Which is Better OSB or Plywood

#roofing #woodworking #plywood

[@TurinTuramber]

Top tip: When buying WBP ply in bulk, always sit down before reading the invoice.

[@GBOB68]

😂😂😂

[@johncranwell3783]

Is certainly not cheap these days that's for sure.... and to think years ago I used to use birch ply which is 85 quid now...

[@davidelliott5843]

Until you check out the price of plywood with similar performance and then you realise the fortune not spent on potentially less suitable boards.

[@christopherdean1326]

@@johncranwell3783 I wish I could get birch for £85! The last time I asked my local supplier it was a bout £130.

[@Albahills]

Timber has been junk for years now. Quality is just not there.

[@jacobaguilar6756]

This comment!!

[@MrKonquer]

Cause it’s being cut too early to meet demand

[@johncranwell3783]

Yes one certainly has to check out a few sources if you want to do a quality job with timber these days.... I see so many tradesmen using B&Q trade point and such like and the timber there is absolutely awful.... Horses for courses I guess

[@liamrobertson7265]

well we used all the good stuff years ago and you can't make trees grow any faster than they want to

[@jcvjcvjcvjcv]

@@MrKonquer 5x the amount of people and 5 times less forest... leaves only fast-grown stuff.

[@simonm9097]

Most Plywood in the UK is cheap Chinese junk

[@chris7187]

Mostly agree. Although I've had some success with Wickes hardwood ply. Plus can't turn your nose up at free delivery over £85 which isn't exactly hard to spend.

[@rob5944]

Surprising as the Chinese have used timber in their junks for centuries 😅

[@sindbad8411]

good suppliers in Germany offer several different qualities. Nordic from Poland or Scandinavia is the most expensive one. Cheap stuff is from China / Asia. Recently prices came down a bit from the crazy heights 1.5 or 2 years ago but are still on a high level.

[@StarLight-gj4jt]

This is just not true.....its very expensive

[@chris7187]

@@StarLight-gj4jt I guess we should add, that the readily available stuff from Wickes B&Q and the like is relatively cheap in comparison to birch ply or other veneered options. Still not cheap but cheaper.

[@davidseed2939]

osb oriented strand board OSB2 is great for structural, non-load bearing projects in dry conditions whereas OSB3 performs better for structural, load bearing use and for use in humid conditions

[@villaman2261]

Both shit these days . Back in the late 70’s & 80’s when you could buy 7&9 ply Didn’t delaminate like the awful stuff of today

[@daveworzel]

Coz there’s no rain forest left. It’s all shit. Agreed.

[@AmbionicsUK]

Love how much Ive learned from your channel. Thanks Boss

[@bobrose7900]

100% ! Do not use WBP, it is not waterproof and will delaminate - from experience, never again!

[@pauldavies7251]

It's overpriced garbage Hate the stuff

[@nigelwhybrow9257]

Ironic that who stands for water and boil proof

[@TCAPChrisHandsome]

OSB tends to hate water more than plywood though. OSB gets a little wet, and wants to swell up and crumble. It's ok for a roof decking or a base layer for siding, but flooring has to be plywood.

[@TCAPChrisHandsome]

Unless you wanna go old school and do tongue and groove type boards under your flooring

[@alanhat5252]

there's different grades of osb, the easily-found grades are about as waterproof as Weetabix.

[@TCAPChrisHandsome]

@@alanhat5252 I had no idea what weetabix was, but I found your description hilarious, because wet OSB is just like a sugarless flaky breakfast cereal like weetabix or shredded wheats.

[@vcommandarv5916]

Then seal it

[@HarryLagman]

Ply is best for mechanical fixing for single ply roofing. OSB is crap for fixings pulling out due to wind lift.

[@darrendavies1156]

I'm a flat roofer OSB actually has a stronger pullout than plywood so your talking crap

[@darrendavies1156]

Osb is stronger on a pullout test for single ply than plywood

[@HarryLagman]

@@darrendavies1156 Remind me never to use you for my single ply roofing. And all the test indicate that ply needs more force to pull out fixings.

[@SabTheSeeker81]

I answered Osb before I even watched the video - I did a lot of research on this over the past few months and it all comes down to your supplier I suppose, I ended up using osb3 because most the plywood I inspected was full of voids .. Most problems nowadays stem from an attitude of "Not my problem if it fails s- it's next mans problem !" Too many cowboy builders out there now.

[@lew6073]

Flooring grade ply sp101, much better than any osb.

[@gregorsamsa1364]

Advantech osb is a superior material

[@nickrider815]

Plywood is complete trash in the UK these days. Other than pallets or boarding a loft it's unusable. I hate OSB but it's all there is.

[@alanhat5252]

Good plywood is still available but you have to look for it & it's expensive. B&Q & suchlike yes, it's junk.

[@nickrider815]

@@alanhat5252 yeah but at which point you're just as well using planks or OSB at that price. Construction plywood, OSB, woodchip and particle board were designed to make a usable product out of something that couldn't be sold. IE offcuts and scraps off the factory floor. When products made from trash are more expensive than the products they were designed to replace and the quality drops to almost the untreated trash off the floor you are better going back to the real deal.

[@NormadYT]

OSB is a pain in the ass for when you have to screw close to the edge or corners, the chunks are usually in such a way as to divert the screw into its weakest point usually cracking the edge, only solution I can think of is using extra batons to stay away from the edge, I could pilot hole the edges but that’s extra time. I suppose OBS is superior still though

[@Redact63Lluks]

OSB needs to be sourced better than plywood. Wood is so bad these days, if I find anything wet im a wood yard these days I just go somewhere else.

[@-htl-]

My 5 pennies. For external surface OSB-3 is not water ressistent at all, in that case better to use marine quality plywood. For flooring, panneling, which might have some damp osb3 is ok.

[@stephenfanthorpe2708]

I see how you got two 5 pennies, 2+2 , the penny short hasn’t dropped yet

[@John-s3t6q]

What is your take on MDF as i cannot stand the stuff. I do like Marine ply and if i can get it on the cheep then i will get it as wood is so dear to buy it . Just hate MDF big time .

[@buddykane22]

OSB is just short for Obviously Shit Building

[@turokforever007]

I built a shed from OSB it was just a quick build for storage but it lasted 20 years before the bottom parts started to rot. This was in the UK so it's done very well

[@robinford4037]

Regarding tongue and groove OSB for fiberglass flat roofs. There is supposed to a gap of 1mm or 2mm between the sheet surfaces, so a little of the resin can penetrate to the tongue and groove and bond the OSB together. It's in the instalation guide that nobody reads until you've come across the 4th sheet that doesn't fit snug 😮😅😊

[@davekoser3938]

The plywood on my roof actually did delaminate. :(

[@deangaryjames]

Used OSB for a large shed floor, its gone soft after a few years, pity they dont add some sort of resin to it to make it rot resistant?

[@mihaicosmingradinaru1859]

Plywood would have delaminated also, it is a moisture issue. The sheet needs to be as dry as possible, may be lack of ventilation or some sort of water migration from the soil to the floor.

[@JohnDickson-ki3qr]

Last time I bought any 18mm 8×4 I think it was close to 70 quid a sheet 😢 Whats it going for these days? Still cost a fortune?

[@markrainford1219]

Wouldn't trust any OSB these days, not if there is any chance of moisture. And yes I'm talking OSB3.

[@NoOne-hv1wz]

What about for on the floor?

[@patrickthornberry3646]

I always use t & g osb for fibreglass roofing. They have a built in expansion joint. No need to have a 2 to 3mm gap like you do on 8 x 4

[@SkillBuilder]

so true.

[@EL17762]

Take a little piece of both and leave them outside. I guarantee you that OSB will deteriorate way faster.

[@sixpotshot]

It really all depends on the application. As many said: chances are the stuff most of us can put their hands on from most merchants will be two things: expensive and rubbish altogether

[@veks44]

osb garbage. plywood s composite, strong and much more cost.

[@brad15020]

Fun fact, OSB3 is stronger than plywood 👍

[@michaelferrett1670]

I represent a Brazilian plywood Manufacturer you need to Specify EN636-2 structural. UKCA 2+ you are talking about non structural mainly Chinese with A type 2 non exterior glueline

[@paulwilliams5296]

I use SP101 Indonesian ply for laying over my overlay underfloor heating. It's a bit expensive but it doesn't de laminate. £60 plus vat per sheet off 9mm !!

[@phil18751]

Okay, so how would a marine plywood delamination??? Moisture..... I wonder what happened when OSB get Moisture???? It's doesn't matter what board just that the felt, rubber or fibreglass is fitted correctly

[@guyemmott4009]

Roger.. Your advice in your field is unsurpassed (along with Robin Clevitt). You should both be the Governments' Building Tsar's.. 💯%

[@Mr.Clingclong]

For a long time I have been biased against OSB and favoured ply. But in recent years I have noticed the quality of ply has plummeted, some of it de-laminates as you cut it! I've noticed as well that this terrible ply usually originates from our favourite covid home country...... So these days I'm happy to use OSB, at least until the commies start making it.

[@benchippy8039]

I boarded a long dormer roof with wbp plywood, the roof dipped and failed because of the voids and poor manufacturing and glue. The only thing I use it for now is van shelving, osb all the way!

[@diaperdonsacon8620]

Iam not a tradie but have used marine ply twenty odd years ago in uk it did what it said on the tin and held up well on a garage roof. I did a little diy project in Philippines recently,the shit they are calling marine ply is a joke top layer peeling while fixing it. Utter rubbish from china, they supply 99% of building materials over there most of it pure shite.

[@Paul-sk2dj]

Built yachts for years using composite materials such as GRP! You should always use osb3.

[@aaronhopkins6697]

The ply wood i just bought from a big store is absolutely rubbish. I sat it on a table next to the shed after around two hours the sheet of plywood was warped badly, and there is no way i can use it for the door i was going to use it for. Absolute rubbish.

[@davidelliott5843]

You should talk to the Ship Happens people they are using marine ply but Im really not convinced it’s the most suitable.

[@Mike-rr6zc]

Plywood last longer, OSB I'm constantly replacing in homes. Garbage material!

[@brightonduder]

Osb way better!!

[@PaddyMacWorld]

And thats why I fully floored my brother’s loft with OSB. Boom. 😅

[@mrjagriff]

Flat roof manufacturers would tell you not to use flat roofs, if it wasn’t so bad for their business

[@Allegedly2right]

What’s that got to do with heat pumps haha you are getting good with them heat pumps cost you a packet talks.

[@aubydauby]

Good thing roof decking never gets wet

[@colinelliott5629]

Like RAAC ..........

[@brad15020]

Oh they do, coming from a roofer. Roof membrane fails in 1 section & it’s fucked. I’ve just had to strip off a plywood decked EPDM roof because the ply had delaminated & it was dry underneath. It was only laid 2 years prior but the customer didn’t want the previous contractor back. But the main reason we use osb3 is because it’s a keyed face, so more surface area for stuff to stick, and it has a much higher tensile strength. Which you can feel when walking on it if the rafters are >450mm centres.

[@CoilinFlaherty]

Make sure you have health insurance when you see the current price of marine ply 😂

[@paultrauzzi5360]

Great until any of the OSB getting wet, like when the house is getting built.

[@johnwarwick4105]

Never thought of that makes sense

[@peterlukaszyk6024]

Last OSB I have bought delaminated in 3 days

[@tomjohnson5713]

Dont get it wet. Once wet its game over. Osb does create a good key for the resin in grp roofs far better than ply

[@sharkeyist]

@@tomjohnson5713 you shouldn’t be relying on a “key”, put the correct of resin and time to it, the resin should soak into way more than the 1st layer.

[@tomjohnson5713]

@@sharkeyist i agree but i dont fully understand your comment. The resin definitely goes deeper than one layer on OSB but a ply doesn't have the "pores" for the resin to get into like an osb does. Also the ply itself can delaminate whereas totally dry osb is less likely to. However any delamination would suggest that the fiberglass is not layed properly and is letting in water... usually caused by not enough resin

[@sharkeyist]

@@tomjohnson5713 ply has finer pores which is where a thinner resin left long enough to soak in like water would gets the multilayer bond. Most poor grp jobs ive seen are excatly as you say lack of resin/dry weave/lack of bonding.

[@seanhoare7639]

thing I discovered recently plywood sheet is 2440 x 1220 mm every other sheet product are 2400 x 1200mm WHY?

[@crichton1527]

Imperial measurement and metric measurement. If only USA join the metric with the rest of the world.

[@updatemysettings5095]

Sure, it's going to delaminate with 80 roofing nails drive. Through the sheet

[@brad15020]

I’ve just stripped off an epdm roof that was sat on plywood due to half the ply on the roof delaminating. No nails through the sheets on epdm, the stuff is just glued down 🤷‍♂️

[@updatemysettings5095]

Yes, the reliance on glue vs carpentry is a big problem in modern construction. @@brad15020

[@mihaicosmingradinaru1859]

Seen so much delaminated ply... OSB3 is just so much more consistent and has a lot more resin and it is waterproof resin always.

[@lescobrandon2202]

True that.

[@BigFly028]

I built a garden shed and was advided to use 18mm OBS3 for the flloring. Treated both sides with wood prreserve. The floor lasted about 1 year when one day my foot went through it, rubbish for this job. I re-planked it using tanalised 150 x 18mm Fencing Boards. Great job.

[@daveworzel]

There’s no rain forest left. So it’s all shit.

[@terencejay8845]

UK: WBP - Weather and Boil Proof - Refers to the glue used and isn't always indicative of quality plies. I designed and built a 6-bed timber-frame house, on site, as the American method, and used OSB3 for all the sheathing.

[@procatprocat9647]

Skeletor speaks the truth

[@henryparrott2447]

Great show old man 😊

[@michaelferrett1670]

We sell 18mm 7 ply from Lavrasul

[@markbellingham4536]

Bang on 👍👍👍

[@Martinbeef]

Don’t use initials. Some of us have no clue what you’re on about !

[@SkillBuilder]

I understand your point because I also don't like it when people do that in other fields but if you go into a builder's merchant and ask for oriented strandboard class 3 they will look at you blankly. It is listed and sold as OSB 3 and you do not need to know what OSB means. It is the same with SBR, hardly anyone in the trade can tell you what it is. Then there is PTFE and so it goes on.

[@mrknowles1540]

For roofs and sub floors I use osb it’s been a right kick in the wallet recently tho used to be £20 for a 1200x2400 sheet now it’s £45

[@tommyt4062]

OSB used to be cheap as chips,

[@sailingmrnice]

OSB takes the resin a lot better too

[@bengill9474]

GRP is supposed to be dog 💩 isn’t it? 😂

[@goodwinter6017]

So that's why they used that.

[@kanopie7390]

He resembles tony cascarino

[@fishinmalarkey9830]

Id call that chip board

[@darrendavies1156]

Osb has a resin layer already on it from new. Ply is pourous so when wetting out it tends to soak up to much resin leaving the grp layer really thin and pinholed as its absorded to much resin. If you want ply deck prime with g4 before wetting out its be fine

[@marty1234able]

I have two for breakfast with sugar and milk.

[@SkillBuilder]

only two? You lightweight.

[@bigjmillward]

Osb an water yeah 🤦‍♂️

[@rob5944]

Put some fencing up a few months ago, only six foot posts and five foot panels with lattice tops, one or two posts have bent slightly and I've had to make repairs to split panels already.

[@dannythorpe1425]

seems relevant to the vid.

[@GBOB68]

​@@dannythorpe1425😂

[@alanhat5252]

were your posts & panels concrete or plastic?

[@rob5944]

@@alanhat5252 all timber, although thay do seem to have settled down now. Back when I was a boy my old dad said that wood used to be left out for a couple of years to season and that 'modern' techniques just aren't the same.

[@shadyboy-c3k]

Whats osb?

[@darrenpodger7294]

💯 agree

[@creativetag1]

I heard once osb was stronger than ply because the strands are going in all directions. Don’t jump down my throat though I’m not saying it’s true!

[@SkillBuilder]

It is true, there are tests that prove it.

[@mihaicosmingradinaru1859]

A correction here, OSB3 has 3 layers, 2 going tge long way and 1 going across, it is stronger on the long side of the board than the short side. Plywood is more balanced as it has more layers, but the inner layers have voids and inconsistencies in the trade-grade Roger is talking about. Maribe-grade is better and probably stronger, but 3 times the price of OSB3...

[@SANDSCORCHER]

😎👍🏻

[@johnmorrissey1675]

👍

[@harveyroad6]

OSB is crap. Buy plywood.

[@SkillBuilder]

That is just not the case

[@davidhull2060]

dead wrong...the quality, strength and resistance to moisture of OSB is far superior to the equivalent plywoods. And if you sand and varnish the stuff, it looks pretty good.

[@rockerjim8045]

plywood is a lot heavier . OSB everytime

[@chrisbibb]

Great advice as always Roger, I have been trying to make the decision between marine Ply and OSB and this swayed me to OSB 👍👌

[@SkillBuilder]

use OSB 3 because it has better water resistance

[@davidhull2060]

OSB all day long.....unless you pay a fortune for very high quality ply, you will get the cheap chinese rubbish. Even the marine stuff is crap and it delaminates at the first hint of moisture.

[@mihaicosmingradinaru1859]

Exactly my experience!

[@robertlaws254]

Very interesting. Thank you for that.

[@dilligaf2386]

18mm OSB all day long twice on Sunday.

[@notjamesiha]

Whats better, bare minimum or one step above? 🤠

[@MrPoppymusik]

I’m here for the expert advice 😂😂😂

[@fishdoughandco]

Love the OG Joe Brown jumper

[@anonamous7108]

Osb... Aka... Weetabix

[@scottscott1321]

Listen to this guy he knows his stuff👍

[@alan36753]

Well said Roger. Horses for courses

[@gwalia2112]

Didn't realise this, I've always avoided OSB, thanks man.

[@alanhat5252]

There's different grades, the easily-found grades are not even slightly waterproof.

[@bluj78]

Thanks, I didn't know that 👍

[@pgree6176]

I read OSB better as loft boarding as it breathes but haven’t been able to confirm it

[@SkillBuilder]

I don't think it passes water vapour any better than ply but it is more dense.

[@tee2899]

Interesting, thanks

[@krugtbifro6152]

Marine ply £1000 a sheet 😂

[@jackster2568]

Where did you get that figure from

[@krugtbifro6152]

@@jackster2568 80 to 100 quid a sheet might as well be 1000 Absolute bullshit and a total rip off

[@noelfitz7695]

Thank you!

[@BazColne]

Thanks.

[@sharkeyist]

If the grp roofist is any good, the resin should have soaked into more than the first layer of ply. I used to build composite yachts before the warriors get going…

[@LupusMechanicus]

Thanks for impressing me so much, just when I thought people couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and leave this comment. It's often difficult to get resin to flow through one of my thick infusions, I would love to hear how you magically made it penetrate plywood.

[@sharkeyist]

@@LupusMechanicus with the correct resin its should soak in like water would, and as for your “thick infusions” are u infusing a thick section or is the resin thick? Thick infusions abit vague

[@sharkeyist]

@@LupusMechanicus ah the silent treatment…. Bit of knowledge and the keyboard warrier making things personal has nothing more to say.

[@AtlasofInfo]

​@sharkeyist What kind of resin do you use on mate? I assume your experience is with marine ply but do the same rules apply?

[@sharkeyist]

@@AtlasofInfo it was a 20yr while ago in a big yard where we had a dispensing system and it was a “put this on there”situation so never knew brand etc. If you look into casting resins you’ll find diff’ viscosities for different depths of resin, Speak to your resin supplier they’ll help if they are any good. Easy composites yt vids are worth a look. We vacuum bagged alot of the boat stuff, and you could really get the thin resin into the ply. Any wood has pores, thats how it absorbs water, you need to get it to soak up resin instead basically.

[@Northumbrian-Today]

Totally agree Roger

[@abhishekbhardwaj8624]

❤

[@SpartanONegative]

Thanks for the information 👍

[@Robxal]

False information, osb also has voids. Osb and plywood should not be compared. They are completely different materials. Intended for different purposes.

[@charlesviner1565]

👍🔨📐