I was watching an episode of TOHC & they were using OSB sheathing on the interior walls (actually interior side of the exterior walls). I didn’t see the ep when they installed it, they were spray painting it at the time I saw it.
Anyone ever seen this before (or seen the episode when they were doing it)? What would the purpose be? I can’t imagine that OSB would be the greatest looking wall covering…
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Replies
I saw it in a magazine or some tv show - it was a cool effect in my opinion. I don't know about spray painting it, but I think in the case I saw it was used on the interior of a gable wall and it looked pretty interesting without anything other than a clearcoat (and I'm not sure it was coated at all).
Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
think the episode you refer to with osb on interior wall was in the "dream shop" TOH was building. to my recollection this was a stress skin structure and the osb was just the inside surface of the premade panels
That makes sense that it would be a shop - given that OSB (even painted white) doesn't seem like a desireable finish for living space.
About 5 or 10 years ago, clear coated OSB was "in" in some modern style design. I never really cared for it. Seems like the modern minimalist thing is about letting quality materials show, with nothing hidden. OSB doesn't really seem like the sort of high quality material you'd want to show off.
zak
"so it goes"
We've sheathed the interior of rooms for people that like to hang anything anywhere. Mostly it's for hunters to hang their trophies on, but it also makes sense with heavy, expensive art and hung furniture (mirrors/stands/etc.).
Sometimes a kitchen is sheithed to ensure good attachment points for narrow or odd shaped hanging cabinets.
Sometimes an interior wall is shiethed as a shear wall. At least in high wind areas it's very common.
Piffin has a great idea when he sheaths old pre-plywood homes to keep them upright for another hundred years.
Tommorow we're sheathing the inside of an old doormer that was built before building codes and lacks any kind of shear protection.
I've also been known to sheath sections of walls in bathrooms or kitchens for the various hangers and gadgets that get hung. Usually we'll simply use osb rips and screw them to the bathroom walls after the bathroom sheetrock is hung, but before the other side of the wall is closed up. It's really easy and is a good use for osb that typically gets tossed. Other times a 1x1 is stapled to the studs shy of the surface by 1/2" as a quick nailer for the osb.
Closets, especially large closets, are also a favorite place to run some plywood. It makes building a clean looking shelving system much easier.
Other than shear resistance, sheathing a long unsupported wall also makes it much stiffer for wind battering directly against it. One house we framed had a gable end full of windows that would deflect close to an inch when the wind was really whipping! Obviously the wind loads hadn't been taken into account. Sheathing fixed it.
Sometimes we'll sheath a wall that will get an odd opening that won't be known until the fall is finished. The sheathing makes framing out the odd shape much easier since there is edge support everywhere.