Plywood Floor Load Rating

The subfloor is the decking installed on top of flooring joists.

Plywood floor load rating. Form floor load on plywood applied at maximum span according to apa recom mendations is greatly in excess of the typical design loads. Osb weight is usually a bit less than its plywood counterpart. The dead load on a floor is determined by the materials used in the floor s construction. Table 1d applies to apa rated plywood structural i sturd i floor.

This excess does not mean that floor spans for plywood can be increased but only that there is consider able reserve strength and stiffness for uniform loads. For example a floor joist at 16 spacing s that can carry 53 pounds per linear foot would translate into a 318 pound single point load at its center. A typical wood frame floor covered with carpet or vinyl flooring has a dead load of about 8 pounds per square foot. The applicable section properties table c can be divided into load capacity to determine design strength and stiffness.

The thickness of plywood. Strenthwize ply has mdf beat. A uniform load rating on a beam can easily be translated into what an equivalent maximum point load can be. Tables 2a through 2c apply to apa rated osb sheathing apa rated osb structural i sheathing and apa rated osb sturd i floor respectively.

This guide will explain the different uses of plywood as well as popular plywood sheet sizes and its rating and grade system so that you can choose the best plywood for your project. The finished floor is then installed on top of the subfloor. For sanded plywood panels see table 3. Plywood is a necessity in many diy and construction projects but not every type of plywood works for every project.

Most workbenches you see will come with mdf instead of ply. The many types of plywood can differ in materials number of layers rating and grade. Also instead of plywood you may want to go with mdf medium density fiberboard it is much much denser than plywood and will not have the bounce that can happen with regular ply. If there s wall board covered ceiling suspended from the underside of that floor the dead load increases to about 10 pounds per square foot.

Actually the recommenda tions for plywood floors. What size plywood do i use for a subfloor. In choosing between oriented strandboard and plywood the building and construction technology department at the university of massachusetts amherst explains that 7 16 inch osb and inch plywood weigh in at 46 and 48 pounds respectively so they are quite similar. But for a work surface mdf is a much better choice.

Because these values are plywood specific the appropriate panel grade and construction adjustment factors c. Apa trademarked plywood is suitable for a variety of end uses including subflooring single layer flooring wall and roof sheathing sheathing ceiling deck structural insulated panels marine applications siding webs of wood i joists concrete forming pallets industrial containers mezzanine decks and furniture.