Subfloor - House Building And Construction

A subfloor is the first level of the building that sits on top of a concrete foundation or footings. A good example of this would be the picture below. The black arrow is pointing to the subfloor, which has been built from beams, joist and plywood sheeting.

What's Better A Subfloor Or A Concrete Slab?

Both of them have their good and bad points, but ultimately I feel that a concrete slab is going to win the contest. Termites, mice, rats, wood rot and even water seems to create greater problems for wood than it does for concrete.

Wood and concrete floors will last a long time, under the right conditions, however there are some disadvantages to concrete. Concrete floor slabs usually crack under certain conditions where wood built raised building foundation or subfloors wouldn't.

The biggest advantage I can possibly think of for building a subfloor or raised foundation over using a concrete slab, would be the fact that you could access your plumbing pipes, if needed. This wouldn't be the case, if you use a concrete foundation.

For example, if you had a water supply pipe break, there's a good chance that you would be able to crawl under the home, actually see where the water was leaking from and then repair it. This wouldn't be the case for a concrete floor slab, at all.

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