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SELLING panels is one thing.

\JSelling Oriented Strand Boardthe engineered structural wood panel-is another. And while you and much of the building industry may be familiar with it, OSB remains relatively new and misunderstood by others. Arming yourself and your floor sales staff with the basics can help your operation move significantly more OSB, yielding greater sales and profit.

Wttutis OSB?

Oriented Strand Board is a structural panel made of precisely milled rectangular wood strands that are blended with resin and wax. The majority of strands are up to 4-l/4 long and 1" wide. Typically, fourstrand layers-two surface and two inner-make up the panel. The surface layer strands are aligned in the long panel direction, while the inner layers have cross or random alignment. A continuous four-layer "mat" is formed, then pressed into a panel under high heat and pressure. Panels are trimmed, edge coated and may be touch sanded or prepared with tongue-and-groove edges depending on the anticipated end use. A key feature of OSB is its uninterrupted wood fiber-free of knots and core voids.

Wt.t kind of timber is used to make OSB?

In general, most OSB is made from fast-growing hardwoods such as aspen or poplar, southern yellow pine, or mixed hardwoods and softwoods.

Wtr"t is the main difference between OSB and plywood?

In a structural sense-which is the most important factor-there is virtually no difference. OSB and plywood are engineered to meet the same performance standards. Both OSB and plywood are structural panels and are used in structural applications. Many builders find that OSB provides advantages such as greater uniformity, rigidity, shear, and no core voids. OSB can be sawed, drilled, filed, routed, sanded and painted.

Wt.t about price?

OSB is a commodity product, like plywood, and market fluctuations contribute to price variations. As with plywood, OSB's structural performance is ensured by quality assurance and independent testing.

Story at a Glance

Be able to answer the most frequently asked .questions about the world's fastest growing structural panel.

fn what applications is OSB used?

The short answer is that OSB mav be used wherever plywood is used-primarily as roof and wall sheathing, in floors, subfloors and floor underlayment, and more. Today there are many "value added" forms of OSB including structural insulated panels, OSB-core decorative veneer panels, and as the web in engineered wood Ijoists. Traditionally, OSB is used as: o Wall Sheathing: OSB provides equivalent fire resistance in fre-resistant wall assemblies, good R-value and acoustical control. OSB walls also demonstrate high performance in racking and deflection strength. o Floors: OSB subfloors provide a working platform and base for underlayment and finished flooring such as carpet, vinyl, tiles or hardwood. Studies show that OSB is comparable to plywood in terms of nail holding ability. OSB single-layer floors serve as both subflooring and underlayment for use under pad and carpet or lightweight concrete. Properly installed, OSB floors provide a snug fit with greatly reduced squeaking.

. Roof Sheathing: OSB is extra rigid to withstand heavy snow loads, strong winds and seismic forces. The manufacturing process provides one textured surface for safer footing.

. D-I-Y Uses: Homeowners find OSB panels ideal for a variety of home projects such as pool cabanas, garden sheds, children's furniture, shelving and storage crates.

How does OSB stack up environmentally?

Unlike plywood, which is generally made from older, large-diameter trees, OSB is manufactured from fastgrowing tree species, some as small as four inches in diameter. The mills used to manufacture OSB are highly energy efficient and use virtually all of the log. Off-gassing is negligible because the resin binders used in OSB are completely cured during the manufacturing process.

Wt ut do OSB markings indicate?

All OSB intended for use in construction should bear the mark of an accredited wood certification agency such as APA-The Engineered Wood Association, PFS/TECO or PSI. OSB panels also should display stamps that indicate the span rating, thickness and bond durability.

What kind of care does OSB need?

As with all wood products, care should be taken to prevent prolonged contact with moisture or standing water. OSB is designed to withstand exposure to moisture, given normal, two- to three-month construction time periods. Moisture can cause some edge swell and surface roughness in OSB, but it will not affect the panel's structural integrity.

Educating your floor sales staff and customer service department with these basic facts can help them know more about selling OSB, the fastest growing structural panel in the world.

II/OOD mouldings are once again

Y Y beins used as a decorator item. During the last 15 to 20 years, mouldings have for the most part been thought of as a utility product to cover cracks and seams between walls and doors.

During the 1980s, as new home prices escalated, contractors began cutting back on the cost of construction. Mouldings were either reduced in size or eliminated altogether.

This led to the growth of mouldings being sold more for remodeling than in the past. Homeowners love the look of wood mouldings, and if nice decorative mouldings are not in the house at the time of construction, you can bet sometime in the future they will be.

More builders are once again using wood mouldings to add a little pizzazz to their homes trying to differentiate themselves from the competition. or as an enticement to the buyers to upgrade their house.

Architectural styles have changed the types of mouldings used in most cases, back to the more traditional colonial styles. For most of the U.S., the stained look has been replaced with painted mouldings made from either fingerjoint pine or medium density fiberboard. In the West, painted mouldings are now installed in nearly every new home sold today, and in increasing volumes, MDF is replacing fingerjoint pine.

The advent of painted mouldings and MDF in particular is allowing

Story at a Glance

Trends in recent upswing in wood moulding usage ... ways pro and d-i-y dealers can capitalize.