But love it or not, OSB is here to stay.
It works well for walls that stay dry or for roof sheathing.
But how well suited isOSB for flooring or subflooring?
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What OSB Is
OSB is short for oriented strand board.
OSB is a synthetic wood product made from chipped wood.
Up to 50 layers of strands are compressed under high pressure to form OSB.
The Spruce / Jacob Fox
and even below the underlayment, in some cases.
Plywood has long been used for subflooring.
OSB was introduced in the 1970s, but mainly was used for walls.
Around the 1990s, OSB began to make in-roads into the plywood market for subflooring.
Most local codes allow OSB to be used for subflooring.
It’s always best to check with your localpermitting officebefore using OSB for your subfloor.
One advantage that OSB has over plywood is its larger formatting.
For plywood, 8-foot and 10-foot long sheets of plywood are standard.
Even then, it could only be used for outbuildings or workshops.
Eventually, though, the OSB will begin to break down after repeated use and traffic.
