Osb Board Vs Plywood Flooring

Moisture also affects the strength of plywood.

Osb board vs plywood flooring. Although oriented strand board osb has a commanding 75 market share in sheathing for new home construction compared to plywood s 25 it s a much more competitive race in subflooring. Whether you are building remodeling or just doing some repairs many times you need a type of sheathing or underlayment for the project. Plywood is the ideal material for places having a wet weather condition. Building codes the engineered wood association architects and most builders rate plywood and oriented strand board obs sheathing equal in strength and durability.

Osb oriented strand board. Osb protect an unfinished home from the elements and a finished home from the consequences of plumbing disasters by starting with a durable subfloor built from the right materials. It s the perfect material for your sheathing or flooring. Plywood by itself is water and moisture resistant.

So while exterior glued plywood can be used outdoors it works best. In 2001 oriented strand board surpassed plywood in terms of square footage produced. Two features stand out between plywood and an osb board. Numerous choices are available for this purpose but the two most commonly used products are oriented strand board osb and plywood 1 both boards are made of wood with glues and resins come in many sizes and can be used for a variety of purposes.

The sheets are generally 4 x 8 or 4 x 12 feet in size. These are its water resistant feature and size. 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 has the appearance of giant cornflakes pressed together to form structural panels in sizes similar to plywood such as 4 x 8 x 5 8.