Can Hardwood Be Stapled To Osb

Osb is fine as a subfloor structurally but imo it won t hold a nail or staple as well as spruce plywood.

Can hardwood be stapled to osb.

I would not install hardwood directly over osb. Main concern is nails staples coming loose from the osb over time. 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.

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. This swelling although undesirable and to be avoided is virtually unnoticeable under a laminate floor unless it is very pronounced. One main reason is that the resins waxes and glues used in the bonding process permeate the entire panel. 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.

Installing hardwood flooring over osb. Especially if you are using a stapler to install the wood. An increasing number of homes and light commercial buildings have oriented strand board osb subfloors. 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.

Solid hardwood must be nailed stapled or glued down. Engineered wood can often be floated meaning the planks connect to each other instead of the subfloor. Recommended installation methods can differ from product to product. While this is not a definitive guide to hardwood installation over osb panels there are some important points to ponder.

I would overlay your osb sub with 3 8 spruce plywood and screw. A benefit to using staples over glue is that it can be walked on immediately.