Sunday, 6 March 2011

Oriented Strand Board Sub-Flooring: Cost Efficient, Reliable, Tough And Eco-Friendly

By Barry Greyson


Home purchasers these days, in addition to progressive property builders and contractors, are understandably enthusiastic about the "green movement" with concerns about things such as the environmental impact of human activities, the need for reduced power consumption, as well as in house air quality emerging as major issues. As contemporary builders push to become more competitive in the construction marketplace by contributing environmental accountability to their offering, the oriented strand board sub-floor is among the new product offerings to get serious recognition.

Oriented strand board has proved itself as a staple of the construction industry, especially when considering wall sheathing, roof sheathing and flooring. New innovations continue to drive the applications of this excellent material and the many advantages having to do with this impressive and environmentally friendly product.

Ecologically friendly osb panels are manufactured from renewable fast growing trees of smaller diameter, and it's produced with reduced levels of harmful chemicals when contrasted with similar materials such as plywood. Osb is also generally more cost-effective compared to plywood.

These new oriented strand board (OSB) sub flooring panels are strong, long lasting, reliable and consistent from one particular panel to the next, and are able to offer building contractors with the choice of Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody Certified wood, which in essence indicates that the timber used to produce these types of osb panels is collected from responsibly managed forests.

In addition, in the event that you are a building contractor working towards meeting programs such as the National Green Building Standard or LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), particular kinds of sub floor products can certainly help you realize this objective if the sub-flooring products do not contain added urea-formaldehyde resins. Look for sub flooring materials that are certified by the NAHB Research Center as an "Approved Green Product" for the National Green Building Standard.

Numerous distinctive styles of floor coverings may be installed on top of OSB Subflooring, to yield a genuinely eye-catching floor, such as carpeting with under padding, ceramic floor tiles, lightweight concrete, real wood flooring or even vinyl. There is literally no end to the design options you can use on top of osb floor sheathing.

Oriented strand board flooring is as dependable and tough for even the most challenging home and business floor building needs as it is favorable to nature and the natural environment, but bear in mind, osb should not become subjected to the weather or moisture on a continuous basis, and must be stacked away flat, indoors or under covers and protected from the elements before use.

OSB Sub-flooring: It truly is something to contemplate over the more conventional plywood offerings.




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