The Chronicles of Nickerson - When OSB Gets Wet

I'll go out on a limb and say that the majority of residential properties in the US are built using wood framing with plywood for structural stability. Our house is built using steel framing instead of wood, and OSB instead of plywood.

According to AskTheBuilder.com, “Plywood and oriented strand board (OSB) are similar, yet different. They are made similarly yet react differently when they get wet. OSB may be less expensive, but if cuts are made to the surface, it loses its waterproof quality.”

I particularly liked this part, “Some OSB panels react differently from plywood when they get wet. When OSB is manufactured the cut edges are sealed with a special waterproof paint. Carpenters destroy the watertight integrity of OSB each time they make a cut that exposes wood fiber edges. These cut edges are prone to swelling after they get wet. It is possible to seal these edges after they are cut, but it may be tough to find a carpenter willing to take the time to perform this extra step.”

A new crack appeared in the stucco on the third floor starting at one of the leaking windows, directly under suspect roof flashing. It wasn't there one day, and then, BAM, there it was the next. It stretches mockingly across the front of the house no less than six feet long. As if the house is winking at us. And although we aren't experts in this area, we suspect that if the OSB on our house has gotten wet and it is "swelling" under the stucco that it could possibly cause cracking. But we are just speculating.

We thought when we moved in here that the way karma would pay us back would be that one of our children would get injured on the stairs. But that hasn't been the case. Karma is an amazingly fair equalizer. We made the decision and all of the bad ramifications have happened to us. The stairs have only injured Charlie. As far as the kids go, what has happened is that they have grown to appreciate architecture and have added some words to their vocabulary like, scupper, incompetent, toxic mold, and (sorry - it happens) jackass.

Posted at 11:01AM Jun 05, 2006 by sarad in General  |  Comments[1]