Carpenters-Need info on OSB

[tallyho8]

I am trying to find out what is the most widely used thickness of OSB used on walls and roofs for sheathing when they are mounted on 16" centers and the walls have vinyl siding and the roof has sealtab. 7/16? 15/32? 19/32?

I realize many people will say "the thicker, the better", but I am mainly interested in what the industry standard is.

 

[Steve C]

I am trying to find out what is the most widely used thickness of OSB used on walls and roofs for sheathing when they are mounted on 16" centers and the walls have vinyl siding and the roof has sealtab. 7/16? 15/32? 19/32?

I realize many people will say "the thicker, the better", but I am mainly interested in what the industry standard is.

It probably depends on your local building codes but they don't use anything thinner than 1/2" on roofs here in Michigan. I believe 7/16 is fine for side walls.

and it is cheaper than cardboard.

 

[EddieWalker]

7/16 is used on everything from walls with 16 inch centers to roofs with 24 inch centers and commercial buildings with metal studs. If you want the standard, then it's 7/16's.

Eddie

 

[Egon]

It will most likely depend on your location and the snow loading that must be met.

 

[bp fick]

7/16 will require clips when used on 24 centered trusses and still, you will get a certain amount of rippling or definition. 1/2 just seems to minimize a lot of that appearance. Still 24 truss or rafter centers should still be clipped, even with 1/2. These also act as spacers, as OSB has a certain amount of expansion and contraction.

7/16 for wall sheeting, unless otherwise specified by code in your area, and yes, sometimes local codes exceed generally accepted national codes, for ME, would be plenty good.

 

[DanD78]

I just put up a small building and used 1/2 on the roof with 24" centers and 7/16 on the side walls with 16" centers. That seems to be the norm around here. I don't like to see roofs that sag between the rafters. You can tell by looking who used the thin sheeting with out the clips between the rafters. I am not sure what the building code calls for in our area.

Dan

 

[CurlyDave]

Before you buy it, look at the stamp on the OSB. There should be a number such as 32/16 or 40/20. Possibly it will show up as 16 O.C. or 20 O.C.

This is the rating of the OSB when used as decking and as sheathing. 32/16 means that the OSB is rated for use as sheathing on with studs on 32" centers and as decking with rafters on 16" centers.

If there is only one number it is for use as decking.

For floors look for the Sturd-i-Floor trademark and then the same types of numbers for decking and sheathing.

If you use 7/16" or 1/2" for roof decking there are metal clips which should be installed between the rafters to spread the load between sheets and prevent sagging over time.

See the attached file for a better explanation of this.

 

[winston1]

7/16 is the standard in East Texas. Some builders do use thicker and some even use plywood but the standard is 7/16 osb. Most roofs in East Texas are 24" centers. We use clips on any thickness on roofs but not on 16" stud spacing on walls.

 

[timswi]

I used 5/8 on the roof, 24" centers with clips..7/16 on the walls

 

[Wayne County Hose]

7/16" for the walls, 5/8" for roofs.