"I was just wondering how you felt about OSB (oriented strand board). We will soon begin the framing of our house and are planning to use OSB for exterior walls and interior floor, but I'm a little hesitant about OSB's environmental integrity (possibly emits formaldehyde?)...."
Scotty's Reply:
I have Personally Built and Worked with Homes that utilize OSB used in the Roofs, Exterior Siding, and Flooring-
'With No Ill Effects' Signed Scotty
For my Own House I would Suggest OSB in the Roof and Exterior Walls (Note: EXTRA ATTENTION TO WATERPROOFING) and for the Sub Floor: Standard Plywood Interlocking Sub Floors. Two Main Reasons: 1) Floors allways seem to get wet in some time during the Lifetime of a Home. 2) Plywood will take a Little more Abuse while still maintaining its Desired Structural Integrity.
OSB Statts- Purchase sustainably harvested wood stamped by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
Quote from: http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com/2010/03/plywood-vs-osb.html
- Substitute oriented strand board (OSB) for your exterior sheathing. Select boards made from formaldehyde-free glues. If the sheathing is not required for the structure, use nonstructural insulated boards for extra insulation.
News reports of formaldehyde concentrations in mobile homes provided to victims of Hurricane Katrina has made builders concerned about the softwood, exterior structural panels used to sheathe walls, floors, and roofs. But the moisture-resistant glues used to make exterior sheathing in the U.S. do not contain urea formaldehyde, the adhesive that has created indoor air quality concerns. According to Marilyn LeMoine, spokesperson for the APA, all of the exterior, structural panels manufactured in the U.S. today comply with or are exempt from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Air Toxic Control Measure for Composite Wood Products, arguably one of the world's most stringent standards regulating toxic off-gassing from building materials.
Most OSB and many plywood panels use the adhesive diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) as a binder, which contains no formaldehyde and no ecological risks, says LeMoine. Some plywood and OSB contain binders made from phenol formaldehyde, which becomes stable during processing and results in such low emission levels in the finished material that these products remain exempt from all formaldehyde emission standards.
The statement "no added formaldehyde" in a wood product may sound like a hedge, but it is only because wood itself contains small measures of formaldehyde. It's all around us, as natural as air and water. You just don't want to breathe too much of it. How much is too much? No one knows, and hence the effort to avoid products that raise the concentrations of formaldehyde indoors beyond the background levels found naturally outside." End Quote Click here to Continue READING
--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
Institute for Environment and Health Assessment on Indoor Air Quality in the Home: Nitrogen Dioxide, Formaldehyde, Volatile Organic Compounds, House Dust Mites, Fungi and Bacteria (Assessment ;2)
