Osb Or Plywood For Attic Floor

Building codes the engineered wood association architects and most builders rate plywood and oriented strand board obs sheathing equal in strength and durability.

Osb or plywood for attic floor.

Osb oriented strand board. Osb is not attractive enough to serve as a floor covering not only is the chip board appearance unattractive but the surface is also often marked with grid lines and manufacturer markings. As a result osb floors are more likely to squeak due to floor movement cause hard floor surfaces to crack such as tile result in soft spongy floors cost of plywood vs osb. Platforms don t have to be plywood.

Osb when exposed to the weather will eventually swell and bubble up minor instances of bubbling can be sanded but for the most part the osb is irreparable and should be replaced. However plywood subfloors are stiffer than osb by about 10. You can install inch plywood or oriented strand board osb in 4 foot by 8 foot panels over existing 16 inch oc joists. Osb is cheaper than plywood by about 3 to 5 per panel.

Install two by four blocking between joists or wherever needed to support edges of the plywood that do not have support from the bottom. It might seem impossible to haul it up to the attic. Attic pine oriented strand board common. I ve used 7 16 osb for decking in an attic.

Maneuvering heavy 4 x 8 sheets of plywood or osb oriented strand board up to an unfinished attic is sometimes like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. The decision regarding the thickness of plywood to use for the subfloor in the attic has a lot to do with how you intend to use the attic and it also. A plywood subfloor generally uses 1 2 inch to 3 4 inch thick sheets of plywood that have one rough side which faces down and one smooth side which faces up. For joists spaced.

Cut the plywood into manageable strips about 10 inches wide to make the job easier. It is too thin for a floor in a room but for a lightly used attic it is plenty. Here are a few tips to help you and your house get through the attic flooring installation job unscathed. X 47 75 in install over insulation or unreliable attic flooring boards lock together using a tongue and groove design.

7 16 and 6 00 sounds more like osb than plywood. Plywood comes in large sheets. It is cheap and strong enough for the job. In 2001 oriented strand board surpassed plywood in terms of square footage produced.

Installing attic flooring for light storage only.