Using Plywood For Attic Floor
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.
Using plywood for attic floor. Attic flooring panels are easy to install with their interlocking edges. It s possible to use other materials but plywood or particleboard on sale is likely to be less expensive than other wood materials or products. Before putting the flooring in take a look at your insulation. The cost savings is insignificant compared to the extra support offered by the thicker material.
It might seem impossible to haul it up to the attic. Even before you start working on your attic flooring ideas check to see whether the ceiling will be able to handle the weight of the new floor along with storage and people walking around. But you know i would rather see you just sort of map out the area in the center of the attic that you re going to use for storage and fill up the rest with insulation because that. According to the us department of energy your home s attic should have an r 38 insulation valued for homes in the southern part of the.
Here are the steps to consider when flooring an attic. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new insulation on top of the old. 1 x 6 3 spruce is a step up from pallet quality wood but makes a fine usable floor in an unfinished attic space. Plywood comes in large sheets.
Because the simplest and cheapest way to insulate an attic is to add material to the floor. 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. Installing plywood for example will create a smooth floor to lay carpet in the future. But there s no real reason to use plywood thinner than 3 4 inch.
What you could do is you could put insulation down in the floor joist first then plywood over it and then you could add another layer of unfaced on top of that. How to install plywood flooring in an attic. The decision regarding the thickness of plywood to use for the subfloor in the attic has a lot to do with how you intend to use the attic and it also depends on the spacing of the ceiling joists. Find or buy 1 2 inch plywood or particleboard sections.
Cut the plywood into manageable strips about 10 inches wide to make the job easier. These lightweight easy to manage panels can be installed by even the most inexperienced homeowner in about 15 minutes. Another option is to skip the plywood flooring altogether and use dimensional lumber. 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.
A single 4 pack covers approximately 10 sq. Stop using your attic for storage.