Pa18sher

[pa18sher]

I'm so sick of looking for a decent house (very small) to buy that I can fix up because they're all full of termites, mold, what have you, so I want to build one. I'd like to know: Is that pressboard as strong or stronger than regular wood? The house I'm living in now is pressboard with vinyl siding over it. What do you think?

 

[383 240z]

Do you mean OSB? Around here most of the newer built houses, have plywood on the corners, and OSB for the rest. If you keep it dry, it seams to be working fine. My shop has OSB for the entire roof. My sisters house has plywood for the first row of sheeting on the roof, OSB for the rest. Keith

 

[383 240z]

I would not trust OSB on my roof, but it usually comes down to economics. $20 a sheet for plywood and $8 for OSB

 

[Jackfre]

I was watching a "this Old House" episode and they were doing a test shooting a 2x4 out of an air cannon at a sheet of OSb and then a sheet of plywood. I blew right through the OSB, but bounced off the plywood. I am just finishing the re-model of the house and prepping for the new garage/shop. I have forbidden OSB on the place for any reason.

 

[rburke65]

pa18sher.....you might want to update your profile and include a location. It really helps. I believe that plywood has it's place and there are areas where you can use OSB. It really helps if you know the drawbacks of the different products. Good luck!

 

[383 240z]

I was watching a "this Old House" episode and they were doing a test shooting a 2x4 out of an air cannon at a sheet of OSb and then a sheet of plywood. I blew right through the OSB, but bounced off the plywood. I am just finishing the re-model of the house and prepping for the new garage/shop. I have forbidden OSB on the place for any reason.

That's not a valid test. Unless you regularly shoot cannons at your buildings. Sheeting is to keep the studs from racking, basically its a shear plate. OSB is not a bad product, but like anything else, you have to use it in a way that it was intended. Keith

 

[MoparTrucks]

Personally I wouldn't buy any house that has vinyl siding period. When we were looking for our farm we must have looked at 40 or 50 different places and everything from new or newer construction to turn of the 20th century. The newer places with vinyl over OSB just didnt seem too solid to me and some of them already were having issues; 100% of the older homes we looked at that had vinyl siding were covering major issues.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I would not trust OSB on my roof, but it usually comes down to economics. $20 a sheet for plywood and $8 for OSB

That is all they use around here ! My son upgraded from 7/16" OSB to full 1/2" OSB when he had his roof completely re-decked.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I was watching a "this Old House" episode and they were doing a test shooting a 2x4 out of an air cannon at a sheet of OSb and then a sheet of plywood. I blew right through the OSB, but bounced off the plywood. I am just finishing the re-model of the house and prepping for the new garage/shop. I have forbidden OSB on the place for any reason.

Are you sure that was "standard" plywood ? There are some other products on the market now a days.

That's not a valid test. Unless you regularly shoot cannons at your buildings. Sheeting is to keep the studs from racking, basically its a shear plate. OSB is not a bad product, but like anything else, you have to use it in a way that it was intended. Keith

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT !

 

[theoldwizard1]

Personally I wouldn't buy any house that has vinyl siding period.

Good luck finding something else !

When my in-laws custom built a house over 10 years ago they used rough sawn cedar with solid color stain. The guys siding the building were true "craftsman". Every joint was bevel cut. All the **** cuts around the windows were so tight you almost didn't need caulking !

Yes, they paid a lot extra for that.

 

[pa18sher]

I'm northeast of Atlanta, Ga. It's pretty humid here. I want to build a house economically with decent material that will last. I loathe vinyl siding but don't know about other options. There's a Southern Salvage place that carries "cement" siding, which I think I like the idea of. Any suggestions?

 

[pa18sher]

This house has vinyl over osb and I just hate it. Not only does the lawn mower blown rocks make holes in it, every time I close the back door the pictures on the wall move. I want to build something solid and small so I can afford to do it. I'm trying to take everything into consideration, and you're right, all the older homes with vinyl are covering up other issues, rot, termites, water damage, who knows what. After looking at so many older homes with sloping kitchen counters and other major alarms, I really want to build something, no matter how small. A 2/2 would be fine, 1200 sf with porches on front and back.

 

[csp]

Good luck finding something else !

Not a problem where I'm at. The use of vinyl siding is highly dependant on location.

My home has Hardieboard, which is the cementitious siding. It's good stuff, especially if it's the kind that has the color embedded in it.

OP, your thread title could use some help. I only clicked on it to see what the heck pa18sher was.....

 

[PT Doc]

Here in Colorado i have not seen vinyl siding. Now back in nj that's a whole different ball game.

Closing a door and the whole house shaking is not caused by the osb. What is the price point of the houses you are looking at?

 

[theoldwizard1]

There's a Southern Salvage place that carries "cement" siding, which I think I like the idea of. Any suggestions?

One of the biggest suppliers of cementitious siding product is Jame Hardie. Lots of styles. You can purchase it pre-primed or primed and painted.

It costs more than other siding products, but is last a long time and paint adheres well to it. It is also more expensive to install. Shears and nibblers should be used instead of traditional saws to reduce the amount of dust. Stainless steel or hot dipped nails are recommended. There are additional requirements for flashing and caulking joints. Soffit and trim material are available.

Google and YouTube are your friends.

Sheathing (OSB) and house wrap are still required to prevent the wall from "racking". (There are other methods of "wind bracing" to prevent the wall from racking, but no one uses them these days, probably because they are more labor intensive.)

 

[csp]

Here in Colorado i have not seen vinyl siding.

Go east of Denver or Colorado Springs into areas where HUD modular houses are likely to be found. Lots of vinyl in those houses, but as you make mention of, it's a price point thing.

 

[Beemer533]

I was watching a "this Old House" episode and they were doing a test shooting a 2x4 out of an air cannon at a sheet of OSb and then a sheet of plywood. I blew right through the OSB, but bounced off the plywood. I am just finishing the re-model of the house and prepping for the new garage/shop. I have forbidden OSB on the place for any reason.

That test was only intended to show why plywood was better to protect your windows from flying debris during a hurricane.

 

[vision8]

From Southern Ontario.
When I designed and built my own house 30 years ago; I used 2x6 studs with 1" compressed insulation sheeting then brick and vinyl only on the upper 2nd level. Used 5/8 plywood on the roof so that if the shingles are deteriorated the plywood holds up whereas OBS would expand and leak immediately and need replacing with a re-roof. Like others said choice of cost. Set a sheet of each outside in the weather and observe the deterioration of each in your particular weather conditions. Cheap is not worth it in the 10 year life of the product. My .02 cents worth ( we do not have pennies as legal currency in Canada anymore so that now translates to .05 cents ) !

 

[Beemer533]

From Southern Ontario.
When I designed and built my own house 30 years ago; I used 2x6 studs with 1" compressed insulation sheeting then brick and vinyl only on the upper 2nd level. Used 5/8 plywood on the roof so that if the shingles are deteriorated the plywood holds up whereas OBS would expand and leak immediately and need replacing with a re-roof. Like others said choice of cost. Set a sheet of each outside in the weather and observe the deterioration of each in your particular weather conditions. Cheap is not worth it in the 10 year life of the product. My .02 cents worth ( we do not have pennies as legal currency in Canada anymore so that now translates to .05 cents ) !

Is that that black, sort of fiber board stuff? The addition on my house was done in the late 70s and they sheeted it with that stuff.. It is awful to cut, makes a terrible mess, at least with a circular saw.. ..

 

[pa18sher]

So! Plywood it is! What thickness can I get away with and still have it last forever?

 

[theoldwizard1]

Set a sheet of each outside in the weather and observe the deterioration of each in your particular weather conditions.

True, but neither are designed to be directly exposed to the weather !

OP, it your money. Spend it how you want. I can think of a lot better ways than using plywood instead of OSB for sheathing !

 

[vision8]

No, the 'black stuff' is tar coated sheet of compressed cardboard , i forget the name of it , when cut with a skill saw the dust produces zero visability for miles !!
The insulated sheets are ' Baseclad' vapour barrier with compressed fiberglass insulation bonded to it like 'Tyrel' (spelling ? ) that you see now on the exterior under brick or vynal siding now.
If the shingles deteriorate and they will unless you use steel roofing , the supporting member sheeting certainly will be exposed to the weather !
Beemer , What year and model do you have ?