Installing Sub Floor Smooth Side Up Or Down

Underlayment covers subfloor flaws for the best possible results.

Installing sub floor smooth side up or down.

The proper way to install osb. If you lay the sheet the other way it doesn t provide proper moisture protection and moisture protection is everything when it comes to laminate flooring. The screened surface also provides a little more traction for construction workers during installation. Osb exposed during construction must be allowed to dry especially before installing sensitive finish materials such as hardwood flooring.

The do it yourselfer has more flexibility installing plywood floor cement board the thinner easier to cut 1 4 inch board is appropriate. 7 strategies for smooth underlayment installation by ainsworth engineered osb makes a great subfloor not only because it is the economical choice but also because it is dimensionally stable. The side with the grade stamps is intended to be installed down to allow for the stamps to be visible from an unfinished lower level. An osb sheet has a finely corrugated unfinished side and a smooth side that is often coated with a clear finish.

Edge gold includes patented down pore grooves that help shed standing water and a proprietary edge seal to reduce edge swell. Plywood floor underlayment must be 5 8 inch and 3 4 inch if installing a large modular tile 12 inches or greater. The same goes for wall sheathing and flooring panels. Not letting a subfloor dry.

Oriented strand board or osb is a sheet panel product similar to plywood made from layers of wood strands that are oriented in opposite directions. Always store floor panels under cover. For example if you install resilient tiles or sheet flooring over a subfloor any bumps dips or voids in the subfloor may be evident in the finished flooring. Installing the panels this way allows for material verification and inspection from below when carpet or tile may be covering the top side and ensures that the tongue and groove joints will properly align and avoid causing an uneven lip at the panel edges.

Plywood underlayment is typically needed when a floor material must have a very smooth flat surface.