Kitchen Subfloor Types

Plywood

• According to Hosking Hardwood, tongue-and-groove interlocking plywood has been the most common type of material used to build subfloors in U.S. homes for more than 30 years. Each piece of plywood in the subfloor measures 4-feet-by-8-feet and has an approximate ¾-inch thickness. Plywood offers a strong enough surface for any type of walking floor, including hardwood, laminate, linoleum or tile. Floor coverings may be installed directly to the plywood surface with nails or adhesive. OSB, or strand board, offers a composite wood alternative to plywood.

Planks

• Another type of wood subfloor, plank subfloors consist of pine boards instead of plywood. These wooden subfloors widely inhabit homes built prior to the 1980s. The boards in this type of subfloor typically shift over time, so you should check a plank subfloor carefully before installing any type of flooring on top of it. Sink any protruding nail heads and replace any damaged planks.

Concrete

• Concrete slabs often provide the subfloor in basements and other subterranean rooms, though concrete can be used for upstairs floors as well. These slabs, which generally have at least a 4-inch thickness, provide plenty of support for any type of flooring you might like to install in a kitchen, though most flooring types require the additional installation of an underlayment over the concrete.

Installing Underlayment

• Before installing underlayment over a concrete subfloor, you should create distance between the subfloor and the underlayment material to help prevent moisture problems. You can accomplish this by laying 3-inch-tall wood planks across the concrete subfloor at a spacing of 12 inches and then installing the underlayment material, such as plywood or backerboard, on top of the planks. The underlayment pieces should be secured to the planks with screws.

Installing Walking Floors

• When installing a walking floor on a plywood or plank subfloor, lay long flooring pieces, such as laminate or hardwood flooring planks, perpendicular to the plywood subfloor sheets for the greatest stability. To avoid installing flooring directly onto concrete subfloors, build a wood flooring surface over the subfloor by laying out strips of at least 3-inch-high plywood every 12 inches and then laying plywood pieces over the top of the strips to create a wood subfloor above the concrete.