Osb Board Under Hardwood Flooring
Most brands of hardwood flooring can be installed over concrete when plywood or osb subflooring panels have been installed over the concrete slab but it s wise to consult the manufacturer for any specific installation requirements.
Osb board under hardwood flooring. The warranty may require it. Osb s success today is evident in its recognition and acceptance by many leading. Nailed down strip hardwood flooring is commonly used over osb. Osb subflooring is the norm today but it s usually thicker than 5 8.
The underlayment provides many benefits including moisture protection sound and thermal insulation and a cushion to make the floor more comfortable to walk on. Other osb negatives contractors builders and home remodelers have mixed opinions about the use of osb for flooring mostly tending toward the negative. Nails will not hold onto the osb through the hardwood floor and will come loose in a couple of years causing uneveness which is a very dangerous situation to try to walk. It s a different product than your father s osb.
If you are installing perpendicular to the joists you nail in the joists and you should be fine not ideal but you have what you have. This swelling although undesirable and to be avoided is virtually unnoticeable under a laminate floor unless it is very pronounced. A contractor said do not install hardwood flooring over osb. A typical wood framed residential flooring system is more complicated than you think.
Instead he recommended laminate wood floor over osb. How to install a wooden floor over osb. Installing hardwood flooring over osb. The subfloor consists of sheet materials that are nailed or screwed to the joists to.
Osb subfloor is mostly serving as a base under the finish floor hardwood engineered wood vinyl tile etc and even below the underlayment in some cases. An increasing number of homes and light commercial buildings have oriented strand board osb subfloors. Builders choose osb because it typically costs less than plywood free of knots and voids and can be used interchangeably in typical flooring applications where the panels have the correct span rating. Osb subfloors under hardwood flooringosb subfloors under hardwood flooringoriented strand board osb is an engineered structural wood panel primarily used for floors walls and roofs.
In about 2 or 3 years the hardwood flooring will pull loose. The slab should be flat prior to flooring and subflooring installation usually 1 8 in a 10 foot radius. 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. An osb board absorbs moisture less readily than plywood and the main problem with an osb subfloor getting wet is that the seams of the individual sheets can swell.
An underlayment is a necessity for any wood floor installation even on a plywood subfloor.