A Low-Quality Subfloor Could Mean Noisy or Warped Floors
We all fantasize about our dream home. From the layout to the decoration, we want everything to be immaculate. We love to envision friends gathering around the dinner table and children playing in the living room — everybody enjoying quality time spent in each other’s company.
What we don’t consider is the way that experience will possibly be affected by a low-quality subfloor. Dishes shaking as people walk on bouncy floors, cracked grout, buckled wood floor creases, and squeaky floors don’t have a place in our picture perfect idea of another home. It’s easy to forget, but just because your subfloor is out of sight it doesn’t mean it should be out of the mind. When talking with your builder about materials, remember these three characteristics in mind to ensure your finished floors get the sturdy, even base they need:
Top-notch subflooring means quiet, solid floors
Using a quality subfloor material has a critical effect on the quality of your finished subfloor. There are four main ways a subfloor increases the value of your home:
• It should be stiff to help provide a flat, even base under your floor coverings
• It should be strong to withstand foot traffic, heavy furniture and even the stressful conditions of a Jobsite during construction
It should be moisture resistance to help guarantee it keeps its strength and stiffness even after exposure to elements during construction. Some subfloor material can swell and buckle if it doesn’t have a good moisture-resistant property. If exposed to substantial rain or snow during construction, your contractor may have to take time to sand it down, so finished floors won’t look uneven. A high quality, moisture-resistant subfloor not just keeps your floors flat and level after installation, it also eliminates rework and construction delays during the building process.
Fastener holding power keeps your hardwoods and carpeting in place
The fastener holding power of the subfloor demonstrates how well it will hold nails, staples, and whatever else used to keep your flooring of choice secure. Poor fastener holding power can add to materials moving against one another which is causes squeaks. Engineered wood subfloors made with advanced resin processes grip fasteners in place to help prevent squeaks caused by loose materials beneath the surface rubbing against one another. Strong fastener holding power helps ensure your floors remain sturdy and quiet.
Strength and stiffness stabilize your floor
A high-quality subfloor is uniquely produced to provide strength and stiffness that can stand up to the demands of what life brings without bouncing or sogging. Some high-quality engineered wood subflooring is made with more wood and resins to make perform to higher strength and stiffness levels than traditional plywood or commodity oriented strand board (OSB). Make sure to ask about panels that perform over the minimum required standard.
Next time you’re imagining your first get-together in your new home, remember that everything rests on your subfloors. Top-notch engineered wood subflooring offers a range of advantages not found in traditional plywood or commodity OSB. For quiet, flat and tough floors made to resist bouncing, warping and unwanted floor squeaks, talk to your contractor to ensure you’re using just the highest quality materials.
