Plywood
Plywood is probably the most common subfloor found in residential homes and has been one of the main sources of subfloor since the 50’s. This is because it’s one of the more cost-effective engineered wood products available.

Concrete
A concrete subfloor is normally found on the ground floor of a property and is the most robust and durable subfloor. Concrete is prone to moisture/sweating even with a moisture barrier, so some hardwood floors cannot be used.

OSB (Oriented strand board)
OSB board, sometimes known as wafer board, is the newest invention of plywood and came into the market in the 60’s. Some people prefer using OSB over plywood as it always comes with a flat and smooth surface. Sometimes plywood will have small bumps on the surface of the sheet.

Particle board
Chipboard, or commonly known as particle board, is one of the older engineered wood products and is made from wood chips and resin that is compressed together. Particle board is normally found in older houses as most of the newer builds have moved onto plywood.

I always say any floor can look good in the right context. The difficult part is finding the right pieces for the puzzle. The number one most important aspect of selecting the right floor is to consider other woodwork such as baseboards, cabinets, and irreplaceable furniture. These things are costly to change and directly touching your flooring. Next, you may want to consider countertops, paint, and backsplash. While some of these are still costly to change, they offer a degree of separation with other materials in between.