What To Use For Subfloor Under Hardwood

Builders dealers framers when it comes to hardwood flooring the quality of the installation will be determined by the quality of many things including the choice of subflooring and the condition its in.

What to use for subfloor under hardwood. Before you install your plywood subfloor first calculate the room s square footage to find out how much flooring you ll need to buy. Do this by multiplying the room s length by its width. The key to a beautiful long lasting hardwood or laminate floor is a well prepared subfloor. Osb s success today is evident in its recognition and acceptance by many leading.

Floating sub floors for solid hardwood installations generally consist of two layers of plywood or allowing enough wood for a 1 inch flooring cleat to hold effectively. Osb subfloors under hardwood flooringosb subfloors under hardwood flooringoriented strand board osb is an engineered structural wood panel primarily used for floors walls and roofs. One important reason for using underlayment under a wood floor is to even out imperfections in the subfloor but that isn t the only reason. Underlayments for hardwood floors provide multiple benefits depending on the material that you choose.

David sacks digital vision getty images most homes either have cement tile or wood subflooring. Plastic foam felt cork and rubber are common choices. Only now is the subfloor ready for cement board underlayment. This is the finished visible flooring surface such as hardwood planks carpeting ceramic tile or vinyl.

Just under the visible floor covering is a layer of some kind of material usually only about 1 4 or 1 2 inch thick. Perhaps the most important reason for using it is that underlayment provides a moisture barrier and prevents the flooring from warping. Types of subfloors tile floor. Your first task is preparing the surface that the hardwood will lie on which means deciding whether you need to use felt paper under the hardwood.

Sub floor construction should have expansion areas of their own in the area of 1 8 1 4 between boards or sheets of ply. As with hardwood laminate flooring is best installed on a 3 4 inch thick plywood subfloor. Apply a layer of plastic film or sheeting over cement. Its purpose is to provide a smooth flat surface for the floor covering.

Usually manufactured in 4 by 8 foot sheets plywood panels and osb are acceptable subfloors for hardwood flooring as long as they are the proper thickness. They offer soundproofing insulation a moisture barrier and added comfort while also helping to level out the subfloor. As a subfloor under solid hardwood engineered hardwood and laminated flooring osb provides an enduring rigid platform. Keep in mind that for mechanically fastened floors osb doesn t hold fasteners as well as plywood so you need to use a thicker material to get the same holding power.