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In order to cut costs, many people choose to undertake the installation of their flooring themselves. This is usually not a problem, as most homeowners can install flooring with minimal skills. With the exception of ceramic tiles, most flooring options can be installed by amateurs with a large degree of patience and minor skills. Whenever a homeowner choose to install flooring, however, she must make sure that the subfloor onto which she will apply the materials is suitable to the type of flooring that has been chosen. Here is a list of flooring types and the subfloor that they are best suited with.
Wood-strip flooring: There are about five acceptable subfloors that are acceptable underneath wood-strip flooring. ¾ inch CDX plywood is the ideal subfloor, but an existing wood floor or tongue-and-groove solid wood floor are also useable. The minimum for a wood strip floor as far as subflooring is 5/8 inch CDX. Make sure to check the subfloor for moisture before you begin your project, a moisture meter is the best way to go. Excess moisture will cause the floor material to warp or buckle, and the moisture content should be within 4 percentage points of the floorboard moisture. Engineered Wood Floor: There are a few more options with an engineered wood floor, largely because the floor is ready to go and you can also buy a floating design. The floor must be level and flat, and can be composed of OSB, plywood 3/4 inch is ideal), solid wood, or vinyl or ceramic tile. Particle board should not be used, and some types of vinyl and tile are not suitable for glue-down styles of engineered wood floors. Parquet tile: As far as wood floors go, parquet tile offers the widest range of options when it comes to the subfloor. As with the other types of wood flooring, ¾ inch CDX plywood is the ideal material. Slate marble, solid wood floor, OSB, vinyl, cork flooring, particle board, and ceramic floors are all also suitable to this project. Cork Floors: Cork floors are the easiest choice if you want to install flooring, and are actually the most resilient and easy to maintain models of wood flooring. Cork floors can be laid over a few types of subfloor including concrete (any cracks need to be filled first), wood floor (including both plywood and OSB). Choosing to install flooring yourself is a great way to cut down the costs of any project. Before you install flooring, however, make sure that you are aware of the proper preparation that needs to be done as far as subflooring goes. While this article lists the types of subfloor that work best with the different styles of wood flooring, the subfloor itself often requires some sort of treatment before your project can be completed.
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Installation and Care