Subfloor component and method for manufacturing same
A subfloor component comprises an insulating foam panel having first and second opposing faces and a plurality of intersecting grooves in the first face to define, in cross-section, a plurality of pedestals having at least one wall extending toward the second face, a moisture-resistant layer formed on the first face of the panel that conforms to the pedestals, and a hardboard layer on the second face of the panel.
1. A subfloor component comprising:
an insulating foam panel having first and second opposing faces and a plurality of intersecting grooves in the first face to define, in cross-section, a plurality of pedestals having at least one wall extending toward the second face;
a moisture-resistant layer formed on the first face of the panel that conforms to the pedestals; and
a hardboard layer on the second face of the panel.
2. The subfloor component of claim 1 , wherein the moisture-resistant layer comprises a layer of melted or fused insulating foam.
3. The subfloor component of claim 2 , wherein the layer of fused insulating foam extends partially into the insulating foam panel from the first face.
4. The subfloor component of claim 1 , wherein the moisture-resistant layer is substantially moisture-impervious.
5. The subfloor component of claim 1 , wherein the moisture-resistant layer conforms to the tops and walls of the pedestals and to the bottoms of the grooves.
6. The subfloor component of claim 1 , wherein the moisture-resistant layer is formed by heating or chemically treating the first face of the insulating foam panel.
7. The subfloor component of claim 1 , wherein the panel comprises expanded polystyrene (EPS).
8. The subfloor component of claim 1 , wherein the hardboard layer comprises material selected from the group consisting of: oriented strand board (OSB), plywood, fiber cement board, cement board, metal sheeting, and magnesium oxide board.
9. The subfloor component of claim 1 , wherein the hardboard layer and the panel are attached to each other with glue.
10. The subfloor component of claim 1 , wherein the pedestals are shaped as at least one of circles, ellipses, rectangles, diamonds, squares, and hexagons.
11. The subfloor component of claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of pedestals has a single wall.
12. The subfloor component of claim 1 , wherein the pedestals are generally uniformly distributed across the first face of the panel.
13. The subfloor component of claim 1 , wherein the subfloor component is shaped to connect to another subfloor component.
14. The subfloor component of claim 13 , wherein the hardboard layer comprises a tongue/groove configuration for connecting to another hardboard layer of another subfloor component.
15. The subfloor component of claim 1 , wherein the hardboard layer includes a groove that is open along at least one side-facing surface of the hardboard layer, further comprising:
a connector dimensioned to insert into the groove.
16. The subfloor component of claim 15 , wherein the connector comprises:
a central body; and
tongues extending outwards from the central body, wherein each tongue is dimensioned to be inserted into a respective groove in a hardboard layer of a subfloor component.