OSB and Stucco

Originally Posted By: pmagrone
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I am seeing so many homes with OSB for the roof material. I am also seeing stucco over concrete block construction that is so thin that you can see the shape of each block in the concrete block wall. Has anyone noticed these charactoristics as often as I have? I guess that the builders have been very skimpy on cost and materials. OSB is not as good as plywood, right? Doesn’t stucco when completed need to be 7/8 of an inch thick? How are you guys writing this up on your reports when you see it. I want to be sure that I am writing this up as correctly as possible.


Originally Posted By: lkage
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Paul,


Stucco thickness depends on what it is applied over. Solid surfaces like concrete may be 2 coat 3/8" thick or CMU may be 3 coat 5/8" thick. Over stud wall construction with lath is normally 3 coat 7/8" thickness nominally.

Oriented strand board (OSB) has been used for a long time for roof sheathing, floor sheathing, wall sheathing, etc. and while plywood may be "better" but more expensive, OSB is an accepted product for many applications.

Hope this helps.


--
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him."
Galileo Galilei

Originally Posted By: ccoombs
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Paul


OSB is used 98% of the time in my area. To be honest, I think OSB is better than plywood...in general. The most important issue with roof/floor sheathing is the span rating.

As for the stucco and CMU walls, I see this a lot in our area. I am seeing a lot of CMU walls covered with only a color coat. If it is done correctly, you shouldn't see the outlines of the blocks.


--
Curtis

Originally Posted By: pmagrone
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Thanks guys, I am always trying to expand my horizons by asking questions. Thanks for the input.


Originally Posted By: ckratzer
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Paul,


We use mostly OSB around here and have for a long time.Seeing plywood is becoming less and less common.The price between OSB and plywood is pretty comparable.Three years ago OSB was a little over $5.00 a sheet and then it jumped to about 3/4 more( there goes the builders profit).


I also have the opinion, through experiance, that OSB is better than plywood.Plywood tends to separate in large ares when it gets wet whereas OSB only tends to flake a few wood chips here and there.However OSB does swell when it gets wet .


Cheremie


Originally Posted By: lewens
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Sorry guys


You can do what you want with OSB just don’t bring it near me. I hate the stuff. Give me plywood any day. Properly spec’ed ply will beat out osb in a heart beat.


Re the block and stucco?


Are you sure it is stucco and not just parging. You will often see shadow lines on block walls that have been parged. The morter will suck the moisture from the parging faster than the block and will leave a “shadow” of the outline of the block.



Just my usual 12.5 cents


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Originally Posted By: mcyr
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