Is Osb Good For Roof

A homeowner recently wrote and asked me the following regarding osb roof decking.

Is osb good for roof. 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. While plywood remains a good and viable option the fact remains that osb is now the preferred choice. 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. 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. 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. Osb is now used for about 70 percent of all floor wall and roof sheathing in north america. 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.

With edge support and the same snow load 3 8 inch osb can be used. In 2001 oriented strand board surpassed plywood in terms of square footage produced. 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. Osb is widely used as roof decking material.

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. One of the nice things about plywood is the variety of options you can buy. In the case of a subfloor deformations left in the osb after it dries can lead to wavy flooring. Suitability for roof sheathing.

Sheets of 7 16 inch thick with no edge support can be used in an area where the snow load is 30 pounds per square foot. Up until 2000 plywood held the majority of the market for wall roof and floor sheathing when it was surpassed by osb which as of 2018 held about 75 of the market share. But still no one will blame you if you choose plywood over osb.