Constructing Second Floor Plywood Floors

Once reserved for subfloors and sheathing construction grade plywood is now making a splash as affordable residential finish flooring.

Constructing second floor plywood floors.

Plytanium 23 32 cat ps1 09 tongue and groove pine subfloor application as 4 x 8. The building code requires 5 8 inch plywood or osb. 35 products in floors plywood. The dead load on a floor is determined by the materials used in the floor s construction.

Osb floor sheeting is typically 3 4 thick and comes with a tounge and goove to give the spans between the floor joists strength. Visual filter title loading. In addition to the visible surface flooring material the carpet tile or hardwood there is usually an underlayment and beneath that is a subfloor that serves as the foundation and structural reinforcement for the floor. What size plywood do i use for a subfloor.

A second story house offers additional living space without the need for a larger foundation leaving you with more room for recreation or gardening in your yard. A typical wood frame floor covered with carpet or vinyl flooring has a dead load of about 8 pounds per square foot. A floor s framework is made up mostly of wooden joists that run parallel to one another at regular intervals. A typical wood framed residential flooring system is more complicated than you think.

When nwfa guidelines minimums are not met the recommendations are to overlay the existing subfloor material with a 1 2 inch panel product or add structural support from below. Whether you re installing a hardwood floor on the first or second floor of a building you need a solid subfloor that won t sag and that will hold nails. The finished floor is then installed on top of the subfloor. The subfloor is the decking installed on top of flooring joists.

Proper subflooring for wood on second floor. For joist spans 16 inches or less nwfa recommends minimum panel thickness of 5 8 inch plywood or 23 32 inch osb. For pricing and availability. The subfloor consists of sheet materials that are nailed or screwed to the joists to.

There are two basic ways to go. Framers construct the second story floor system to match the layout of the main floor system. Building supplies lumber composites plywood sheathing plywood. The osb or plywood must be staggered like stacking bricks to give it strength.

If there s wall board covered ceiling suspended from the underside of that floor the dead load increases to about 10 pounds per square foot. The thickness of plywood. Remove the existing flooring. Floor joists are typically 2 by 8s 2 by 10s or 2 by 12s.