plywood vrs. osb forroof sheathing

[nameless]

May I ask a question--- it would be if it is allowed : What is the difference between plywood and OSB for roof sheathing? Is it up to code for zipcode 24401?

[hausdok]

Call the local code authorities and ask them whether they accept OSB. According to just about everything I've read, OSB is a perfectly acceptable substitute for plywood when applied properly and within it's range of use specifications.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Ben H]

I can't remember the last roof I saw that was actually plywood. If it's not OSB around here, it's 1x planks.

Edit* On a new built home.

[nameless]

Thanks...I ask as I recently had Dow Corning architectural shingles put on ..initially over the one story family room addition (25 X 14 approx).That was covered by homeowner's insurance due to heavy snows causing it to collapse and the adjustor's specs called for plywood.So I wondered what my homeowner's insurance adjustor will think of the OSB rather than the plywood. The roofer did not tell me he was using OSB and I discovered this fact just recently.

He also took the insulation out of the third story dormer rooms(finished space with access to the roof through low doors). So the insulation goes only up to the knee walls. He had come to me to say that the insulation was crowding the vents, and he would take some out to increase ventilation. Well, there were two large pallets of new "dry" bat insulation sitting in the house so I assumed the roofers would replace it correctly with new bat insulation using baffles (preferably). Wrong! He took it all out so now I have a vaulted ceiling /roof with no insulation between the dry wall and the roof. The general opinion among local roofers is that this is an absurd thing & a disaster for a roofer to do , and ventilation yes, but the roof still needs to be insulated. To retrofit the insulation is possible but much more difficult & will never be right unless the dry wall is removed from the dormer room ceilings. In addition, he did not finish putting up the molding in the family room because I had mentioned I might want to install a thicker molding. (We then decided we would not invest money in this right now as there are much more pressing things to fix in the house) He did not clean -up...the bricks in my yard are scattered about and not put back as they were...there is loads of debris in the unfinished attic areas under the roof, stray nails left on the roof, he did not use a drop clothe to prime the ceiling in the family room (he also did the dry walling) . When he was priming the ceiling I asked why do you not use a drop clothe to cover wood floors he said because it is so easy to wipe off any white latex spots that get on floor & brick around fireplace. Perhaps but he did not clean it up and it is all dusty white and bricks have white streaks. He also according to local roofers must have dropped the bundles of architectural shingles on the roof since they are heavy and this created nail pops all over the dormer room dry wall (even in the stairway leading up to the dormer rooms) and some nails showing right through the dry wall, lines of the plywood now show through, some of it moves when you push it lightly, and he has damaged these rooms but will not do anything about it. I paid him all but $150.00 like a fool because I am the soft type (wish my husband had been here!). Thing is I liked him and his partner. Still, never lost my cool and am simply asking him what he intends to do. And he called me and yelled at me saying he is sick of all this. My husband left him a message and if he does not respond I will have no recourse but to report him to the Association of Roofing Contractors something I do not want to do because it is not my desire to resort to punitive measures but only to have him fix the problems he created....Estimates from roofers to fix this are in the 2 to 4 thousand range. He even left debris over one of the down spout drain pipes which caused water to wash away a chunk of my garden. Any ideas about what I should do?

[nameless]

I am sorry my previous posting got so long!!!

[Marc]

You need an attorney, after which you'll need a top flight home inspector onsite to give direction, sequence and specification to the course of repairs. I doubt your problems will cease before they are corrected. I also think your inspector will reveal additional issues or concerns that neither the adjuster, roofer or yourself are yet aware of.

Do your research carefully before hiring your inspector. Some may not be much better than that roofer.

Marc

[Scottpat]

Thanks...I ask as I recently had Dow Corning architectural shingles put on ..initially over the one story family room addition (25 X 14 approx).That was covered by homeowner's insurance due to heavy snows causing it to collapse and the adjustor's specs called for plywood.So I wondered what my homeowner's insurance adjustor will think of the OSB rather than the plywood. The roofer did not tell me he was using OSB and I discovered this fact just recently.

He also took the insulation out of the third story dormer rooms(finished space with access to the roof through low doors). So the insulation goes only up to the knee walls. He had come to me to say that the insulation was crowding the vents, and he would take some out to increase ventilation. Well, there were two large pallets of new "dry" bat insulation sitting in the house so I assumed the roofers would replace it correctly with new bat insulation using baffles (preferably). Wrong! He took it all out so now I have a vaulted ceiling /roof with no insulation between the dry wall and the roof. The general opinion among local roofers is that this is an absurd thing & a disaster for a roofer to do , and ventilation yes, but the roof still needs to be insulated. To retrofit the insulation is possible but much more difficult & will never be right unless the dry wall is removed from the dormer room ceilings. In addition, he did not finish putting up the molding in the family room because I had mentioned I might want to install a thicker molding. (We then decided we would not invest money in this right now as there are much more pressing things to fix in the house) He did not clean -up...the bricks in my yard are scattered about and not put back as they were...there is loads of debris in the unfinished attic areas under the roof, stray nails left on the roof, he did not use a drop clothe to prime the ceiling in the family room (he also did the dry walling) . When he was priming the ceiling I asked why do you not use a drop clothe to cover wood floors he said because it is so easy to wipe off any white latex spots that get on floor & brick around fireplace. Perhaps but he did not clean it up and it is all dusty white and bricks have white streaks. He also according to local roofers must have dropped the bundles of architectural shingles on the roof since they are heavy and this created nail pops all over the dormer room dry wall (even in the stairway leading up to the dormer rooms) and some nails showing right through the dry wall, lines of the plywood now show through, some of it moves when you push it lightly, and he has damaged these rooms but will not do anything about it. I paid him all but $150.00 like a fool because I am the soft type (wish my husband had been here!). Thing is I liked him and his partner. Still, never lost my cool and am simply asking him what he intends to do. And he called me and yelled at me saying he is sick of all this. My husband left him a message and if he does not respond I will have no recourse but to report him to the Association of Roofing Contractors something I do not want to do because it is not my desire to resort to punitive measures but only to have him fix the problems he created....Estimates from roofers to fix this are in the 2 to 4 thousand range. He even left debris over one of the down spout drain pipes which caused water to wash away a chunk of my garden. Any ideas about what I should do?

You do realize that the Association of Roofing Contractors has no power to do anything to anyone... This is a membership association that might be able to issue a reprimand but that is about it.

As Marc said, you need an attorney if you want this corrected. Now this will also cost you some money for the attorney and it could also take a year or longer to take care of it. Another thing to think about is that the contractor that did the work might not have the money to take care of the problems.

OSB is an approved building product for roof decking, nothing wrong with its use.

If it was me I would hire a good home inspector(you have some good ones near Staunton VA) that does litigation work, let them document everything and then I would find an attorney to give you directions on your next step.

[mwds120]

One good thing about OSB is that there are no soft spots like can occur in plywood.