Attic Flooring Thickness

This will give you more than enough strength.

Attic flooring thickness.

The thickness that builders use most often for subfloors is 3 4 inch and when they need. Measure the plywood and attic door. If you plan on placing the plywood around the perimeter of the opening or door and using it only to store light boxes or materials 1 2 inch thick plywood should suffice. Loft boards loft panels and loft flooring in the loft or attic must only be done to store items such as empty suitcases.

Purchase half inch 1 27 cm thick plywood to act as your flooring. No matter what the spacing is on your ceiling joists 3 4 inch plywood should be used if you plan on walking on it. The horizontal rafter or ceiling joist timbers in your loft are there purely to hold up the ceiling below not carry weights. Plywood comes in 4 by 8 foot sheets with thicknesses ranging from 1 4 to 1 1 4 inches.

Unless your loft or attic has been converted it is not designed to carry loads heavier than this. Standard joist spacing for the installation of attic flooring materials is 16 inches on center oc meaning the distance from the center of one joist to the center of the next joist is 16 inches. The access on all examples is folding stairs or ceiling scuttles. Do not skimp on the flooring.

Take the measurements for your subfloor and measure enough plywood so that you can cover the entire frame. Under no circumstances should you ever use panelling in this application. The thickness of plywood for an attic floor depends on the reason for it and the load bearing ability of the ceiling joists that support it. If you stairway is finished you will have to cut the plywood into 2 x 4 pieces to get them in the attic area.

To be safe use the 1 2 plywood and then cross lay the 3 8 over it. Many new homes around here have trusses 24 on center most of the attic floors are double thickness osb 7 16 when furnaces and water heaters are present. Some have single 7 16 osb spanning 24 where the attic is only for storage. 3 4 inch plywood is nice and stiff but it is also heavy so installing a large area of 3 4 plywood may c.

Furthermore is it ok to put plywood in the attic. Although thicker sub floors are normally used for the living spaces in a home those are usually osb.