OSB Walls

[Shawn Honeychurch]

OK, minor change here;

Is OSB OK for exterior walls?

Shawn

[Matt Meiser]

Under some kind of siding? Or exposed?

Virtually all new houses I see built around here are sheeted in OSB. The garage at my old house had a pole barn type lean-to added on the back that was just painted OSB that had been exposed for several years. It was in OK shape--a little rough, but sound. The key there was probably the paint and that it was able to dry out quickly after it got wet. I sided the whole thing because it didn't look very good. There's a huge house several miles from here that has been sitting unfinished for probably 10 years. All the OSB is a sick gray color and for years every time I go by I expect to see parts falling in, but they haven't yet. I wouldn't walk on it though.

But I've also left a sheet of unpainted OSB outside for several months where it sat with an edge on the ground and with snow on it. It wasn't good for anything but the burn pile. And on our house we had to replace the sheeting under one window due to water that leaked in from a bad window unit. But it also partially rotted out the 2x6 under the window.

I guess I'm of the belief, from my experience, that it isn't any more susceptible to failure than any other product, but when it does fail, it fails more spectacularly because it just crumbles. To answer your question, if I was building a new building, I'd sheet with OSB and side over it.

[Tom Clark FL]

This post is just a thank you to the Creekers who are such a help when a newbie is planning a project! 15 years ago I built a new steel shop building when we moved to the country, and wanted to put up walls and paint the floor. Unfortunately, the old house sold very quickly, and the shop had to be moved before any inside work could be done. The last 15 years the walls have just been the vinyl sided insulation the building contractors put in. What a pain. It was easy to damage and you could not hang anything on the walls…Now we are moving again for a change of climate, and this time we had time to work on the new shop before moving into it. My first idea was to put up some cheap paneling on the walls. Tried to find any cheap paneling lately? It's not only expensive but is only 1/8" thick. Crap! What could you hang on that?? I started doing some research on SMC and found this post about using OSB for paneling. The idea of thicker walls where you could hang anything on them sounded good. Thanks fellas. The studs had extra sheets of 2" styrofoam put behind them, and then the wiring put in with the OSB over that. What a difference the paint makes. I painted 2100 sq ft of walls with 2 coats of Kilz primer. Took 13 gallons. The shop room was looking like a dungeon before the walls were painted, but afterwards, what a transformation! It is so bright inside! Thanks again for all the posts you guys put up three years ago. They are still doing a great job of educating anyone who takes the time to do a little research.

[David Keast]

I've used it to dry line a big wall, 20ft long 9ft high, very pleased with the result. The OSB we buy here in France is T&G, presume yours is the same. The one mistake I made was to not glue the joints, with big summer to winter humidity changes, some of the joints have opened enough to be visible under the paint. We filled the joints and fixings with regular wall filler then painted with regular water based (we call it emulsion) paint such as you would use on a plastered wall. Looks great.

[glenn bradley]

what a transformation! It is so bright inside!

Do you want to adopt? I'm available. That place looks like a slice of heaven.

[Tom Clark FL]

Do you want to adopt? I'm available. That place looks like a slice of heaven.

Sorry Glenn,

You're in SoCal and the new shop is in New Mexico. A bit far for you to commute.

[Matt Meiser]

So tell us the truth--did you have to move because of all the groupies showing up on your doorstep after the Wood Magazine spread?

[Tom Clark FL]

Matt,

The truth? What Groupies?? Only one person ever emailed and asked if he could come over for a visit. Too bad as I love company, and the chance to sit around and talk woodworking!!

The truth? After 38 years of living in Florida, we are moving our observatory to better skies so we can enjoy our telescope making hobby even more.

Sigh… Fame is so fleeting! Thanks for remembering…

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Tom, Welcome to New Mexico! Remember all you have to know here is Red or Green?Did you find a place at higher altitudes or just the dry air and good weather over the most of the state. ( for those who haven't visited NM, altitude ranges from around 4000 to over 13000 feet. About 5k where I'm located.

[Tom Clark FL]

Thanks Bill,

We are at 4800' between Silver City and Deming. Skies are incredibly clear!

[Bob Deroeck]

Hi,

I'd appreciate some clarification on the subject of OSB. By "OSB" are members referring just to "oriented-strand" board? Or, is the term "OSB" being used for both "oriented-strand" board or "wafer" board?


Also, where have members been able to find OSB in 1/4, 5/16, or 3/8" thicknesses. I'm having trouble findings any OSB less than 7/16" thickness in my area.

Bob DeRoeck

[Kevin W Johnson]

Bob

oriented-strand board....

I'd go for the 7/16", as thats what i used. I wouldn't want it any thinner. If anything i'd go thicker, just so it has more strength if you want to hang something that misses a stud.

[Ole Anderson]

My most recent shop walls are 1/2" OSB painted satin pure white. works for me.

[Luc Vincent]

Just finished insulating and paneling my shop with 7/16" OSB. I used one coat of Zinsser primer and one coat of flat ceiling white(because I had a surplus of it to use up) and it came out great. I did most of it myself and cut each 4x8 sheet in half to notch in my electrical boxes and it made it very easy to handle solo. I put it up with 18gauge crown stapler and it went up very fast. I also caulked the seams and corners and from a distance you can't even tell it's OSB. I'm very happy with it. Here's a pic shortly after painting..wall is still wet.