Continued from another section
In the 2020 Florida Building Code, the requirements for roof sheathing changed in a major fashion, roof sheathing is now required by Code to have minimum thicknesses determined by Windspeed Zones. Areas in Zones 140 MPH (Exposure C) and above require 19/32" sheathing (vs previous required 15/32") along with this change, came a change in roof nailing requirements. Longer nails with wider diameters are now required, This affects a HUGE portion of Florida.
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How many nails you nail in depends on the attitude of the customer.
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OK, Gotchya. Does the attitude of the customer affect if you use the right nails too? 
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They could add construction adhesive.
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Or how about T&G roof sheathing and construction adhesive?
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Not a common construction technique in this area.
Yes, they could.
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My brother works for a world wide roofing company, a couple years ago he mentioned that Chinese OSB (Oriented Strand Board) roof sheathing has been identified as having issues with premature failure. @mbang @kjungirl have you seen or heard of any evidence of issues with OSB made in China?
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I’ve never seen Chinese OSB plywood in Korea. But other experienced Koreans may have. Let’s wait..
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저는 칠레, 미국, 캐나다, 유럽 등 다양한 국가에서 생산된 OSB를 다뤄왔습니다.
한때 코로나 시기에는 중국산 OSB도 시장에서 유통된 적이 있었습니다.
제가 가장 선호하는 OSB는 캐나다산, 특히 West Fraser 제품이지만, 한국에서는 가격이 너무 비싸기 때문에 당시 일부 업체들이 중국산 OSB를 대안으로 고려했습니다. 흥미롭게도, 구조적 테스트 결과, 중국산 OSB의 물성과 인장 강도가 오히려 캐나다산보다 더 우수하게 나타났고, 이 때문에 많은 사람들이 중국산 OSB를 긍정적으로 평가하기도 했습니다.
그러나 주변에서 중국산 OSB에 대한 의견을 물어봤을 때, 저는 항상 이렇게 답변했습니다.
“지금까지 사용한 OSB 중에서 강도 부족으로 문제가 된 사례는 없었습니다. 따라서 강도가 더 높다고 해서 반드시 좋은 OSB라고 판단하지 않습니다. 오히려, 강도보다 중요한 것은 습기에 대한 저항성인데, 중국산 OSB의 수분 저항성에 대한 명확한 데이터가 부족했습니다. 이런 불확실성 때문에, 개인적으로 중국산 OSB 사용에 대해 우려를 가졌습니다.”
이러한 의견은 한국 건설업계에서 큰 영향을 미쳤고, 결과적으로 중국산 OSB는 시장에서 거의 사용되지 않는 상황이 되었습니다.
현재 2025년 기준으로, 한국에서는 주거용 및 건축 구조용으로 중국산 OSB를 사용하지 않는 것이 현실입니다.
일부 산업용 공장에서 사용하고 있을 가능성은 있지만, 주거용 또는 상업용 건물에는 중국산 OSB가 사용되지 않습니다.
이 때문에, 한국에서는 중국산 OSB에 대한 평가가 거의 이루어지지 않고 있는 상황입니다.
혹시 중국산 OSB에서 구조적 결함이나 조기 실패와 관련된 사례가 있다면, 저에게도 공유해 주시면 감사하겠습니다. 매우 관심이 많습니다.
Inquiry About Chinese OSB Roof Sheathing
I have worked with a variety of OSB products from different countries, including Chile, the United States, Canada, and Europe. At one point during the COVID-19 era, Chinese OSB was also available in the market.
My personal preference has always been Canadian OSB, particularly from West Fraser, but due to its high cost in Korea, some companies temporarily turned to Chinese OSB as an alternative. Interestingly, at that time, structural tests showed that the mechanical properties and tensile strength of Chinese OSB were even better than those of Canadian OSB, which initially made it an attractive option for many.
However, when people around me asked for my opinion on Chinese OSB, I always gave the following response:
“So far, I have never encountered an OSB product that failed due to a lack of strength. Therefore, I do not believe that higher strength alone makes for a better OSB. Instead, I am more concerned about its resistance to moisture, which was not well-documented at the time. Because of this uncertainty, I personally had reservations about using Chinese OSB.”
Since I have significant influence in the Korean construction industry, my cautionary stance on Chinese OSB led to its widespread avoidance in the Korean market. As a result, by 2025, Chinese OSB is no longer used for residential or structural applications in Korea. While some industrial factories may still use it, it is no longer found in residential or commercial building construction.
Due to this situation, there is currently very little data or evaluation on Chinese OSB in Korea.
If you have any evidence or information regarding premature failures or deficiencies in Chinese OSB, please share it with me—I would be very interested to learn more.
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it’s not an exhaustive search, but larry - my chatgpt helper - said he couldn’t find much about “chinese osb failures” but lots of hits on “chinese plywood failures” so he suggests verifying what exactly they are comparing since lots of people call osb plywood. specifically he said this along with other things i summarized:
“If you come across claims about “Chinese OSB failures,” verify whether the source is actually referring to OSB, not plywood, and look for any mention of specific test results or official agency advisories. So far, public evidence of large-scale, documented Chinese OSB failures (akin to some past concerns around other imported wood products) does not appear to be widely reported in official channels.”
edit: i can’t let this go so i dug a little deeper and found that there have been lots of reports of plywood failures but not osb. here is another statment from larry:
" * No Official Advisories on Chinese OSB:
Organizations such as APA – The Engineered Wood Association, TECO, PFS, and ICC-ES (all of which test or certify structural panels for U.S. building code compliance) have published bulletins and advisories about certain imported plywood failing to meet U.S. standards. However, none of these entities has released a comparable advisory specifically about Chinese-made OSB that failed compliance tests.
- No High-Profile Lawsuits or Claims:
While there have been lawsuits and insurance claims related to imported or mislabeled plywood, a comparable wave of OSB claims tied to Chinese suppliers does not appear in legal or insurance databases, at least not in any widespread or well-publicized manner."
If you happen to have a Delorean and Doc Brown nearby, you could go back to the 50s, 60s, where it was quite common here. 
Unfortunately, now osb is the norm…
Thanks for your insights! I will be trying to find out more and keep you posted.
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Or how about T&G roof sheathing and construction adhesive?..
You must be living in the past, 5/8 T&G OSB roof sheathing is common..
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I was referring to real tongue and groove wood. 1x4 or 1x6x8 plank lumber.
Is this a requirement in Maine?