Can Hardwood Be Stapled To Osb

Hardwood can make for a durable and beautiful floor but small mistakes in the subflooring or installation can wreak havoc and buckling squeaky uneven floors can all result from poor installation.

Can hardwood be stapled to osb. One main reason is that the resins waxes and glues used in the bonding process permeate the entire panel. Builders choose osb because it typically costs less than plywood free of knots and voids and can be used interchangeably in typical flooring applications where the panels have the correct span rating. Engineered wood can often be floated meaning the planks connect to each other instead of the subfloor. An increasing number of homes and light commercial buildings have oriented strand board osb subfloors.

Installing hardwood flooring over osb. Recommended installation methods can differ from product to product. Floating hardwood installation is much more diy friendly. An osb board absorbs moisture less readily than plywood and the main problem with an osb subfloor getting wet is that the seams of the individual sheets can swell.

Main concern is nails staples coming loose from the osb over time. Osb is fine as a subfloor structurally but imo it won t hold a nail or staple as well as spruce plywood. Staple down engineered hardwood flooring is attached with staples to the subfloor which can be plywood oriented strand board osb high density particle board or even existing wood flooring. Especially if you are using a stapler to install the wood.

A benefit to using staples over glue is that it can be walked on immediately. I would not install hardwood directly over osb. We carry hardwood flooring laminate bamboo cork vinyl area rugs and even staircase materials like iron balusters so whether you know exactly what kind of flooring you want or you are in the very beginning phase of shopping for new floors we can help you every step of the way. While this is not a definitive guide to hardwood installation over osb panels there are some important points to ponder.

Although adhesive companies state it can work use caution against gluing down any hardwood engineered or solids over particle masonite wafer or osb board. Osb panels 23 32 inch minimum thickness galvanized nails or decking screws 2 inch moisture meter vapor barrier staple gun and staples chalk line drill 1 8 inch drill bit 1 1 2 inch finish nails.