If necessary, use wood glue or nails to attach them. Durability: There is no denying, when it comes to floors, hardwood is more durable than plywood; so no matter how many coats of stain or polyurethane you apply, it’s still not going to make plywood floors more durable than hardwood. I’ve had my new DIY Plywood Floors for a couple months now… and they’re not perfect. The other takeaway here is that plywood is a full $100 cheaper than the cheapest hardwood. Essentially, except for the bathroom and the kitchen, you can install plywood floors in just about any area where you’d normally install hardwood floors. £25 Real Christmas Trees; £85 Karcher K2 Pressure Washer; Garden Clearance; Heating & Plumbing. I planned for around 192 square feet of flooring (my kitchen is small!!) Note: This blog contains affiliate links. While I definitely have mixed feelings about my plywood floors, I can’t complain about how they look in my new kitchen (check out the full reveal!). Now, I hate laminate flooring, so I didn’t even consider it an option, but if you’re less opposed to laminate, price-wise you’re not saving money by going with the plywood. I would then cut these to random lengths to simulate a real wood floor. timber. Structural plywood is good for rooms with heavy furniture or high traffic, such as living rooms, dining rooms and entryways. As you can see from the picture, the face grain is very uniform and is relatively defect free. Our FREE Personal Monthly Budget Worksheet. The plywood floor sits on a structural frame of floor joists. Because it is engineered with many layers of wood veneer glued together in opposite directions, plywood flooring is durable stable and strong. I called the Home Depot pro desk in advance and asked if they were able to rip 4’x8′ pieces of plywood into strips for me; they said yes, had me order the plywood online, and had the planks ready for me in a few hours. This is the number one biggest con, and despite what all of the bloggers of the world say, it is an issue to be concerned about. Plywood offers great flexibility to design just about anything which is another reason that makes this a great DIY project. This makes the new flooring more secure and eliminates holes in the subfloor. We converted our second floor back in autumn/winter 2016 and finally completed the project in Spring 2017. • Shop Knife • Measuring tools -Tape Measure, Steel Square, etc. I have heard rumors that this is not an approved floor type, and could hold up the sale of your house. Sure. * The hardwood floor I linked to is an engineered hardwood, and comes prefinished. Get Paid What You Deserve Instead of spending hours cutting huge boards of plywood into strips, we opted to have ours cut to size for us. You can spend anywhere from $1 – $2 per square foot which is a fraction of the cost for hardwood or laminate. Nailing down the plywood is the most common way of installing floors. The short ends of a 4-by-8 sheet of plywood fit from the center of one joist to the center of another joist. No biggie, you can put another floor type on top of it. Now let’s delve deeper into what plywood is and how is it used on floors? If you’d rather not worry about this, grab our free list of 12 Floors Cheaper Than Plywood, so you know exactly what to get instead! Ask the hardware store to cut the pieces for you. Use a thin blade and be careful to cut the wood with straight edges because small deviations would cause gaps when installing the wood. So the more traffic there is in an area such as a kitchen, the less likely it is that plywood floors are a suitable option. Grab my Fabulously Finished Reference Bundle for $29, which will walk you through all the finishes available, and when to use each one! For our plywood farmhouse floors, the cost wasn’t much of a … For example, if you want to create a ‘checkers’ pattern that means you’ll have a lot more cutting to do. The plywood itself is 1/2″ thick pine that is sanded smooth on one face. Sand, prime, stain, and seal with three coats of polyurethane, Before laying in the floor, make sure the subfloor is even; also, remove nails, debris, and imperfections from the subfloor. Plywood is sold in various ratings, grades and sizes. However, with a more simple design, you might want to cut the wood so you get each piece of wood 4 or 8 inches wide. Do you have plywood floors? The higher the traffic, the more they’ll probably wear down. Here’s the most obvious one: There are other scratches as well; this one is particularly obvious because it’s filled with some sort of black mark. After you have stained and apply several coats of polyurethane, you won’t have to worry about dropping water on the floor. So, I thought about another type of flooring: engineered flooring and how it is just plywood by another name. Our Plywood Pretty week is coming to a close and there’s one topic we haven’t covered yet…. This way you can be sure there won’t be moving pieces. This is “AraucoPly” brand (no endorsement) and I believe it is manufactured in South America. Did I miss any pros or cons? Our plywood buying guide will help you make the right decision. Plywood is a widely used engineered wood panel that does not shrink or expand as traditional wood does. And admittedly, future home-buyers are unlikely to identify your floors as plywood unless they’re real flooring experts. Ecoply® Flooring. In the case of plywood, any knots in the surface are less stable than the surrounding wood. Plywood has the ultimate flexibility, which is part of what makes it a great budget floor type. In the 1950s, this … Create a clear plan for your project with our FREE Home Renovation Planning Worksheet. It is made with thin layers of wood veneered glued together. Different plywoods use various materials and methods of manufacture, depending on the application for which they're intended. If you click and make a purchase, I may receive compensation (at no additional cost to you.). Structural plywood is a strong, stiff, stable panel particularly suited for high performance flooring. Besides being an inexpensive alternative to hardwood floor, what really makes plywood floors special is expansion and contraction. Let’s face it, many people don’t negotiate their salary or raises. It was fantastically easy, and meant that the hardest part of DIY plywood floors (cutting down the plywood) was taken care of for me! 2) Knots. Experts recommend adding an additional layer to keep avoid squeaks and sagging. It was a wow moment. On a number of my pieces, the center of knots would fall off the plywood, leaving a less-attractive center behind. As heat and humidity changes, hardwood flooring has a tendency to expand and contract, but plywood is solid, so it does not expand or contract. While it took me two days to lay out all the boards and cut the small pieces to size, there was absolutely nothing difficult about it. Tools you will need: • Pry-bar. Note that in the table below, I compare my actual cost (the Plywood column) to the lowest laminate and hardwood costs I could find (between Home Depot, Lowes, and Menards) at posting. destroy your way to a beautiful house. Remember, plywood does not expand or contract so there is no need to leave gaps between each piece of wood. If you’re removing existing flooring such as carpet, laminate or old hardwood, you can simply refinish the plywood subfloor beneath or you can add a new layer of finish plywood flooring. No problem! Stainable and paintable plywood are often used to make shelving, cabinets and furniture. Size and Type of Plywood for Your Shed Floor. 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