OSB Use

[Maggie01]

I've always been under the impression that OSB is not good, because it will deteriorate when it gets wet. However, I've been reading some of the conversion threads and see where alot of people are using it for their sub floors, walls, and cabinets.

Yea or nay? If nay, why are people using it and if yea how are they protecting it from water damage?

Also has anyone tried just torching a plywood subfloor and then coating it with lots of floor polyurethane to protect it?

 

[Drew Bru]

I've always been under the impression that OSB is not good, because it will deteriorate when it gets wet. However, I've been reading some of the conversion threads and see where alot of people are using it for their sub floors, walls, and cabinets.

Yea or nay? If nay, why are people using it and if yea how are they protecting it from water damage?

Also has anyone tried just torching a plywood subfloor and then coating it with lots of floor polyurethane to protect it?

Ours came with a OSB subfloor, but if I had a choice I'd go with plywood. The cost is negligible, and OSB doesn't stand up to moisture very well. We painted ours in case any liquid gets past the laminate flooring on top. Not sure how much the paint will help, but it's better than nothing. I've heard of people using Drylock paint on both plywood and OSB to protect from moisture and it seems like it would work.
I've seen plywood torched and polyurethaned and it can have a nice finished look to it.

 

[musigenesis]

OSB doesn't really deteriorate when it gets wet - it's more that it will deteriorate (rot) if it stays wet for a prolonged period of time (just like plywood). The difference between OSB and plywood is that if they get wet, plywood will dry out faster than OSB in high-humidity conditions (they both dry out equally fast in arid conditions); also if OSB gets wet even once, its capacity to dry out is permanently lowered (whereas plywood is mostly back to normal once it dries out).

Price-wise, 23/32 OSB T&G is $23.28 per sheet at Lowe's; the same in plywood is $39.28. The price difference is small enough that I'd go with plywood. For my bus I'd need seven sheets for the floor so that would only be an extra $100. "Luckily" I found some cheap plywood salvaged from juice concentrate crates for my floor, cost me about $90 total.