From hardwood to luxury vinyl to laminate, there are so many different types of flooring that you can have installed in your home today. But before you put down any of them, you’ll need to have a subfloor installed.
A subfloor will provide the flooring that rests on top of it with the support it needs. It’ll give the flooring the strength it needs to withstand the weight of everything that you’ll place on it.
There are a few different subfloor options that you’ll be able to choose from. You should learn about the different types of subfloor and select the one that will work best in your specific home.
Here are a few of the most popular subflooring options.
Plywood
More often than not, the subfloor found in homes today will be made out of plywood. Subfloor plywood is very cost-effective, easy to install, and able to be every bit as supportive as you need it to be.
If you’re going to be installing new subflooring soon, there is a good chance that plywood will be your best option. It’s the go-to for many contractors for a reason.
Concrete
Although plywood subfloors have become very popular in recent years, they’re not the only subfloors found in homes. Some houses also have concrete subflooring, especially when subflooring is installed in basements.
One key difference between plywood and concrete subflooring is that concrete subflooring can actually be considered flooring itself. It’s not all that uncommon for people to have concrete floors in basements, garages, etc.
Concrete flooring is also a fantastic option for those putting down tile floors. They’ll work well with these floors and keep them in place for many years to come.
Lumber
You won’t find lumber subfloors in many newer homes. Contractors have gone away from using this type of subflooring.
But if you rip up floors in an older home, you might come across lumber subflooring throughout it. It’ll usually be constructed out of something like pine.
The one big downside of lumber subflooring is that it can be on the squeakier side. It’s why you’ll find that the floors in many older homes will squeak like no other.
It might be worth replacing lumber subfloors in your home if you live in an older house. Plywood subfloors might work better for you and make your home quieter than it is now.
Choose the Right Subfloor for Your Home
You can install the best flooring ever in your home. But if you don’t have the right type of subfloor installed underneath it, it could all be for naught.
You should put some serious thought into which kind of subflooring you’re going to install in your home. You should pick out a subfloor that is durable, and you should also look around for insulated flooring that will make your home energy-efficient.
Would you like to score some more useful home improvement tips and tricks? Find them in the other articles posted on our blog.
