I live in the North East, I see a new build house going up down the road,
they have installed what looks like 5/8 OSB board roofing material. The
joists are 16". I though you needed to install 3/4 for roofing?
Would plywood have been better then OSB at least for the roof?

Gntry wrote:
I live in the North East, I see a new build house going up down the road,
they have installed what looks like 5/8 OSB board roofing material. The
joists are 16". I though you needed to install 3/4 for roofing?
Would plywood have been better then OSB at least for the roof?

Depending on the rafter spacing and roof loads, 1/2" is standard for
16" OC rafters. There's one village around here that still requires
3/4" roof sheathing. They're dinosaurs with lots of stupid code
provisions. I've never seen 3/4" sheathing on new construction
anywhere else.

R

Most structural panels are "span rated".
Given that, conditions specific to site, load, and frame must be
considered.
TB

"RicodJour" wrote in message ups.com...
| Gntry wrote:
| I live in the North East, I see a new build house going up down the road,
| they have installed what looks like 5/8 OSB board roofing material. The
| joists are 16". I though you needed to install 3/4 for roofing?
| Would plywood have been better then OSB at least for the roof?
|
| Depending on the rafter spacing and roof loads, 1/2" is standard for
| 16" OC rafters. There's one village around here that still requires
| 3/4" roof sheathing. They're dinosaurs with lots of stupid code
| provisions. I've never seen 3/4" sheathing on new construction
| anywhere else.
|
| R
|

3/4" means that one can walk on the roof without that vague feeling of being asea.

I have the 5/8 on my roof (code is really the minimum acceptable) and it sinks beneath my feet.

OSB vs. plywood is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. It just depends on how much one is willing to pay for roofing.

--
PDQ

--

"Gntry" wrote in message
news:CCGvf.36$7l4.24@trndny03...
I live in the North East, I see a new build house going up down the road,
they have installed what looks like 5/8 OSB board roofing material. The
joists are 16". I though you needed to install 3/4 for roofing?
Would plywood have been better then OSB at least for the roof?


OSB used to be a lot cheaper than plywood. Not so much any more. The only
places ply wood is used where I live is the edges of the roof. They will
install a 2-foot wide piece on the ends where exposed to the elements. The
rest is OSB.

PDQ wrote:

3/4" means that one can walk on the roof without that vague feeling of being
asea.

Wander about on your roof much? I've seen 300 pound guys on 1/2"
ply on 16" centers. They didn't fall through.

I have the 5/8 on my roof (code is really the minimum acceptable) and it sinks
beneath my feet.

Deflection is expected with load. If the sheathing was made up of 2x
material it would still deflect. There's the balance (especially
important on a roof!) one tries to achieve between structural strength
and cost. Adding more weight, and cost, doesn't necessarily make it a
better structure.

OSB vs. plywood is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. It just depends on how
much one is willing to pay for roofing.

Exactly.

R