OSB stands for Oriented Strand Board and it’s formed out of compressed layers of wood strands with adhesives (wax and synthetic resin). OSB is unlike similar products, the strips of wood in each layer are placed strategically rather than randomly to give it strength and it can have up to 50 layers of wood in total! The wood comes from sustainable, small, quick growing trees such as aspen poplar and southern yellow pine and the result is incredibly strong.

There are two different types of OSB, OSB2 and OSB3.

OSB2 is great for structural, non-load bearing projects in dry conditions whereas OSB3 performs better for structural, load bearing use and for use in humid conditions.

The material difference between plywood and OSB is that plywood is made up of lots of thin layers of wood whereas OSB is made up of lots of strands of wood crossed over each other giving it extra strength. There are a few pros and cons for both plywood and OSB but often it falls to personal preference and opinion as to which is best.

Here’s some of the main pros and cons of OSB:

The pros of OSB:

It’s cheaper than plywood

It’s available in larger sheets than plywood

It’s thicker and heavier which is considered by some as an advantage and some as a disadvantage

It’s considered more environmentally friendly than plywood as smaller, younger trees can be used to produce it making it more sustainable

The cons of OSB:

It will need sealing at any cuts to make sure that it remains water resistant otherwise it can swell and absorb water at cuts

It can take longer to dry out than plywood

It’s thicker and heavier which is considered by some as an advantage and some as a disadvantage