting a ply sheet onto an existing boarded floor, to level it and give you a nice surface, 12mm is plenty.

What type of plywood is used for bathroom subfloor?

Plywood as a Subfloor Material Traditionally, exterior grade plywood has been the subfloor material of choice for many bathroom flooring projects. Plywood is made by gluing alternating layers of wood veneer. CDX plywood (¾”) in particular is used often because it has a high level of resistance to moisture and humidity.

Can you put new plywood over old subfloor?

One of the benefits of removing the old flooring is it allows you the chance to fix any loose subflooring or squeaks by re-securing the main subfloor to the floor joists prior to installing the new flooring. With all that being said though the answer is YES you can install New Wood Flooring over the old.

Do you nail or screw subfloor?

Using code-approved screws rather than nails is the best option for avoiding movement. If using nails for subfloor installation, stick with ring-shank nails; smooth nails may withdraw easier, leading to squeaks.

Which is the best subfloor material to use?

Plywood is the most common subfloor material used today. It comes in a variety of wood types, sizes, and thicknesses. Using the right type and size plywood is very important. It takes more than what you see on the surface to build a beautiful home. In fact, its the parts you don’t see, like the plywood subfloor, that are actually most important.

What kind of flooring can you use under plywood?

Interior plywood is designed for rooms that aren’t exposed to much moisture. They make a good subfloor for carpeting, tiles, vinyl, engineered wood laminate flooring and hardwood flooring. Almost every room of the house uses interior grade plywood including kitchens and baths.

Which is better plywood or OSB subfloor sheets?

OSB costs significantly less than plywood subfloor sheets. Plywood subfloors should last as long as the house itself. Like plywood, OSB subfloors should last as long as the house itself. Both OSB and plywood subfloors can be expected to last for the life of the house, if they are properly installed and kept dry.

Why is plywood used as a subfloor?

Plywood is an extremely versatile building material. It’s very stiff, has a high strength to weight ratio and can absorb impacts. This is why it’s used not only as a subfloor but also a sheathing material. A plywood subfloor is installed right on top of the floor joists.