What is the best plywood to use for subfloor?
What Type of Plywood to Use for a Subfloor?
- CDX. CDX plywood is the most popular type of traditional or "veneer" plywood. ...
- Tongue and Groove. Tongue and groove, often shortened to "T and G" in builder-speak, is a joint used in many types of woodworking.
- Oriented Strand Board (OSB) OSB is an engineered structural panel, and technically, it isn't plywood. ...
- Multilayer Construction and Sizes. ...
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.
What type of subfloor is better for hardwood flooring?
- Best: AdvanTech 1 ⅛" subflooring installed at 90 degrees to joists 16" OC.
- Next: 1" x 6" solid #2 or better Douglas fir or frame grade pine boards installed diagonally across floor joists 16" on center (OC)
- Next: ¾" Sturd-I-Floor plywood subflooring installed at 90 degrees to joists 16" OC.
- Next: ¾" CDX plywood subflooring
Does treated plywood make a good subfloor?
Under the IRC this 19% or less moisture content lumber is called kiln-dried-after-treatment lumber and is perfectly acceptable to be used in structural sheathing, subflooring, or framing. Considering this, can I use pressure treated plywood as subfloor? No. You should not use PT ply.
Is plywood or OSB better for subfloor?
OSB has twice the horizontal shear strength of plywood. It's a better option than plywood for subflooring in attics and sheds.
What is the strongest subfloor?
plywood building materials are the best structural panels for subfloor. Plywood is the most common material and is made from multiple plies of thin sheets of wood oriented in opposite directions for structural integrity. Plywood is recognized because of its strength but costs more than OSB.
What are 3 common subfloor materials?
Common Subfloor Materials. There are four primary materials used as subfloor: plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), concrete, and high-performance panels. There are other subfloors materials out there, but they are used in more niche situations. The construction industry is constantly evolving.
Is OSB better than plywood?
Osb is stronger than plywood in shear. Shear values, through its thickness, are about 2 times greater than plywood. This is one of the reasons osb is used for webs of wooden I-joists. However, nail-holding ability controls performance in shear wall applications.
What type of plywood is best 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 does CDX plywood mean?
CDX is veneer plywood, which is manufactured by gluing and pressing together sheets of wood. The letters C and D represent the grades of either side of the plywood, while X stands for exposure.
What thickness of subfloor should I use?
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.
Can I put new subfloor over old subfloor?
Install a layer of at least ½” or preferably 5/8” ply over the existing planks. This is particularly important if your old sub floor has lumps and bumps in it. If you don't respect this thickness of ply, then you're highly likely to see rises and falls in your new flooring.
How many layers of subfloor do I need?
Most floors in residential homes consist of four layers.
Is CDX or OSB better?
Although some people will ultimately choose CDX, many experts argue that OSB is better overall for roofing. OSB is far less likely to expand and contract when exposed to humidity and moisture, even though it will take longer to dry. With wrapping, though, it can withstand the elements without issue.
What are the disadvantages of OSB?
Prone to swelling edges and telegraphing. “The major disadvantage of OSB is that if it gets exposed to significant amounts of water or moisture, the edges expand by up to 15% ... especially if they are cut edges. This swell will then telegraph onto the shingles or some flooring," according to PATH.
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.
Is AdvanTech better than plywood?
Although both of these materials are very durable, Advantech flooring panels are much stronger and more durable than normal plywood. It can hold more weight, it can absorb more impact, and it resists general damage much better.
Is OSB OK for subfloor?
Around the 1990s, OSB began to make in-roads into the plywood market for subflooring. 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.
What wood should I use for subfloor?
PlywoodPlywood 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 is the best subfloor for a mobile home?
The most recommended subfloor material is 5/8″ plywood. If you can afford water resistant marine plywood for your kitchen, laundry, and bath that would be a good idea.
What is a good subfloor?
Cork flooring is another decent subflooring option with different textures and patterns. Using cork panels and tiles as a subfloor will provide multiple benefits like durability, water or moisture resistance, cushioning, and more.
Why are subfloors used in homes?
Still, they are used in many homes as subfloors because most importantly they are more durable and long-lasting.
How to protect floor from water damage?
So, to protect your floor from the bottom side you need to install a waterproof subfloor material that will protect the surface floor from unseen moisture and water damage.
What is plywood made of?
Plywood is manufactured by fabricated sheets of wood veneer that are more water-resistant than any other subflooring material. To bond them together they have used high-quality adhesives under required heat and pressure.
How to feel comfortable underfoot while walking on the main floor?
To feel comfortable underfoot while walking on the main floor you should install a subfloor or underlayment.
Why does plywood absorb water?
Both plywood and OSB absorb a little amount of water because they’ve made of wood and wood is naturally a good water absorber.
What happens if you select the wrong flooring material?
Selecting the wrong flooring material can lead to structural failures.
Wood Plank Subflooring
Wood planks were the traditional subflooring material used in homes built up to the mid-twentieth century. Since then, planks have been almost entirely replaced by plywood and other sheet subflooring. The planks are typically 1x6 and made of pine, fir, or a similar softwood.
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.
OSB Subflooring
Oriented strand-board, or OSB, subflooring is similar to plywood subflooring and arguably just as common. It is installed the same way as plywood and offers similar performance, often for a slightly lower cost.
Concrete Subflooring
A concrete slab makes for a very hard, solid, durable, and often very smooth subfloor. Tile and stone flooring can be installed directly over concrete, but most other flooring materials require some kind of underlayment and/or a moisture barrier laid over the concrete.
