For hardwood finish flooring, which average about 3/8-inch to 3/4-inch in thickness, 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch-thick plywood is the preferred subfloor, though there are a variety of grades designed for specific applications. Using tongue-and-groove plywood can reduce squeaks, as the sheets will seat together better..
Likewise, what kind of subfloor should I use for hardwood floors?
A wood subfloor should be OSB or plywood of 3/4″ or thicker for a hardwood floor installation. Particle board and chipboard are unacceptable for solid hardwood installations, but may be used in an engineered flooring install.
Also Know, how thick should a plywood floor be? The National Wood Flooring Association recommends a minimum plywood panel thickness of 7/8-inch for joist spans of 19.2 to 24 inches, and a minimum plywood panel thickness of 5/8-inch for joist spans of 16 inches or less.
Beside this, how thick should my subfloor be?
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.
Do you need underlay for solid wood flooring?
You can also install a solid wood floor over a concrete subfloor by floating it on an adhesive backed underlay such as Fast Fit Peel & Stick Underlay. Solid wood floors can be nailed into existing wooden subfloors such as floorboards or plywood, but not into chipboard as this is not strong enough to hold the nails.
Related Question Answers
What goes underneath hardwood floors?
Padding and Layers Under Solid Wood Flooring Paper or felt are two materials that are traditionally installed between hardwood flooring and subfloor. These materials help minimize squeaking that may occur between the bottom of the floorboards and the top of the subfloor.What is the recommended underlayment for hardwood flooring?
Floating engineered wood floors or solid-hybrid floors will use a padded underlayment such as Floor Muffler, while nail-down hardwood use paper underlayment such as Aquabar-B or Silicone Vapor Sheild.Can I put new subfloor 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.What do you use 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.What is a good subfloor material?
Plywood Subflooring Plywood has been a standard subfloor material since the 1950s and remains the preferred subflooring for many builders. Standard plywood can be used for subfloors, but a better material is 3/4-inch tongue-and-groove plywood subflooring.How do you raise a wooden floor?
How to Build a Raised Wood Floor - Go around the room with your stud finder and your roll of masking tape.
- Starting at the inside corner of the room, lay your first piece of 2 x 8 next to the wall, lying on its face.
- Continue around the room, putting 2 x 8s all along the perimeter.
How thick should a bathroom subfloor be?
Make Sure Your Subfloor is Structurally Stable The installation guide for 1/4 inch HardieBacker recommends having wood subfloors made of 5/8 inch exterior grade plywood or OSB (oriented strand board) that is 23/32 inches thick.Do I need to glue plywood to subfloor?
On the 3/4" subfloor, you have the right idea. Use subfloor adhesive, and screw 8" at edges, 12" in field. For the 1/2" underlayment, ideally, you want to screw every 6" all across the panel. Adhesive will help you here, as the subfloor plywood will have voids in spots that will not hold a fastener.Does subfloor need to be tongue and groove?
For subflooring, you use tongue and groove plywood. The tongue and groove are only along the 8 foot edges. On the four foot edges, your seams will fall on joist tops, so no need for tongue and groove. But to start off, we will need to remove the tongue so the plywood is tight with the exterior ICF walls.What screws to use for subfloor?
Steel Screws The proper steel screw sizes for securing 3/4-inch plywood to the floor joists are #8, #10 and #12 screws. The number refers to the thickness of the screw. Each is available in lengths from 1 1/4 to 3 inches. Typically, the 3-inch variety is used to secure plywood subfloors.What is better for subfloor OSB or plywood?
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 do you use for underlayment?
Plywood, hardboard, and cement board are common choices, but sometimes the underlayment is simply a thin foam padding. Subfloor: This layer of OSB or plywood is part of the home's construction and will already be in place when the underlayment and floor covering is installed.What kind of plywood do you use for subfloor?
While OSB is the most popular structural panel, CDX plywood is the most popular type of traditional or "veneer" plywood. CDX plywood is like other laminate plywoods, but the outer layers of laminate are grades "C" and "D," which means they are cosmetically rough and contain many imperfections, thus lowering their cost.How much does it cost to install subfloor?
Cost to Replace, Repair or Install Subfloor The average cost to replace or repair a plywood subfloor in a 306-square-foot room costs $555, or between $490 and $600. The average cost to install a new plywood subfloor is $620, or between $572 and $720.Do plywood floors hold up?
Durable for Any Environment Because it is engineered with many layers, plywood flooring is strong, stable and durable.How thick should Plywood be to walk on?
Plywood Thicknesses Plywood comes in 4-by-8-foot sheets with thicknesses ranging from 1/4 to 1 1/4 inches. The thickness that builders use most often for subfloors is 3/4 inch, and when they need extra reinforcement, they use 1-inch material.Can floor joists be 24 inches on center?
Proper Spacing. As with the joist size, the building code for your structure will stipulate the proper spacing between floor joists. Given that 2x8s are actually 1-¾ inches wide, it works out to be 14-¼ inches between each joist. With some structures, floor joists are required to be 12 or 24 inches apart on center.How much weight can plywood hold?
A 12-by-36-inch piece of 3/4-inch fir plywood can support up to 50 lbs. without problems. Plywood strength drops when thickness diminishes. For example; a 12-by-36-inch piece of 1/4-inch plywood will only support about 5 lbs.How do you install plywood over a plank subfloor?
Things to take into account when laying ply over plank subfloors: Take time to make sure your existing planks are well secured in place. Repair any broken planks. Install a layer of at least ½” or preferably 5/8” ply over the existing planks. 
