Hardwood Floor Subfloor

Floating engineered wood floors can simply be installed directly on osb subfloor the hardwood flooring must be installed crossing the floor joists at a 90 degree angle.

Hardwood floor subfloor.

It is the responsibility of the flooring installer to assess and address substrate flatness before installation. If not your floor covering which is the solid hardwood laminate tile or other exposed flooring that goes on top of the subfloor will never be flat and level this problem can be fixed but it all depends on exactly what kind of uneven subfloor you have. Do this by multiplying the room s length by its width. This will expose the subfloor underneath which is where most leveling problems lie.

If there is any deflection in the subfloor when walked on it would be advisable to add an additional layer of 3 8 or 1 2 thick plywood underlayment glued and screwed down. The key to a beautiful long lasting hardwood or laminate floor is a well prepared subfloor. Hardwood flooring may be installed straight onto the subfloor with only a sheet of red rosin paper intervening. Before you install your plywood subfloor first calculate the room s square footage to find out how much flooring you ll need to buy.

When nailing down a wood floor the subfloor should be flat to within 1 4 in 10 or 3 16 in 6. Old homes that have been extensively remodeled. Sub floor construction should have expansion areas of their own in the area of 1 8 1 4 between boards or sheets of ply. On the other hand the floors sometimes have more than three layers.

1 suitable wood flooring. Hardwood floors do need a flat subfloor surface in order to prevent them from buckling after installation. Creating a flat subfloor involves lowering the high spots and raising the low ones. Installation of a wood floor over the subfloor insinuates acceptance by the flooring installer.

Even the slightest imperfections in your subfloor can telegraph into the flooring and result in squeaking buckling and uneven floors. A subfloor is meant to be flat and level. Use a pry bar to pull up hardwood floors one section at a time or unfasten carpet or laminate and roll it up from one end. You can leave linoleum or sheet vinyl in place if it s difficult to remove or if removal would damage the sub floor.

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.