Oriented strand board

Oriented strand board, commonly called OSB, is a type of particle board which is made of carefully positioned strands of wood. Aspen and other similar woods are cut into long strands parallel to the grain of the wood.Eric Lund; United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; et al., Alternatives to Lumber and Plywood in Home Construction (Washington, D.C.: The Dept., 1993), p. 21 It is manufactured into sheets made up of wood strands, wax, and resin adhesives. Sheets are formed under pressure and heat. The finished sheet size varies by country. OSB is very strong making it ideal for building construction. Its most common uses in construction are for covering walls, floors and roofs before the finish products are applied. 

 OSB-2 is specially designed OSB for load-bearing purposes. It is for use in dry areas.Wood Production, Wood Technology, and Biotechnological Impacts, ed. Ursula Kües (Göttingen, Univ.-Verl. Göttingen, 2007), p. 316
 OSB-3 is designed the same, but is for use in wet areas.

OSB can also be made from trees from areas burned over by forest fires.Laura Maria Moya, Using Fire-impacted Trees for Wood Composites: Characterization and Modeling, dissertation, University of Minnesota (November 2008), p. 32

References


Related pages

 Plywood
 Engineered wood
 Particle board
 Waferboard

Other websites

 APA - The Engineered Wood Association: OSB 
 Kronospan Worldwide: OSB     

Category:Wood