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.
One question we ran across in our research was “How thick should OSB subfloor be?”.
Our answer was 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 size plywood do I use for a subfloor?
The thickness of your plywood subfloor depends on the joist spans. 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.
What type of plywood to use for a 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. Like Sturd-I-Floor, Rated Sheathing may be plywood or OSB.
How to install plywood on top of your subfloor?
Sweep away all debris on your subfloor, then use a vacuum cleaner to remove as much dirt as possible. Take a sheet of plywood and lay it on the subfloor, starting from one corner of your work area. Leave a gap of at least 1/8 of an inch between the plywood sheets and the walls to allow for natural expansion and.
How thick should plywood underlayment be?
Most plywood underlayment is about 1/4 inch thick and has square edges and a smooth, knot-free top face. It typically comes in 4 x 8-foot sheets.
Often, the terms “subfloor” and “underlayment” are used interchangeably. It’s easy to find conflicting advice about underlayment, especially plywood underlayment. Some more things to examine are installing plywood underlayment, or types of plywood underlayment.
Top brands: Sound Terminator, RB Silent Tread, Absorba Sound, Rubber Flooring. Rubber underlayment price: $1.15 to $1.50 per square foot. Rubber underlayment installation: This material is produced in rolls and is easily cut to size and trimmed for fit. No gluing is required. Seams should be butted rather than overlapped.