Subfloor Required For Oak Flooring

Engineered or solid strip flooring less than 1 2 inch thick and parquet flooring may need an additional 3 8 inch layer of plywood installed over these types of subfloors.

Subfloor required for oak flooring.

It supports your decorative floor finish whether it s carpet hardwood vinyl laminate or tile. Use a solvent based glue that meets astm d3498 performance standards. A glue nailed construction technique is optimal for ensuring a flat stable floor. Stapling or nailing your flooring to the subfloor is the most common way to install solid 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. The key to a beautiful long lasting hardwood or laminate floor is a well prepared subfloor. These sheets install directly over floor joists which cross the floor every 12 to 16 inches to provide the support necessary for the flooring surface. No matter the flooring concrete subfloors should always be cured for at least 60 days before a flooring installation.

The subfloor is the decking installed on top of flooring joists. Subfloors such as vinyl carpet concrete or ceramics cannot support a solid hardwood installation and should be removed before you install. To test your subfloor for moisture you should always take a moisture reading. Do this by multiplying the room s length by its width.

For more information download our pdf about types of subfloors. Always check with the flooring manufacturer when in doubt. The thickness of plywood panels in a subfloor is regulated by the. With much of today s wood flooring being thinner wider plank installed on the minimum building code panel thicknesses we are seeing more creaks pops and squeaks.

Three fourth inch sheets are the standard in plywood subfloors. 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. The building code for the subfloor is to ensure structural loads are adequate from a safety perspective not necessarily from a wood flooring performance perspective. With engineered floors you can also opt for glue down or floating installations.

A concrete slab makes for a very hard solid durable and often very smooth subfloor. Preparation for installing floor tile depends on the type of subfloor in the room you are tiling. Some wood flooring may not hold sufficiently if installed directly over solid wood subfloors. To comply with the warranties each manufacturer has a different set of specifications.

In cases where latex subfloor glue is required careful selection is necessary due to the wide range of performance between brands.