Plywood Subfloor Thickness

What is the actual thickness of a sheet of plywood.

Plywood subfloor thickness. The minimum thickness allowed for ceramic tile installations is two sheets of 5 8 inch thick plywood. Because the actual thickness may vary measuring the plywood is the only accurate way to determine its thickness. The thickness needed for subflooring depends on the type of floor that will go on top and the primary purpose for the subfloor. 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.

Different plywoods use various materials and methods of manufacture depending on the application for which they re intended. Plywood is usually used as subfloor today. Since plywood is a stiffer longer lasting subfloor option. A subfloor is a wooden structural substrate to which durable finished flooring is attached.

Here are nine common subfloor installation mistakes and how to prevent them. The building code requires 5 8 inch plywood or osb. A 3 4 sheet is actually 23 32 thick. Plywood is often sold in 1 4 1 2 or 3 4 nominal thicknesses but the actual thickness is often 1 32 thinner.

Plywood comes in a variety of thicknesses beginning at 1 8 inch and increasing to 1 inch. There are many types sizes and configurations of plywood. 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. Meanwhile osb compacts as many as 50 layers of strands into a single sheet the same thickness as that plywood.

For joist spans 16 inches or less nwfa recommends minimum panel thickness of 5 8 inch plywood or 23 32 inch osb. This number is known as a span rating. When installing a plywood subfloor on top of the slab at grade. Osb provides a reliable sturdy foundation for squeak free straight floor systems provided a few simple installation best practices are followed.

Plywood is the most common type of subflooring. A beautiful floor starts with a stable subfloor.