A hip coffee shop in town has OSB as a finished floor. It looks good, with a nice texture and patina from an apparently oil-based finish. I would like to use it in a small rental unit I’m rehabbing, over a cold slab. My thought was to put down a vapor barrier, screw down a grid of lumber (flat), fill in between with pink board insulation, and screw down OSB, with a clear finish. Any concerns? Where to get OSB without the painted lines? What kind of finish – do I need to avoid water=based poly? Thanks.
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Replies
Water poly will tend to cause the grain to raise a little. Sanding will fix that.
The printed lines are there cuz the framers can't read a tape measure, so they need the lines to know where to nail. Might be difficult to find osb without the lines. Can you just use the other side?
Can you put down a continuous layer of foam, then two layers of plywood with staggered joints, glued and screwed together?
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I like the idea of putting down the OSB as a floating floor, over continuous foamboard; just the question of how to best screw/glue them together, since only one side has t&g. One side has the lines painted on, the other has the required manufacurer's info, etc. I hear some mills might make them without lines, but the demand for lines means mostly that's what is available at the lumber yards.
printed lines are there cuz the framers can't read a tape measure,
Only the ones I haven't taught yet!>G<
It'd probably be best to use the slick (un-painted) side anyway. There are probably some lumber marks on it on that side too (they probably say "other side up"). Should be able to sand them off.
This sounds cool. Could you get pics of the "Hip" coffee shop? I have been considering a floor with MDF and BV Plywood in some type of pattern...
I think I'd use Advantech ( not plain OSB) and do a few things different. Ok, for the sleeper idea, but I'd cut the sheets to say 22x22, you can loose the t&g , and cut around the lableing, I don't see lines on the Advantec, just had some delivered yesterday.
Advantec is stiffer, pre-resined or saturated better...and I'd also rotate , in a checkerboard fashion, the cut "tiles"..it is Oriented Strands, so rotate 90 degrees will make the floor have more "pizazz" IMO.
install, glue and nail or screw..sand, oil poly.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_oEx4-Mc4
Yep, there's no reason you couldn't use the top layer in a decorative manner. maybe rip the advantech into 6-8" wide strips and hit the edges with a sander to create beveled edges. lay it like a plank floor over the first layer of ply."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I seem to recall seeing something a while back in FH about OSB as a finished flooring surface.
The sheets were cut to something like 47.5 x 47.5 tiles, nice and square, and then laid with urethane glue to the subfloor, with softwood strips between, to make 48x48 modules. Depending on your area and size, you may or may not want to checkerboard the pattern.
I would make some jigs and fixtures, and use a saw on a trackrail, like the Festool, EZ, or new DeWalt. Getting square and precise is so much easier when you do a setup, and you're gonna need square and precise. If I had access to a CNC shop close by, I would job out the cutting and not worry.
Depending on the scale of the room, the nominal 48x48 module might be chosen, or the smaller 24x24. Heck, you could do 24x48s or 12x24s and do it up as a running bond pattern.
Go crazy. Sounds like something you would see in Dwell magazine. You'll save money on materials, blow all the savings on the labor, but hey, it's hip and whimsical, and you might even call it "green."
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"A stripe is just as real as a dadgummed flower."
Gene Davis 1920-1985
and use a saw on a trackrail, like the Festool, EZ, or new DeWalt.
Congratulations!
Gene-Davis receives the 'Politically Correct' Award.
Saaaalute!!!View Image View Image Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. [Theodore Roosevelt]
ditto, double dittoes, and triple dittoe down.
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I'm glad you agree. I think the various orientation will affect the sheen, when finish is applied, maybe not to many, but I would be able to tell.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_oEx4-Mc4
I'm with you on all counts.I've seen something like that before, done with 2'(scant) tiles. It looked great.AitchKay
Check out the FH article by Andy Engel titled "The Stay Dry, No Mold finished Basement" (Feb/Mar 2005). He puts down a layer of 1" EPS then a double layer of 1/2 plywood, secured with concrete screws. He recommends cork as the finished floor, but your OSB could be used instead. I plan to use this method in my basement this winter. Seems like a much better design than using sleepers (for both moisture management and energy efficiency...)
>puts down a layer of 1" EPS then a <
and I'd think that if the EPS was laid carefully & tight it doesn't create a bug run (airspace gaps/channels beneath the floor) like sleepers or DriCore panels do.
Are you sure it's OSB and not partical board? Partical board doesn't have lines or numbers etc. on it and is often used as subflooring..
Particle board is used as underlayment. It has no strength as subfloor un5il you get to the 1-1/8" thickness.But I'd agree it might look and wear better for this
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How will particle board holdup if water gets into the seams, compared to OSB?
Bill
just like osb - swells up and starts to disintegrate.
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Piffin
One of the things that caused me to tear down my old house was 3/4 inch particle subflooring in some areas. Over which they used 1/4 inch plywood to match floor heights.
This was on 24 OC 2x8's spanning over 9 feet! The kitchen was even worse! it used 1" tongue and groove material on 2x8's 16" OC spanning over 18 feet!
The final sin was the stairs going upstairs had one side on that same 2x8 about 1/4 of the way along the span..
Sounds like a great idea... for 1998.
You're 10 years late to the party, brah.
Try "Dricore".
http://www.dricore.com/en/do-it-y.aspx
Been there, done that. You can use a floor sander to sand the lines out. The stuff actually looks better if you sand it anyways. But down many coats of poly or use some type of filler to plug up any voids.
Have seen this also where they put thin aluminum strips between the sheets (not sure if they were t-channels or what exactly). That way you might avoid something funky happening at the edges.
OSB as a finished floor
We kind of did it by accident on our bedroom/bathroom upstairs addition about 7-8 years ago when we couldn't decide on a carpet - we were looking for something light brown and mottled, when my wife looked down and said, "what about this stuff?" Hadn't planned it, just intalled the rough OSB as usual (I always use subfloor adhesive and ring-shank nails or screws). Sanding was dusty, but otherwise no problem - it took out all the printing; filled the cracks and nail holes with standard floor putty; 3 coats of polyurethane. Haven't touched it since except to sweep and occasionally wash it. Bedroom and bathroom. When we redid our kitchen this spring we did the same thing, just added a layer of standard 3/4" OSB over the ancient diagonal subfloor. This time we used water-based poly so it wouldn't take so long to dry - we needed to get back in that kitchen! It did raise the grain and a few bubbles in a some spots, but sanded them out and looks just fine, easy to clean with soap and water. It's kind of busy-looking, but we love it, not sure why we don't see more of it - must be too simple.
I'd love to see a pic of this!
Several manufacturers make flooring grades:
That are available dyed and prefinished.
This link is to an eariler thread on the subject: http://forums.finehomebuilding.com/breaktime/construction-techniques/finishing-osb-wood-floors
Mike Guertin, a frequent contributor to Fine Home Building used it in part of his home. And ways in with some advice on what he would do different after living with it for six years.
The article should come up if you search by his name, it was in FHB #123 (houses issue 1999), "Builder weds architect".
Here are his comments from the earlier thread:
It works great despite the other comments. When I built the house in 96/97 I wasn't planning to finish the second floor right away. But after plastering I figured it wasn't much more to hang doors and some trim. But I didn't have the budget to install hardwood flooring so I decided to just sand and poly the 3/4" OSB subfloor. It came out so good (except for the rusty heads of the gun nails - the house was open to the weather for a very wet winter).
After the article came out in 99 I got calls from all over the country - people wanting to know how I did it and how it performs.
All I did was hit it with a floor edger. I was afraid to use a drum sander. Then I applied several coats of waterborne poly. First two dissapear. I sanded after 3rd coat and then top coated with a forth and fifth. Sounds like a lot but you usually need 4 or 5 coats of waterborne anyway. There are only a couple spots that flaked - under the wheels of my old oak desk chair. And even that spot isn't bad.
If I were doing it again I would have used Advantec OSB rather than regular. Advantec is much denser, doesn't flake, doesn't swell when wet and they do such a good job sanding - you'll just barely have to touch it. If your building the units from scratch - then just use Advantec for the subfloor and take just a little better care framing on it. You could screw it down for a neater look but for artist's apartments - just shoot it down and putty the holes. The putty will dissappear in the randomness of the OSB strands.
I just rolled out #30 tarpaper over the floor before the blueboard and plaster went on to protect it (but I do that even if I'm not planning to finish the OSB and using regular hardwood - keeps the mess under control)
I'd recommend using a U-Sand 4 head random orbital floor sander to dress up the surface before finishing. The sander is easier to use than a drum sander and won't 'cut' the floor. Lots of rental companies have them and you don't need to practice as you do with drum sanders.
Just plan on putting on several coats of poly and then make sure you recoat every 5 years or so before the surface wears through. That will save the effort (and wood) on a resand / recoat which will be necessary if you wait too long.
My floor has 6 years of use on it and still going strong. It looks great, people think it's novel, architects love it, it naturally hides dirt, and it's inexpensive.
osb as finished floor
I cut it in quarters, sanded the words off, stained it antique pine, covered it in a couple of layers of bar finish and laid it down with 1 inch strips between the osb pieces with the strips stained dark walnut. It is in my kitchen and working fine for 4 plus years.
post 107329
suggest you look into a product called Dricore it is almost custom made for the application you have in mind it is an OSB product with a ridged plastic vapor barrier laminated to the bottom of it. it doesnt have any printing on it, and it comes in 2 foot squares. you can special order it through Home Depot. i used it in a basement application with great success. Good luck.