How long does osb last

If you want to use OSB to sheathe the walls of your shed, you need to build those walls like the walls of a house: with a weather-resistant barrier like Tyvek over the OSB, and then cover that with siding of some sort. Vinyl siding is cheap and DIY-friendly. If you want to build a shed out of a single material without needing to do any of this, I recommend concrete blocks. I know this is old but I don't let any part of the OSB actually touch the ground; treated wood runners for that.

They are several years old and holding up just fine. No swelling and no issues on edges. Your reasons for needing a shed are exactly why you shouldn't use OSB as an external covering for your shed without something over it besides paint to protect it from the weather. Paint is not a moisture barrier.

OSB grows and spreads mold exponentially faster than regular wood. If you're already having mold problems using OSB at all would be pretty bad idea. I recently built a camping shelter 12x24 wood frame platform with "roof" and "walls" with a tent inside on some land I own.

I was on a serious budget but I wanted it to be big enough to be worth while so materials suffered. I framed it out pretty good but when I got to paneling I ended up Frankensteining it..

For my first two short walls I went with painted OSB. I figured it'd be good enough for my purposes. Like others have said.. It swelled and started softening up within a few months.. In order to avoid replacing those walls altogether I just wrapped it in house wrap and that has protected it without issue. Looks like crap.. I went with t for my front wall. Before my last wall, I ran out of money my wife would let me spend on my pet project.

Not exactly up to code I sealed the joints and voila. Obviously you'd need to add some rigidity somehow since foam doesn't exactly tie a building together. Does a much better job than the OSB and T in retaining temperature especially reflecting heat. I carefully used roofing screws with the washer to fasten to the frame.

I can't drive up very close to my build site. So the negligible weight of these "panels" made them an attractive choice for me as well. The "roof" is wood framing with more of the foam panels supporting a large tarp. I have to replace the tarp every year or so, and like I said, no one is going to accuse it of having a finished look. Nor is it sealed to keep out insects and mice.. Just a place to stay somewhat warm during the winter.. I got away with sq. I stupidly built it under enormous hardwoods by a creek.

So I am working on another more solidly built cabin at another spot free of large trees. Manufacturers of oriented strandboard and plywood claim both products work well. But using panels made of wood chips makes some builders nervous. Like it or not, osb will define the future of the structural sheathing market. The issue for most builders who choose between plywood and osb is durability.

Osb looks like, and is, a bunch of wood chips glued together. This opinion has a familiar tone. Plywood suffered the same criticism not too long ago. Delamination of early plywood sheathings gave plywood a bad name. Not many builders share that view today. Portland Manufacturing Company made the first structural plywood from western woods in Delaminations were routine until waterproof synthetic resins were developed during world war II. Today, southern pine plywood accounts for about half of all structural plywood sold.

Aspenite, the first generation waferboard called chipboard by many builders , was manufactured from the abundant supply of aspen found in the region credit julio.

Technology involving the random alignment of wood-fiber in waferboard soon gave way to the development of structurally superior oriented strandboard.

Codes recognize these two materials as the same. And wood scientists agree that the structural performance of osb and plywood are equivalent. They share the same set of performance standards and span ratings. Both materials are installed on roofs, walls and floors using one set of recommendations. Installation requirements prescribing the use of H-clips on roofs, blocking on floors and allowance of single-layer floor systems are identical.

Even the storage recommendations are the same: keep panels off of the ground and protected from weather. Professor Poo Chow, a researcher at the University of Illinois, studied the withdrawal and head pull-through performance of nails and staples in plywood, waferboard and osb. Chow found that in both dry and 6-cycle aged tests: osb and waferboard performed equal to or better than CD-grade plywood. The results of another independent study conducted by Raymond LaTona at the Weyerhauser Technology Center in Tacoma also showed that withdrawal strengths in osb and plywood are the same.

But, while the two products may perform the same structurally, they are undeniably different materials. To begin with, the composition of each material is different. Plywood is made from thin sheets of veneer that are cross-laminated and glued together with a hot-press. Imagine the raw log as a pencil being sharpened in a big pencil sharpener. The wood veneer is literally peeled from the log as it is spun.

Resulting veneers have pure tangential grain orientation, since the slicing follows the growth rings of the log. Throughout the thickness of the panel, the grain of each layer is positioned in a perpendicular direction to the adjacent layer. There is always an odd number of layers in plywood panels so that the panel is balanced around its central axis.

This strategy makes plywood stable and less likely to shrink, swell, cup or warp. Logs are ground into thin wood strands to produce oriented strandboard. Dried strands are mixed with wax and adhesive, formed into thick mats, and then hot-pressed into panels. Osb is different. The strands in osb are aligned. This structure mimics plywood.

Waferboard, a weaker and less-stiff cousin of osb, is a homogeneous, random composition. Osb is engineered to have strength and stiffness equivalent to plywood. Performance is similar in many ways, but there are differences in the service provided by osb and plywood. All wood products expand when they get wet. When osb is exposed to wet conditions, it expands faster around the perimeter of the panel than it does in the middle.

Swollen edges of osb panels can telegraph through thin coverings like asphalt roof shingles. The term ghost lines or roof ridging was coined to describe the effect of osb edge swelling under thin roof shingles. The Structural Board Association SBA , a trade association that represents osb manufacturers in North America, has issued a technical bulletin outlining a plan to prevent this phenomenon.

SBA correctly indicates that dry storage, proper installation, adequate roof ventilation and application of a warm-side vapor barrier will help prevent roof ridging. Irreversible edge swelling has been the biggest knock on osb. Manufacturers have done a good job of addressing this issue at the manufacturing facility and during transportation by coating panel edges.

It offers a less expensive option than plywood while requiring similar protection from the elements. OSB will last for decades, provided all cuts are treated and the exposed surfaces painted or stained with a quality exterior grade product, and receive regular maintenance. There are dozens of manufacturers using OSB to create different profiles of engineered wood panels for exterior wall coverage.

Panels may be pre-painted, and bonding resins infused with fungicides and borax to protect against insects. Some manufacturers offer up to a year warranty for their exterior products.

Rigid-insulated-interlocking panels are another product that commonly uses oriented strand boards in its production. OSB for shed floor use has become more common in the past decade or two, as DIYers and builders become more familiar with its superior strength to plywood.

Like plywood, OSB has a good smooth side that goes up, and a rougher side that goes down. The similarity continues in that they both need to be sealed with a quality waterproof or water-resistant floor paint or stain.

If the ground under the shed is frequently damp, ensure proper ventilation and consider painting the underside of the OSB prior to installation for further protection. All saw-cuts should be sealed to prevent moisture from damaging the board too. Using larger sheets of OSB for a shed floor also means fewer seams than possible with plywood.

Fasten the sheets down with construction adhesive and screws for a more permanent attachment. Nails will hold but have a habit of working their way out as the floor flexes with load movement, and may become a trip hazard. Dragging heavy items such as metal toolboxes, crates, or filing cabinets across the floor can cause damage. Touch up damage that exposes unpainted wood to prevent moisture damage. Oriented strand board is water-resistant and will withstand 3 to 4 weeks of moisture during normal construction delays.

Some products are even rated for up to days of exposure without causing damage. However, similar to plywood, untreated saw-cuts exposed to rain or puddling are susceptible to moisture absorption which can cause the board to irreversibly swell and even delaminate. In most sloped or vertical applications, OSB will shed moisture before it can cause damage, even if saw-cuts are untreated. Panels in a horizontal or subfloor placement should be protected from moisture, especially if there are untreated cut edges.

The waterproof resin adhesive cocktail that coats all strands in OSB protects uncut panels from moisture and makes them almost waterproof. The longer untreated cuts are exposed to rain, the greater the risk of swelling. OSB should be protected by another construction layer, or painted, stained, or otherwise treated to prevent long-term moisture damage.

Panels exposed to rain commonly dry within a couple of hours. However, cut edges often take longer to dry and may swell. The sooner after construction that the boards are covered or protected, the better.

If edge swelling occurs, sand so it is flush, and seal or cover. Stacked panels should be tarped to keep dry prior to installation. During construction delays, subfloors should be tarped or sprayed with exterior grade paint or water sealer for protection especially cut edges.

Roofs should be covered with roofing paper to protect OSB if shingling is delayed too. Walls are commonly covered with a weather-resistant barrier prior to siding or brick veneer, which will protect the OSB. If OSB walls will be left exposed, they should be primed and painted or stained with a quality exterior waterproof product shortly after construction.

Swollen edges or cuts should be sanded smooth prior to sealing. However, several coats of quality exterior grade primer and porch paint or stain will help waterproof standard oriented strand board panels. Covering the OSB with a weather-resistant material and siding, bricks or shingles will also protect OSB from precipitation. Cut or untreated edges are more likely to swell and even delaminate if exposed to moisture. Sealing prior to installation improves the waterproofing and protects the structural integrity of the panel.

Due to the waterproof resin adhesive used to bond the strands together, the panels take longer than plywood to get saturated but then take longer to dry out too.