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August 1, 2007
Plywood -vs- Sheetrock
I'm in the process of having new parquet floors installed and instead of the contractor installing plywood underneath be is putting sheetrock. Is this something to be alarmed about?.
Comments
What is he laying the sheetrock on? It's ok if it's cement board he's installing but plain old 5/8" or 1/2" gypsum sounds odd and will definitely cause problems if he's laying it right on wood joists.
Posted by: Anon at August 1, 2007 10:51 AM
It appears it's being layed upon the the old plywood of a 125 year old house.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 1, 2007 11:01 AM
I would be alarmed. How is the parquet going to be attached to sheetrock? Nails will simply slide out and glue will not hold. Any water that gets on the floor due to spills or cleaning will also deteriorate the sheetrock.
Sheetrock is not an appropriate flooring.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 1, 2007 11:54 AM
WHAT?! You should not only be alarmed-- you should be telling him right now that he's an idiot and that he needs to start over with plywood immediately! Sheetrock is not at all acceptable as a subfloor. Cement board or Durock is great for a subfloor in a bathroom. But ordinary wallboard is much too soft--it's not a structural material. You might as well use velvet or banana leaves for a subfloor.
Is this one of those fake posts just designed to get people outraged? I mean, come on.
Posted by: anon at August 1, 2007 12:10 PM
Is this a joke? Sheetrock?! Well he's no Sherlock! I don't see the point of using sheetrock as subfloor other than your floor guy cheaping out. It's bad for all the reasons posted above.
Posted by: Rick at August 1, 2007 12:15 PM
there is no way this could be the case. cement board maybe, but not sheetrock. i'm skeptical.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 1, 2007 12:18 PM
actually sheetrock can be used as a component as a part of an overall sound-isolation project. but obviously it's not meant to replace any usual aspect of subflooring. could this be what he's up to? even if it is, it's not gonna do much if it's just a single layer, so check with him to see what he thinks he's doing.
i suppose it's also possible he has a bunch of leftover sheetrock and is looking for places to stash it around town!
Posted by: Jimmy Legs at August 1, 2007 12:21 PM
Jimmy, you always seem to know your stuff, here-- could you sandwich sheetrock between two layers of playwood? I just think putting the parquet directly on such a soft material would end up sinking into it.
Posted by: anon at August 1, 2007 12:31 PM
i don't really know much, but i did so much research about soundproofing, some of it stuck :)
you definitely wouldn't want the sheetrock directly touching the final floor surface (parquet in this case), but in between layers of plywood wouldn't be a bad idea. the mass of the sheetrock is what makes it good at dampening sound. i laid sheetrock over a plywood wall, and it does very well at keeping noise contained (of course that wall is part of a larger system that includes a layer of air space but that may be impractical on a floor job).
Posted by: Jimmy Legs at August 1, 2007 4:22 PM
I've heard of sheetrock as part of soundproofing, but usually in the ceiling, not the floor, such as by hanging several layers in a crossing pattern, so the seams don't line up, on a ceiling held by springs. But the subfloor makes no sense. If you spill anything on the floor and it leaks through to the sheetrock, the moisture will stay between the floor and sheetrock without a chance to air out and dry. A perfect recipe for mold. I can't see how any good can come of this.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 1, 2007 4:58 PM
I would guess its cement board not sheetrock as the poster above mentioned. You should double check with contractor to make sure.
Posted by: anon at August 1, 2007 5:40 PM
This cannot be.
But if it is, it's a great recipe for mold.
Besides, sheetrock crumbles when you walk on it! It's powder and paper! It should never be subjected to gravity!
Posted by: Anonymous at August 1, 2007 8:07 PM
Make him remove it. You don't put sheetrock under your wood floor. You might put greenboard or cement board under tiles, but not under a wood floor.
Posted by: Archie at August 1, 2007 9:22 PM
Absolutely positively no. Even between layers of plywood. Just a bad idea.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 2, 2007 11:29 AM
Thank you everyone for your comments. You are all very helpful.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 2, 2007 12:35 PM
If the contractor did in fact use sheetrock rather than cement board, I highly recommend that you fire him on the spot and hire someone else to fix it. You don't want someone THAT incompetent to rip up anything in your house, even his own mess. This is a serious red flag.
Posted by: carrie at August 3, 2007 4:45 PM
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