Installing a subfloor

Subflooring is used in our house to keep the condition inside the house warm and provide heating especially during a cold morning or even during the winter months. Subflooring is also apart of most floors in order to span the joist and provide the basis for finish wood floor, vinyl tile or carpeting. Below are some of the steps to enable you to install a subfloor.

What you need:

  1. Screw gun or electric drill
  2. Circular saw
  3. Tape measure
  4. Deck screws
  5. Chalk line or pencil
  6. Special Adhesive for subflooring
  7. Screw gun
  8. Safety glasses and gloves


  1. First of all, make sure the subflooring that you are using comes with a tongue and grove with standard thickness of at least 3/4-inch, and do not use OSB (oriented strand board).
  2. After that, you need to measure and cut the length if only the joist is not 96-inch on the centre. Then, use a chalk line or pencil and straight edge measuring up to the centre of the joist. Make sure to start measuring from the top edge and not from the edge of the tongue. Next, stagger the joints between the pieces before you cut around studs or cut circles for pipes. Once you start to do the second course, you need to start with a piece of 48-inch for tiled pattern.
  3. Then, line up the tongue in the piece previously that you have secured with the grove from the next piece. This step is not easy to do because the plywood tends to bow in the course of your action. It might help if you have a friend to strategically step on the plywood. Then, you need to tap the plywood by using a block of wood into the grove in order to protect its grove. Apart from that, you have to make sure to leave at least a 1/8-inch gap between the pieces for expansion. The centerline must also be marked for the next piece of plywood.
  4. For permanently holding down the flooring, you need to use a special adhesive used for subflooring because if a standard construction adhesive is used, it will not allow the tongue to slide easily. You also have to place a large nail in the adhesive tube after you have finished because it will make it a little easier to be reused for future purposes.
  5. A nail gun can also be used for nailing the floor but it is recommended that you screw the subflooring because this will help you pull down the corners and centers, plus ensuring good contact between the floors with the joist.
  6. Always match the screw length with the number of subflooring layers whereby a 2-inch screw is suitable to be used for one layer, while for two layers it is best to use a 3-inch screw. Meanwhile, as for the screw, you should set it apart at least up to 8-inch and you can drive the screws using a screw gun so that it will be set below the plywood\’s surface.

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