Osb is now used for about 70 percent of all floor wall and roof sheathing in north america.
Is osb good for roof.
However osb is generally considered less resistant to water it swells in thickness when exposed to moisture and some people prefer plywood for roofs and subfloors.
Osb roof panels should always be installed with the grade stamp facing into the attic and the screened surface with the nail guide lines facing up.
Both the national roofing contractors association and the asphalt roofing manufacturers association recommend the use of osb for roof sheathing as long as it bears.
A homeowner recently wrote and asked me the following regarding osb roof decking.
In 2001 oriented strand board surpassed plywood in terms of square footage produced.
One of the nice things about plywood is the variety of options you can buy.
Osb is widely used as roof decking material.
New homes will usually see a few rainfalls before a roof is on and as noted above osb doesn t handle moisture well.
Typical types of wood used for roof sheathing are oriented strand board known as osb and plywood the most popular being osb.
Despite its common use as such we don t recommend using osb for subfloors but that s really just for aesthetic reasons.
With edge support and the same snow load 3 8 inch osb can be used.
Oriented strand board commonly referred to as osb is a type of engineered lumber similar to particle board formed by adding adhesives and then compressing layers of wood strands.
While plywood remains a good and viable option the fact remains that osb is now the preferred choice.
Suitability for roof sheathing.
It has been estimated that osb has a stronghold of of the market share mainly because it s the more affordable option.
When the grade stamp is covered by roofing the building inspector will not be able to confirm that the correct osb roofing panel was used.
Both plywood and osb are used for sheathing roofs walls and subfloors they work equally well for these uses are just as easy to drill into and have equivalent ability to hold nails.
But still no one will blame you if you choose plywood over osb.
In the case of a subfloor deformations left in the osb after it dries can lead to wavy flooring.