OSB (NEW) NEED ANSWER FAST!!

[doug hodder]

...personally, I feel that marine ply is overkill for a tear......madjack

I agree with ya Jack.

The only time I use a marine grade ply is when building a mahogany woody and wanting the really nice looking knot free veneer for the exterior. It's all for show...you can get it down to 4 mil, and the veneers are more forgiving to a heavy hand when sanding than the typical interior grade mahogany veneered ply The marine grade stuff really does have a lot nicer appearance to it for a woody finished "bright" as opposed to some of the luan or lesser grade mahogany plys, and it is void free. It's too much $$ to put out for the regular marine grade firs for these applications. Doug

[mikeschn]

I'll be using a paint grade birch plywood for my current build. They may call it paint grade, but it's some really pretty stuff. And I saved a little money too.

Mike...

[RICHARD FURROW]

Would formaldehyde be of issue if the wood is sealed boh sides?

[bobhenry]

Would formaldehyde be of issue if the wood is sealed boh sides?

~~~~THE GREAT OSB DEBATE ~~~~

20 years ago there was a product called OX BOARD this was a pile of wood chips and a very inferior glue system. If it looked at water it fell apart. This is not OSB but is where it gets a bad rap.

Chubby is built of 7/16 osb for the sides and floor. The side were 3 sheets left over from temporary yard sale tables that had set from 6/06 to 4/07 in the fall and winter weather. They were sound enough to use as my sides. I detect no odor and my wife has serious allergies to perfume and many household cleaners. (Bathroom tub and tile cleaner and oven cleaner are great wife repellents in our house.) The floor was built from fresh from the stack OSB and I have no quams about using the same material again. I built Eggbert my toy tear in early 06 and he has never been covered or seen the inside of a garage. I coated him with 2 heavy coats of rubberized mobile home roof coating inside and out. There is no delamination or flakeing I would recommend this coating most highly it fills seams and cracks in the entire project. I have seen plywood let go too it ain't pretty either , just a a big wavey mess.

[boomboomtulum]

I used 1/2 Baltic Birch for the floor and 4 x 9 3/4 AA Cabinet grade Birch for the sides. Leave OSB on the roof of the house as sheeting or under the floor as underlayment where it will be covered, for now it is still building code acceptable, but here in Calif. it will be on it's way out soon.

Dave

[Miriam C.]

Would formaldehyde be of issue if the wood is sealed boh sides?

To get a real accurate answer you would need to do a full chem. test. However if you look at a can of Shellac you will see that is seals out wood vapors and smells. I used it for the pine that was not undercover and wish I had used my Spalted Maple inside with it.

If you build it right the OSB will work in some areas. (MHO) Now if you try to screw into the end of it you better plan on spending money for aluminum to hold your screws in. I like the looks but it is not cheaper if you need to buy extra to make it structural.

[Tombstonebilly]

I found a piece of 7/16 osb up on the roof of my barn left over from when I added some roofline on the side. The osb was up there at least three to four months it had bleached out but is still strong and solid. But I noticed the osb seems to weigh a little more than ply. . Some osb has a nice pattern to it, I think if you protected it with paint or stain it should last a long time.