So. I told my wife that I was going to Lowes to do more product price research. I spent some time comparing prices to what HD had (they were essentially identical) and was about to leave the store, still not having committed to either drywall or OSB. One of the employees, and older, grizzled looking gentleman, asked me if I needed help just as I was leaving. To be polite, I told him I was just doing research and probably did not need any help. He persisted. I explained the situation. He then told me to come with him to the nearby entrance door and see a selection of "culled" i.e. damaged building materials outside. There were seven sheets of 7/16 OSB at 1/2 price. So, that made the decision for me. This is a budget project, folks, so being able to walk out of there with six sheets (I left the worst one) of OSB for $28 was a no-brainer. Since I'm using furring strips anyway, I am going to be able to trim the damaged parts of the OSB and still have no problem with the edges landing on wood to be fastened to.
I am not in love with the stuff, as it feels cheap/crappy and seems to shoot splinters into my hands at every opportunity. But, I can tell that it is going to resist being damaged much better than even 5/8 drywall, and I am confident about the painting now thanks to some of you who shared your stories here.
Are the screw heads going to stand a little proud here? I am using 1 1/4" coarse thread drywall screws because I have a million of them on-hand. If I go slowly enough, some of them will dimple the surface and be flush, while other stand proud and further screwing just makes them strip out the wood they are in and start spinning freely. It's not a big deal, I'm just curious.
Here are some pretty boring, uninspired progress pics for tonight. I didn't have much time out there, and since I am not a pro I go slowly and take my time so I can achieve at least a mediocre level of quality. You can see most of the furring strips (still need to do more). I decided to arrange the OSB vertically.
I included a couple pics of the most major damage to the OSB sheets. Some have very little. What I picture are the worst spots. For $4.50 per sheet, who cares?!
Oh, and yes, I will be placing these shiny side out, as some of you have said to do.
I will definitely be keeping an eye on that damaged materials pile outside of the store. Using that stuff, even a poor scrub like me can afford to do some home improvements!