Flooring Plywood Thickness

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.

Flooring plywood thickness. Plywood is made of layers of thin sheets of veneer in alternating wood grain directions which increases the. This type of plywood won t sag when used on a 12 inches joist structure. A 3 4 sheet is actually 23 32 thick. The thickness of plywood panels in a subfloor is regulated by the.

Plywood is the most common type of subflooring. The recommended thickness of the plywood subfloor is governed by the spacing of the joists. Plywood comes in a variety of thicknesses beginning at 1 8 inch and increasing to 1 inch. What is the actual thickness of a sheet of plywood.

The thickness of your plywood subfloor depends on the joist spans. The minimum thickness allowed for ceramic tile installations is two sheets of 5 8 inch thick plywood. 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. Plywood is often sold in 1 4 1 2 or 3 4 nominal thicknesses but the actual thickness is often 1 32 thinner.

The most common thickness of plywood is 1 2 inch but plywood thickness can range from 1 8. X 96 in plywood is a powerful structural product plywood is a powerful structural product used where strength and stiffness are required for subfloors wall or roof sheathing and do it yourself projects. 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. The recommended shed floor plywood thickness is 3 4 inch pressure treated exterior grade cdx plywood.

The thickness needed for subflooring depends on the type of floor that will go on top and the primary purpose for the subfloor. The finished floor is then installed on top of the subfloor. Because the actual thickness may vary measuring the plywood is the only accurate way to determine its thickness. 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.

When used in flooring plywood functions as the subfloor that supports hardwoods tile and carpet floors. It is rot resistant with knots replaced with football shaped plugs to give it a smooth moisture resistant surface. The subfloor is the decking installed on top of flooring joists.