GBA Logo horizontal Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter X Instagram YouTube Icon Navigation Search Icon Main Search Icon Video Play Icon Plus Icon Minus Icon Picture icon Hamburger Icon Close Icon Sorted

Community and Q&A

2nd subfloor

kjenglert | Posted in General Questions on

I am building a 1,200 sq.ft. one level home with a crawl space in North Central Washington (Zone 6). We have a 3/4″ plywood subfloor and I am currently planning the overall floor level so that the wood stove hearth and heated floor/tile in mudroom and baths are the same level as the rest of the home. I would like to use an LVP or other laminate and will need a second subfloor to bring floor up to the hearth and bath heights. There are so many conflicting recommendations for the second subfloor leading to the following questions. Should the second subfloor be glued to first subfloor? Should the second subfloor be nailed to the joists or just the first subfloor? Should there be padding of some sort between the subfloors?

GBA Prime

Join the leading community of building science experts

Become a GBA Prime member and get instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.

Replies

  1. onslow | | #1

    kjenglert,

    It would help to know how much height difference you are expecting between the hearth and finished tile floors. LVP and laminate flooring have different transition profiles and thicknesses. There are a wide assortment of tile to flooring edge strips as well. The isolation materials that go under LVP may not be required under a laminate flooring choice that has an integral foam backing.

    You may find that the thin underlayment commonly called luan panel is all it takes to make the final stack of materials match up. Be aware that the luan is not always a common fraction of an inch when figuring total stack heights.

    Hopefully, the crawlspace will be conditioned to some extent and not be source of moisture drive from below the floor. Again, a few more details will help.

Log in or create an account to post an answer.

Community

Recent Questions and Replies

  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |