Thickness Of Osb For Flooring

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.

Thickness of osb for flooring.

Oriented strand board or osb is a wood structural panel that can also be used for flooring. When using osb boards to cover ceilings or floors tongue and groove joints are recommended because they facilitate installation and yield very even level results. Structurally osb and plywood are very similar in strength and ability to hold nails or screws. Keep in mind that for mechanically fastened floors osb doesn t hold fasteners as well as plywood so you need to use a thicker material to get the same holding power.

While osb oriented strand board is generally cheaper than plywood it is heavier and not as stiff as plywood and can result in soft squeaky floors under weight the biggest complaint against osb is that it doesn t handle moisture very well so it is more suited for indoor use. 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. Moisture also affects the strength of plywood. Get 5 off when you sign up for emails with savings and tips.

Plywood is the most common type of subflooring. The thickness needed for subflooring depends on the type of floor that will go on top and the primary purpose for the subfloor. A typical wood framed residential flooring system is more complicated than you think. The subfloor consists of sheet materials that are nailed or screwed to the joists to.

Meanwhile osb compacts as many as 50 layers of strands into a single sheet the same thickness as that plywood ensuring a much denser and heavier product throughout. So while exterior glued plywood can be used outdoors it works best. Plywood comes in a variety of thicknesses beginning at 1 8 inch and increasing to 1 inch. Plywood shed flooring is usually 3 4 inch and osb 5 8 inch thick.

Usually manufactured in 4 by 8 foot sheets plywood panels and osb are acceptable subfloors for hardwood flooring as long as they are the proper thickness. Please enter in your email address in the following format. Osb may have greater shear strength the ability to span distances than comparable thickness of plywood.