Flooring Plywood Thickness

Plywood comes in a variety of thicknesses beginning at 1 8 inch and increasing to 1 inch.

Flooring plywood thickness.

When used in flooring plywood functions as the subfloor that supports hardwoods tile and carpet floors. The thickness of your plywood subfloor depends on the joist spans. The most common thickness of plywood is 1 2 inch but plywood thickness can range from 1 8. A 3 4 sheet is actually 23 32 thick.

Fir sheathing plywood actual. The finished floor is then installed on top of the subfloor. The recommended thickness of the plywood subfloor is governed by the spacing of the joists. Because the actual thickness may vary measuring the plywood is the only accurate way to determine its thickness.

Plywood makes up most of the walls and floors in attics and are sometimes found in laundry rooms closets and other unfinished areas in the home. This type of plywood won t sag when used on a 12 inches joist structure. The plywood must be exterior grade for all wet areas and it has to be installed in such a way that the joints between each layer do not line up using what is known as a stagger pattern to keep the pieces from ever lining up. Some experts suggest that 15 32 inch plywood should be standard if the underlying floor joists are spaced 16 inches apart or less but slightly thicker 3 4 inch plywood should be used for joists spaced further apart.

What is the actual thickness of a sheet of plywood. It is rot resistant with knots replaced with football shaped plugs to give it a smooth moisture resistant surface. 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. The subfloor is the decking installed on top of flooring joists.

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. The minimum thickness allowed for ceramic tile installations is two sheets of 5 8 inch thick plywood. 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. The thickness of plywood panels in a subfloor is regulated by the.

Plywood is made of layers of thin sheets of veneer in alternating wood grain directions which increases the. Plywood is the most common type of subflooring. The thickness needed for subflooring depends on the type of floor that will go on top and the primary purpose for the subfloor.