Bathroom Subfloor Material

The second layer of flooring is the underlayment.

Bathroom subfloor material. Plywood underlayment adds strength to a floor. The floor covering is the visible decorative surface that you walk on the hardwood planks stone or ceramic tiles vinyl tiles or sheets carpeting. 1 4 inch plywood 4x8 plywood subflooring osb panel sheathing subflooring plywood pressure treated plywood 1 x4 8ft mdf 12x8.

Plywood is familiar to most people it is a sheet material made from layers of wood oriented in opposite directions from layer to layer. Cdx plywood in particular is used often because it has a high level of resistance to moisture and humidity. Materials such as vinyl and carpeting are flexible enough to tolerate engineered floor truss systems with larger joist spacings such as 24 inches on center.

Plywood has been a standard subfloor material since the 1950s and remains the preferred subflooring for many builders. Plywood is made by gluing alternating layers of wood veneer. For ceramic tile the tile council recommends using joists that are 16 inches on center a 3 4 inch thick plywood subfloor and a 1 2 inch thick cement backer board or concrete slab.

Standard plywood can be used for subfloors but a better material is 3 4 inch tongue and groove plywood subflooring. Cement fiber panels are impervious to water. Of the two most common subfloor materials builders often debate which is best.

Unlike the subfloor this is not a structural element and it provides no strength to the floor. Older homes may have boards laid diagonally across the floor joists. Tongue and groove plywood is manufactured specifically for subfloors.

Installing cement fiber panels on top of a solid inch plywood subfloor will provide an excellent surface to install your bathroom tile. Most subflooring in wood frame construction today is either oriented strand board osb or plywood. Several materials can be used for the underlayment chosen based on the type of surface flooring being installed.