Sunday, March 10, 2013

Using Staples to Install Luan Plywood

Using Staples to Install Luan Plywood (Stapling Luan Plywood)

Install Luan with staples to the subfloor plywood using 1/2" staples. You should staple every 6 inches around the edges and every 8 inches at the centre of the plywood boarding. At this point you have the choice to make as to whether you wish to use glue to adfix the luan to the plywood subflooring. 

Watch This Video Which Will Show You the basics of Stapling Plywood Subflooring Into Place: 






Using Luan as Finished Flooring
Using Luan Plywood as (Sub) Flooring

If you are looking at an inexpesive way to do flooring, you can use Luan Subflooring, as Finished Flooring. The trick here is to cut the plywood sheets into tiles, about 4x4. You can also do it in 2x2' or 2x4'. This way it doesn't look like you just cheapened out and painted the subfloor. Make sure to properly sketch the layout of the room you plan to floor so you can make the proper adjust with regards to full plywood sheets, and those that you will have to specialty cut to create a uniform look around the room.


You don't need to pad between the subloor and the plywood, although I wouldn't recommend against it. (An acoustical foam underlay will help reduce noise). Lay the plywood sheets on top of the foam padding underlayment. Use glue and then use screws at the corners, as you lay the plywood. You can also use glue alone with no screws, however that might result in some curling of the plywood flooring, and of course you don't want that.

For the screws, you can spend a little bit of money, and get something different. You can use flat face screws, with 2 dimples. They are called tamper resistant screws, to be honest, I don't think the wood species matters. Once you have finished installing and screwing the plywood in, using wood putty or filler to fill the holes ad the sand it smooth.

Using plywood (luan/birch) as a top flooring is a unique and cost effective method for home improvement. Of course the cost cannot be beat, and you can throw down a mat or carpeting in high traffic areas, for example outside the kitchen or hallways.

Things to Remember when it comes to Plywood Flooring

There isn't going to be an isle in the home hardware or improvement store dedicated to Plywood Flooring, so you may have to think out of the box.


Is Luan The Best For Floors?

Surprisingly, luan plywood can be used as flooring, when fully installed, and cut into planks or cut into square pieces. However the sheets should be glued down, with floor tape adhesive or glue, and then nailed throughout, or if you prefer, for appearance, you can just use the adhesive glue without nailing the flooring into place. You can screw the heads to make a tigher fit, however some believe this may make for a more unsightly project when the fasteners appear through the finished floor.


Luan, can be installed over solid, or smooth subfloors, like wood, or plywood, or concrete. Since luan is not very heavy, it can be used as flooring even though by most it is considered a temporary flooring option. It has been used on many do-it-yourself projects, which showcase this material as a great flooring option, however even though it has a nice appearance, it's durability is not that great.


Materials to Use for Your Plywood (Luan/Birch) Flooring Project And Costing

6 sheets of five-ply 1/2-inch domestic Birch or Luan plywood for the flooring (less than $70 dollars)
3 sheets of three-ply 3/4-inch Baltic birch plywood for the trim (less than $100 dollars)
150 square feet of 1/8-inch acoustical foam underlay (under $30 dollars)
Handful of fasteners and  2 1/2-inch gold screws (under $10 dollars)
Wood putty or Filler (Under $10 dollars)
1 gallon of floor-grade polyurethane (under $50 dollars)

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