I pretty sure you can install carpet pad then carpet directly on your subfloor (advantech in my case) but what about tile, laminate or even sheet vinyl. Should you put down 1/4 or 1/2 plywood first?
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There are two things to a floor underlayment. If the subfloor is inadequate and intened to be strengthened further by the underlayment, it adds the needed strength. Ceramic tile definitely needs a non flexing substrate to adhere to.
The other concern is smoothing. The grain patterns of a typical cdx and the flakes of the osb or advantec will telegraph through a sheet vinyl flooring or cause excessive wear to a carpet pad backing.
I'm not sure exactly what you mean by laminate. That can refer to many things but if you mean the new engineered flooring products, I would be comfortable using them or most carpet over a 1"advantec.
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on tile we always use cement board as an underlayment, always, same in showers for tile, opposed to hanging the tile on drywall, for vinyl flooring we either lay a 1/4 luann (spelling?) or smooth hardiback, its like cement board but completely smooth and it leaves a nice smooth even surface to lay the vinyl
Edited 11/23/2002 12:38:02 AM ET by CAG
1/2 ac plywood under vinyl to match carpet hight.