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.

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. Solid hardwood must be nailed stapled or glued down. A benefit to using staples over glue is that it can be walked on immediately. I would overlay your osb sub with 3 8 spruce plywood and screw.

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. Especially if you are using a stapler to install the wood. 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. Recommended installation methods can differ from product to product. I would not install hardwood directly over osb. One main reason is that the resins waxes and glues used in the bonding process permeate the entire panel.

Osb is fine as a subfloor structurally but imo it won t hold a nail or staple as well as spruce plywood. 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. This swelling although undesirable and to be avoided is virtually unnoticeable under a laminate floor unless it is very pronounced.

Installing hardwood flooring over osb. 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.