Vast upside for value-?dded OSB

INCtNeERED wood products l-lsuch as OSB continue to replace traditional lumber in home construction.

Processed with wood and adhesives, they exhibit stronger properties than their sawn lumber counterparts, and have not only caught on among architects and builders but are appreciated by home buyers.

Larger homes will also require more product usage, including OSB. The National Association of Home

Builders estimates new homes will average 2,200 sq. ft. by 2010, up from 1,000 sq. ft. in 1950 and 2,000 sq. ft. today. Larger garages, larger rooms and higher ceilings will require more paneling, sheathing and flooring supporting longer spans. OSB's flexible 4'x9' to 4'xl0' sizing fits higher ceilings, works well with wall assemblies, and offers reliable shear strength.

The market will remain lucrative for those who deliver on quality. Although interest rates are expected to take a bite out of the furious pace of housing starts in the U.S., don't forget that more than 50Vo of the U.S. population by 2010 will be between 25-64 years old. That demographic group will spend the most on buying new homes, building new ones or renovating existing homes. Boomers will make up half of this group.

Many of these home buyers will be from double-income families. If current trends prevail, they will demand and pay for improved quality in home components and products. Manufacturers realize this as much as builders. If the old sheathing panels that builders refened to as "commodity" were classified as regular gasoline, the panels that you will see today and in the future will be closer to premium with one great exception: they will be priced more competitively.

No longer will every professional identify OSB as a sheathing panel, because companies are producing new specialty panels as well as engineered components. These products will continue to take over important parts of the residential construction process that have not historically been associated with OSB.

I-joists, which began to make inroads from the 1990s, are expected to support more than half of new homes that will be built in the U.S. soon. Made of OSB webs connected by lumber or LVL flanges, I-joists reportedly do not crown, shrink, split, warp, twist or pull away from the subfloor like sawn lumber joists. They are lighter than lumber, strong enough to carry large loads, and reduce or eliminate squeaky floors. I-joists are among the fastest-selling wood products in residential construction.

Structural insulated panels, made up of a core foam sandwiched by OSB panels, are also catching on in residential construction. Acceptance of SIPs is high among builders and architects concerned about insulation. comfort.

No longer

will every professional identify OSB as a sheathing panel, because companies are producing new specialty panels as well as engineered components.

strength and sound-proofing characteristics.

SIPs offer cost advantages. A small custom house with SIPs can be built, sheathed, insulated and sealed for air tightness in one day. Owens Corning recently launched a new line of SIPs.

Manufacturers are doing wonderful things with panels. One firm has introduced an OSB panel incorporating perforated aluminum, which acts as a barrier to keep out as much as 957o of the sun's radiant heat. Firms are also offering lifetime or 5O.year warranties for flooring systems combining OSB tongue-and-groove panels with I-joists.

Another firm is offering an OSB concrete forming product that will be used for industrial applications to build concrete walls and foundations-an application long dominated by plywood. The new product consists of an OSB panel, with a medium density overlay, which allows for multiple usage. This development signals OSB's increasing diversification into new markets.

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