What is OSB Board?

OSB Board

          OSB as a cost-effective alternative engineered to meet the same performance standards as plywood. OSB is made by blending rectangular wood strands with thermal-set, waterproof adhesives. The treated strands are arranged in cross-directional layers that are then pressed together under extreme heat and pressure. The result is a rigid, dense engineered panel that is stiff, strong and durable.

          OSB boards (Oriented Strand Board) are structural boards designed with wooden rectangular flakes, which are or distributed in internal layers being perpendicularly oriented. It is necessary to highlight that if a board doesn't have crossed lamination as part of its design it may present random structural weaknesses, which are impossible to predict. This implies a high risk to the builders and the final customer.

          The flakes are mixed with wax and binders. Afterwards they are submitted to high temperatures and pressures giving then origin to LP STRUCTURAL OSB boards of 8 x 16 feet. They have characteristics of resistance and rigidity, which are the result of a crossed layers lamination.

          These characteristics are fundamental to obtain the certification as structural board for housing by the international entity APA (Engineered Wood Association, USA) which certifies more than 95% of the structural boards for housing in developed countries as USA and Canada.

           As an outcome, boards free of knots and cracks, firm and uniform are obtained. They are easy to cut, to nail or to screw, using ordinary wood working tools. It is outstanding that one of the faces is rough, giving a nonskid characteristic in case of using in roofs and/or bigger specific area of adherence in case of using in walls and floors. The LP OSB structural family boards for building have different types of products according to the protection level that the user requires against termites and fungal decay. This protection will depend on the concentration of additives that the different boards have as Zinc Borate. (harmless to human beings)