Lots of OSB

[iluvmyhusband]

My husband built a garage 32 by 16 by 12 with a door and a garage door.
He used to work on the ground on our car and our sons car in winter too.
Now he has a real garage, i used to call it a sharage, (shed and garage)
He insulated vapor barriered etc. I went inside and it is wonderful, however, the osb is on the walls and ceiling and he put the shiny side not facing outward so the paint will adhere better, he chose osb as he feels climate changes make drywall sag, and he did not want to crackfill, with that said, the osb has a terrible odour, i have checked your site for all the great info i mean great info of what to do but will a primer sealer like kilz oil based stop that odour ?
We went thru a lot building this, it fell on him few times, and once over a bit, then the concrete dude, was smoking mariguana and asking for beer and vodka and cigarettes and lot of money (his workers spread the concrete floor), that is the only person my husband hired as when you are working with concrete you cant make a mistake. He used a panel jack to put the osb on the ceiling litterally he did this by himself. One man show. So my question is will sealer stop that odour? ty advance. lisa

 

[n2ocamaro]

I have an OSB ceiling and attic floor (soon to be on the walls also) and have no odor. What does it smell like?

 

[Zeke]

Lisa, time will kill the odor. I don't think it has anything to do with what side faces out. The OSB is just out gassing the glue. I'd let it sit a couple weeks in warmer weather with the doors open and check it then.

And yes, a sealer will help with the smell but it will have its own smell for a period.

Thanks for joining up and asking!

 

[n2ocamaro]

My only guess would have been glue. I guess mine had sit for awhile before I bought it.

 

[mypov]

I kind of like that smell

If it is the fresh OSB smell you are talking about - and it will indeed go away with time.

 

[383]

I've installed a lot of OSB, and when new in a hot enclosed area can have a strong smell. Like others have said, it will get better with time. If you want to paint it to brighten it up, a good primer should keep the different colors of wood from bleeding through. Congrats on the new garage, welcome to the site, and I hope your husband recovers from all the problems during construction.

 

[iluvmyhusband]

To all the lovely people who welcomed me and gave me the wonderful advice, forgive me i dont know how to reply to each singley...I have migraines so i notice all strong smells, and there was a reply that said they bought some a bit older, this stuff seemed really new in stock pile...and thanks for the well wishes for it to go better, construction is ruff, and so hard to find anyone who will work for good pay but do good work. we payed eveyone, even when we had to finish or fix their work. I helped my husband cut the expansion joints in the concrete he bought the right blade, as the guy wanted more money to do it, and he was so inappropriate around me and our daughter that it was not about money, we had it covered.
Bless you all for the info. Now it is about finding the best price for the paint. Bless you all for the info. I felt so bad, that he chose this and worked so hard, and i did not want him breathing in wierd stuff, even though he says at his work there are chemical smells etc. lol thanks everone soooo much, lisa

 

[NUTTSGT]

If you get migraines, you'll probably want to stay clear of it when painting oil based Kilz. The stuff stinks very bad and should be used only in ventilated areas. If not, paint it and get out.

 

[dandan111]

That kilz is great stuff,kind of pricey. I have use it to seal nasty drywall in my garage before paint and it worked great. If its just the smell I bet any good primer will take care of that and brighten it up a lot.

 

[iluvmyhusband]

thank you, my husband was worried about the smell of the painting as well. i will the garage door open and get in and get out asap, wont be moving any stuff once i open the paint, be ready to roll and roll it and get out thanks

 

[Gary S]

My OSB had odor when I cut it and installed. Once I painted it, the smell was gone. All I did was put on one coat of oil based sealer and top coated that with a single coat of latex exterior paint.

 

[Stinger]

They sell odorless kilz, I used it in my basement so it wouldn't stink up the whole house. It was certainly way better than the normal kilz I used on the OSB in my garage.

 

[G_P]

Another vote here for Kilz.

 

[zeebad1]

We used the -based Kilz, but really never noticed any obnoxious odor.

It sure does work for sealing the OSB.a single topcoat of high quality latex, and no bleeding thru.

 

[Big-Foot]

Make sure you use the oil based Kilz.. The water based stuff isn't worth the powder to blow it to heck...

I wish all wives were as thoughtful as you are...

 

[automobiliben]

Lisa,
I realize that this isn't any help now, but for you and others, they do make Formaldehyde-free OSB, that is where the smell is coming from...

http://www.ainsworthengineered.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2010/12/Formaldehyde_Handout.pdf

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Since you will be covering the rough side, use a deep knap roller to cover it with Kilz properly. Cover the floor with plastic, as it will spatter alot. Will be nice and bright in there, much better than the dark OSB finish.

Charles

 

[Falcon67]

I did not paint my OSB. Since I did it a little at a time, the few weeks in the heat between loading in panels let any smells dissipate. My wife does not complain when we sit out there, and she has a very sensitive smeller. She can smell a guy smoking in a diesel cattle truck at 600'. Kiltz will also seal it up.

 

[Fubeca]

I used to work in construction and have had a lot of experience with OSB. I was never bothered by it.

I recently used it on the inside of a small office (6x6) and the smell was overwhelming. It would cause me to be nauseated and get headaches. I was very surprised. I wonder if newer adhesives they are using are different from what was used in the past. I let it air out for several days and then painted it. It is marginally better now if I keep a fan on, but I don't know if I will use OSB when I do my shop.

 

[Mr.Magoo]

Yes, it is off gassing the contents of the binder, if you get headaches as was just mentioned, open some doors and circulate, do this even if you seal it with something. Oh!, it is all supposed to be safe at these levels, but remember, your carpet, plywood and other building materials have certain chemicals like formaldehyde and other ones I can't even spell. Some of these newer houses are so tightly built, it takes years before they can off gas completely. All I can say is, leave the doors open a lot. FRESH AIR!!!

 

[iluvmyhusband]

Thank you Magoo...we redid our first home, and i loved that house when we lugged water to drink, as ours was bad, and my husband replaced everything, he built a basement (my step father used to shake his head at what was accomplished, on a shoe string budget) lol..new roof new well new septic new wiring, new stink pipe, (the older ones were made of mortar?) new windows doors in and out, freshe pain of shingles, (buyers sided it) new deck, corner lot with 2 driveways insulated, new drain tile and eaves dropping, (which is like a second drain tile) the stairs were those rounded kind, first set hubby made and they are the hardest, brand new oak kithcen he built, better than ours now. He did not build ours. we sold, as we had land beside my parents, and the area was infested with people that were needy, i had 4 small children and there are too many stories to tell, but we built new and i did hear about air tight, and let me tell you i have 3 air systems, the daylight basement has a dehumidifier under teh stairs which is the utility room where there is lots of cement wall. on all the time, then a humididex which on in summer, then ac units, (no central ac, darn) and it is on in summer and upstairs, central air heat recovery which is on in fall winter early spring, i coudl write a book about humidity. Internet was just really hitting back when we were in the old house, but these forums are wonderful, as one thing i have learned is do the research, do the math, listen to people,, take your time, now when your selling one home and building another and kids and work , and worry you be stuck with 2 houses, we were not in the position to do enuf research. Wish i had you guys long time ago. thanks so much for all the great advice, and i def will start with an oil based sealer and then latex, becasue of the odours, i looked at those wagner rollers with the paint out inside the handle,, reviews looked good and it seems to be priced low, dont care about paint trays, but where i want to get in and get out...plus i will have to be sure to put the plastic on the garage floor, as he loves that cement floor. lol thanks so very much.

 

[n2ocamaro]

She can smell a guy smoking in a diesel cattle truck at 600'. Kiltz will also seal it up.

My wife is the same way. She help me put the OSB on the ceiling and never complained once about any smells (and she would have.....at length!).

 

[MoonRise]

Sealer/paint may or may not limit or reduce the odor.

It depends a lot on how 'tight' the building is and whether or not the 'smelly' parts are putting the smell 'into' the building or to the outdoors. As well as how much ventilation and fresh air exchange is going on in the building.

And just like not all drywall is the same (think back just a few short years to the 'chinese drywall' and the horrible stink that made), not all 'OSB' may be the same.

Because it depends a lot on exactly what the mill/factory/manufacturer put into that lot of 'OSB'. Especially the "resin" (aka 'glue') used to bind all the wood chips/flakes/strands together into the OSB sheets.

And it would also depends on jsut how 'fresh' the OSB is, and thus how much time it had to outgas at the factory or the warehouse or the distributor or the retailer before you installed it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriented_strand_board

And some people may be more sensitive to smells or even just to certain smells than others. So if someone says "It stinks!", I'll generally take them at their word even if someone else says they don't smell anything or that the smell really doesn't bother them.

So, it kind of all depends. Giving the OSB some time to outgas may help let the smell dissipate, or it may not. Painting/sealing the OSB may help reduce the smell, or it may not.

 

[38Chevy454]

I think combination of time to let it outgas a couple weeks and then paint with oil based Kilz (or similar) will solve most of your problems. The Kilz will take a bit to let it stop smelling also. Ventilation and keep it dry out there to help.

I used Kilz on my OSB walls and could not be happier with the end results. Great for light reflection.

 

[ToddW]

Make sure you use the oil based Kilz.. The water based stuff isn't worth the powder to blow it to heck...

I wish all wives were as thoughtful as you are...

What ?

I used Water Based on my OSB and have used it on my T1-11, and drywall, and it's worked great.

I used Oil Based for covering some animal stains, and it worked fine for that but I def. didn't notice the water based being bad.

 

[PeterT]

I used a sherwin williams oil based OSB paint, it was a lot cheaper then Kilz and it pretty much bullet proofed my interour. Bought it in 5 gal pails, used about 20 gals total. Two coats, then a final coat of dutch boys interor paint. Turned out real nice, no smells and solid.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Since you will be covering the rough side, use a deep knap roller to cover it with Kilz properly. Cover the floor with plastic, as it will spatter alot. Will be nice and bright in there, much better than the dark OSB finish.

Charles

I'll second the drop cloth for the splatter.

I'll go one step farther, I wore an old pair of safety glasses too. More than once I got a splatter drop on my contact. That'll pretty ruin a contact lense.

 

[ToddW]

I used a sherwin williams oil based OSB paint, it was a lot cheaper then Kilz and it pretty much bullet proofed my interour. Bought it in 5 gal pails, used about 20 gals total. Two coats, then a final coat of dutch boys interor paint. Turned out real nice, no smells and solid.

That's good to know!

I`ll stop by and see what they have before I finish up

 

[Big-Foot]

What ?

I used Water Based on my OSB and have used it on my T1-11, and drywall, and it's worked great.

I used Oil Based for covering some animal stains, and it worked fine for that but I def. didn't notice the water based being bad.

Just happened to me again last night because I was out of the oil based primer. I used Zinsser Bulls-Eye 1-2-3 water based primer on some woodwork that was stained 30+ years ago. Lightly sanded to clean up the surface and primed. 10 minutes later it looked like I had thrown a bunch of brown paint into the primer.. I will sand it again and use the Killz oil based like I should have in the first place.. ....

The latex stuff is only good for one thing in my book... Covering virgin sheetrock and plaster..