Osb Vs Plywood Subfloor Hardwood

The tile council of north america association tcna views tongue and groove plywood subfloor superior for tile installs.

Osb vs plywood subfloor hardwood. Other osb negatives contractors builders and home remodelers have mixed opinions about the use of osb for flooring mostly tending toward the negative. A plywood subfloor generally uses 1 2 inch to 3 4 inch thick sheets of plywood that have one rough side which faces down and one smooth side which faces up. Well each has their own strengths and weaknesses when used as exposed decking or subflooring. When i started out in construction i was working for a production builder.

It may be given a veneer 2 top of hardwood while the inner layers are typically made of softwood. Plywood is made of many layers of very thin wood called plys pressed together with glue. However plywood subfloors are stiffer than osb by about 10. The sheets are installed over the joists with construction adhesive and screws or nails.

When hardwood flooring is the choice some of the previously discussed moisture issues can come into play with osb. Osb is cheaper than plywood by about 3 to 5 per panel. Which is the better option plywood vs. Osb is considered more structurally.

Plywood and osb come in 4 x 8 foot sheets that are typically 3 4 inch thick. For many years like most builders of that era we used osb oriented strand board subfloor typically a 3 4 inch tongue and groove panel. Plywood 5 min read. That however is where the similarities end.

There was no real choice in osb then. When tile or hardwood flooring is to be installed over the subfloor plywood may be a better choice. Osb oriented strand board. Plywood or osb subflooring is installed over joists the horizontal wood members that make up the skeleton of a wood floor frame.

Although oriented strand board osb has a commanding 75 market share in sheathing for new home construction compared to plywood s 25 it s a much more competitive race in subflooring. Osb and plywood are formed from smaller pieces of wood and come in large sheets or panels.