Is Strand Board Good For Flooring

Building codes the engineered wood association architects and most builders rate plywood and oriented strand board obs sheathing equal in strength and durability.

Is strand board good for flooring.

First there was plywood and then came oriented strand board osb a less pretty and less expensive but arguably more stable substitute. So while exterior glued plywood can be used outdoors it works best. Oriented strand board osb is a type of engineered wood similar to particle board formed by adding adhesives and then compressing layers of wood strands flakes in specific orientations. Osb and plywood are both commonly sold in 4 by 8 foot sheets but osb can be made in much larger panels up to 8 by 24 feet.

Or use square edge. Moisture also affects the strength of plywood. Even a floor that s raised off the ground a bit will last longer if it s made with pressure treated plywood. It was patented under the name waferboard in 1965 and it quickly claimed a major share of the new construction market being used extensively for sheathing roof decking and subfloors.

With its cross hatched flakes of wood arranged perpendicular to each other osb does have many good features and it is widely used and accepted within the building and remodeling industry for qualities such as low cost high strength and easy availability. Strandboard is a high density substrate which blends practical and creative elements together for a variety of uses in residential and commercial applications. Osb is not attractive enough to serve as a floor covering not only is the chip board appearance unattractive but the surface is also often marked with grid lines and manufacturer markings. Osb is now used for about 70 percent of all floor wall and roof sheathing in north america.

Because it makes use of leftover wood material osb tends to be cheaper than plywood and it is more uniform since it has none of the knots and other defects that may be present in plywood. Osb may have a rough and variegated surface with the individual strips of around 2 5 cm 15 cm 1 0 by 5 9 inches lying unevenly across each. Osb oriented strand board is made from large flat chips arranged in as many as 50 layers which are adhered together with glues and pressed into sheets. Osb when exposed to the weather will eventually swell and bubble up minor instances of bubbling can be sanded but for the most part the osb is irreparable and should be replaced.

Using larger osb panels can be an advantage when flooring a big or odd size shed reducing the number of joints in a floor. The good old 2 4 actual measurement 1 1 2 in. It was invented by armin elmendorf in california in 1963. In 2001 oriented strand board surpassed plywood in terms of square footage produced.

X 3 1 2 in is the most common kind of framing lumber used to build sheds. Oriented strand board osb is the least expensive option for sheathing the walls and roof of a shed.