Should I Cover Attic Floor With Plywood

Start with the attic floor.

Should i cover attic floor with plywood.

Plywood comes in 4 by 8 foot sheets with thicknesses ranging from 1 4 to 1 1 4 inches. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new. Some experts suggest that 15 32 inch plywood should be standard if the underlying floor joists are spaced 16 inches apart or less but slightly thicker 3 4 inch plywood should be used for joists spaced further apart. The thickness that builders use most often for subfloors is 3 4 inch and when they need extra reinforcement.

To make the job easier use a circular saw to cut the plywood sheet first into 2 2 8 strips which will be much easier to handle. Plywood flooring thickness is important for proper weight distribution. If your attic joists won t bear the weight necessary to finish out a living space but the engineer cleared them to support floor decking for light storage you can install inch plywood or. Purchase half inch 1 27 cm thick plywood to act as your flooring.

The national wood flooring association recommends a minimum plywood panel thickness of 7 8 inch for joist spans of 19 2 to 24 inches and a minimum plywood panel thickness of 5 8 inch for joist spans of 16 inches or less. 1 x 6 3 spruce is a step up from pallet quality wood but makes a fine usable floor in an unfinished attic space. Measure the plywood and attic door. Attic storage might be a good idea but other issues such as insulation joist spacing and intended usage should be taken into consideration.

But if the floor is covered in plywood you can t stuff enough insulation beneath it to do the job sufficiently not even in warm climates. Hiring a contractor to do the job will roughly triple the cost as you have to pay for their time and labor. Stop using your attic for storage. The recommended thickness of the plywood subfloor is governed by the spacing of the joists.

Another option is to skip the plywood flooring altogether and use dimensional lumber. Adding flooring to your attic is a relatively low cost project running about 5 12 per square foot about 190 for a 10 x 10 area if you do it yourself. Cut the plywood to fit so that each end of the plywood boards lands at the exact center of a floor joist. Take the measurements for your subfloor and measure enough plywood so that you can cover the entire frame.

7 attach the plywood to the joists with 2 inch wood screws spaced every 12 inches. Extreme care should be used when working in an unfloored attic.