OSB floor is a sustainable sub-floor made of compressed wood strands arranged in perpendicular layers. It is environmentally friendly, strong, and versatile. The manufacturing process involves cutting logs into strands, drying and treating them with wax and waterproof binder, bundling them into large sheets, and subjecting them to high temperature pressurization. OSB floorboards have tongue-and-groove edges that interlock and are attached directly to the joists that support the floor. They can be installed in a single layer subfloor or as a subfloor to be covered with an underlayment. OSB floor has several advantages over other types of hardwood subfloors, including being less expensive and having no “weak spots.” However, when it gets wet, the edges can expand by up to 15%.
An OSB floor is one layer of a flooring system known as a sub-floor. The subfloor is the structure that sits beneath the visible floor, which could be hardwood, vinyl, carpet, or some other material. OSB, or oriented strand board, is an engineered structural board made of compressed wood strands arranged in perpendicular layers. OSB is different from other types of wood paneling because its pieces of wood are “oriented” and placed deliberately, not at random. An OSB floor is an environmentally friendly flooring platform valued for its uniformity, strength and versatility.
An OSB floor is made with sustainably harvested wood from fast-growing trees such as southern yellow pine, aspen, and even bamboo. The logs are cut into strands, dried and treated with wax and a waterproof binder. These strands are then bundled into large sheets and subjected to high temperature pressurization. Manufacturing equipment ensures that the wires are strategically oriented to overlap and interlock at a 90 degree angle. Then each strand is coated with a high performance laminating glue such as phenolic resin, creating an excellent strong and rigid board for sub flooring.
While sub-flooring can be made of many different materials, wood sub-floors are usually used in areas where basements are common. OSB floor boards normally have tongue-and-groove edges that interlock and are attached directly to the joists that support the floor, either by screwing or gluing, to help eliminate squeaking. Tongue and groove edges can also be glued together.
An OSB floorboard can be installed in a single layer subfloor with an underlayment or as a subfloor to be covered with an underlayment, which provides a smoother underlayment and stiffens the subfloor. The subfloor can also be made from OSB and always goes above the subfloor. Once the subfloor has been properly prepared, the exposed floor can be laid.
An OSB floor has several advantages over other types of hardwood subfloors, especially plywood. First, it is made from sustainably harvested lumber and therefore reduces the demand for old growth lumber. It typically takes on a squarer shape and has higher cut resistance with no “weak spots.” It can be made in much larger panels than plywood, and OSB is usually less expensive, because the supply tends to be nearly double that of plywood. The biggest disadvantage of an OSB floor is that when it gets wet, the edges can expand by up to 15%, which can then affect the floor materials lying on top.
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