They have 3/4" tongue and groove(T&G) spruce plywood and 3/4" not T&G select grade plywood at the local borg for more or less the same price. The select grade has a better finish on it. Does the T&G feature make that much difference when laying a shop floor down? And perhaps a dumb question, but how come there's no T&G at the 4' sheet ends? Floor space I'm putting down is 12 X 20. 16" C to C on 2X4s laid flat Thanks in advance for any and all replies.
Yes...you want T&G. The tongue and groove provides support for the floor sections where the sheets span the joists. The 4' end of the sheet should be centered (and nailed) on the joists - no need for T&G.
Be sure the flooring is 3/4" and not 5/8" (to much spring). Since you're laying the 2x4's flat, I assume you're laying this floor over concrete ? If so be sure to use a vapor barrier and you may even want to add foam insulation between the joists.
Bob S.
OK, I see the way you guys are assuming the sheets are all placed horizontally across the stringers. (3 rows to cover the 12' width) I plan on covering the 12 ft garage width by placing 1 sheet horizontally above 2 sheets placed vertically. All 4 sides will be on top of the 3.5" wide stringers due to placing blocking between the stringers where the short sides land. This is why I was wondering if I needed the T&G. Hope I explained it better. Thanks
The way you are planning is not really the best way. The short side should be parallel to the floor joists. This way the short side which has no tongue is fully supported and the long side is supported by locking with the next piece.
Typically plywood is stiffest in the long direction (read the label or just count the plies in each direction to confirm this) so for floors and roofs you want to set the long dimension of the plywood perpendicular to whatever is supporting it.
-Jack
you shouldn't lay out the floor this way. Most plywoods, and all of hte composite flooring materials that I'm familiar with have a "prefered direction" for layin out - the 8' long side is supposed to be perpendicular to the joists. for a 12' long run, use and 8' sheet, and cut another one in half to fill in the last 4 feet.
Also, use a good floor and deck glue - run a bead along each joist before you drop the plywood. It makes the floor alot more rigid. You'll still need to nail... The glue also helps prevent squeeks....
If you haven't bought your floor yet, I'd suggest a product called advantec. Its a composite, but is extremely easy to work with. Very strong, not too heavy, nails, cuts and glues well. Heres the good part: its waterproof. It won't warp if it gets wet. If you spill water on it (or leave it out in the rain), the water just beads up on the surface, and can be brushed off. Its what I use on all of the houses I build now. A bit more expensive than ply (not much here in NH, but proces may vary). Its also whats on the floor of my shop. Eventually, Id like to cover it with solid planking, but thats just because I like the look and feel of a thick deck.....
Good luck
-_JD
Why would you want to make a plywood deck to work off of rather than going with the existing concrete floor?
working on concrete for hours is hard on the legs and hips, especially for those of us that are... a little older. :-)
if you are laying a floor over a concrete floor there is no need for T&G, just lay down another 2x4 where there would be "sag". Did mine using 1x material and 3/4" styrofoam insulation. No sag anywhere. I did use 3/4 ply though. not for the sag or spring but because you might have a machine leg sitting in the middle of a span for a long time and you will want the support.
BRuce
CA wrote:
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