Oriented strand board

Oriented strand board, commonly called OSB, is a type of particle board which is made of carefully positioned strands of wood. Aspen and other similar woods are cut into long strands parallel to the grain of the wood. It is manufactured into sheets made up of wood strands, wax, and resin adhesives. Sheets are formed under pressure and heat. The finished sheet size varies by country. OSB is very strong making it ideal for building construction. Its most common uses in construction are for covering walls, floors and roofs before the finish products are applied.

OSB-2 is specially designed OSB for load-bearing purposes. It is for use in dry areas.
OSB-3 is designed the same, but is for use in wet areas.

OSB can also be made from trees from areas burned over by forest fires.

References

1 2 3 Eric Lund; United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; et al., Alternatives to Lumber and Plywood in Home Construction (Washington, D.C.: The Dept., 1993), p. 21
1 2 Wood Production, Wood Technology, and Biotechnological Impacts, ed. Ursula Kües (Göttingen, Univ.-Verl. Göttingen, 2007), p. 316
↑ Laura Maria Moya, Using Fire-impacted Trees for Wood Composites: Characterization and Modeling, dissertation, University of Minnesota (November 2008), p. 32

Related pages

Other websites

APA - The Engineered Wood Association: OSB Archived 2013-11-09 at the Wayback Machine
Kronospan Worldwide: OSB

[Lund21-1] 1 2 3 Eric Lund; United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; et al., Alternatives to Lumber and Plywood in Home Construction (Washington, D.C.: The Dept., 1993), p. 21

[Kues316-2] 1 2 Wood Production, Wood Technology, and Biotechnological Impacts, ed. Ursula Kües (Göttingen, Univ.-Verl. Göttingen, 2007), p. 316

[3] Laura Maria Moya, Using Fire-impacted Trees for Wood Composites: Characterization and Modeling, dissertation, University of Minnesota (November 2008), p. 32