Hardwood Subfloor: OSB vs. Plywood vs. OSB + Plywood

italoblu

Oh, please help. Bought the 3rd floor of a triplex, and we're putting in hardwood floors. Under the carpet, we have found what appears to be wafer board or OSB, and we suspect under that there is plywood. Everything I'm reading seems to indicate that plywood is the way to go. Can we put it on top of the OSB (possibly wafer board), or should we rip out the OSB (possibly wafer board), and THEN put in the plywood? I need this answer in the next few days.

Also, for 1400 square feet, does 4 days x 2 men seem like a lot of time to put in the plywood?

Thanks.

brian_

On the 4 days thing - it seems excessive to me. Do they have to move furniture? Tear out old carpet/flooring? Repair damaged areas? How cut up is the space? Several small rooms will be more labor intensive than a few big rooms. 4 days does seem excessive. More info would help.

I know I replaced the subfloor in a 250 sq ft kitchen in less than a day by myself, including repairing about 20 sq ft of rot requiring some structural repairs.

italoblu

the apartment is empty except they have to lift the kitchen stuff to put in a complete floor. however, that 4-day 2-man "option" was only if we put in plywood. they were going to have to do it anyway, for the first quote of $10k (knocking down a wall, then installing the 1400 sq feet of hardwood). again, that 4-day timeframe was JUST for the plywood.