OSB - A Sustainable Resource

Since the mid-1980s, oriented strand board (OSB) has been one of the most commonly used engineered wood-based panels for structural construction in residential sectors in North America. OSB was first produced in Canada in 1964, but it did not find its solid status in the market until the mid-1980s.

The number of OSB mills increased by more than 50 percent from 1990 to 1997. Today, total OSB production in North America is approximately 706 million ft³ (20 million m³), and there are about 20 companies that manufacture OSB in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Forest products companies are utilizing raw materials more efficiently with better technologies in more environmentally friendly ways. With this approach to managing forests, engineered wood composite products such as OSB have gained a significant role in the world market *

What is Oriented Strand Board?

An understanding of the process by which OSB is made will give some insight into why the material is sustainable.

OSB is a manufactured wood material. It is not created through a standard milling process but instead through a process where wood strands are compressed into boards. The wood strands are compressed into thin sheets and held together with wax and synthetic resin adhesives. A series of these thin sheets are then further compressed and held together with adhesives to create a structural board. 

Is OSB Sustainable?

In the building industry, sustainability involves two things: durability, and how environmentally friendly the product is. 

If a building material meets these two standards at an acceptable level, the material is deemed sustainable and eco-friendly.

Simply stated,  Formance uses OSB because it’s a highly sustainable building material - which is why we use it - because it aligns with our company values.

It's also more affordable than standard timber materials, even when timber prices are in a normal range.

Eco Friendly

OSB is considered eco-friendly for these three reasons:

1. OSB materials are manufactured with wood strands that come mainly from fast-growing trees. By using fast-growing trees as the primary wood source, less land needs to be allotted for trees to be used to create OSB manufacturing materials.
2. OSB is made from compressed wood strands. That translates to OSB manufacturers being able to use more of the tree wood that comes out of local forests. According to timber industry experts, the manufacturing process for OSB is able to make use of up to 90% of an entire tree. Compared to around 25% in timber framing. That means loggers are able to leave fewer byproducts sitting unused in the forests.
3. Finally, OSB is durable. When materials need less replacement, that lowers the stress on the environment because fewer materials are needed by manufacturers and end-users.

Some who have heard of OSB before ask about the adhesives used in manufacturing, and whether it contains any formaldehyde. 

Oriented strand board (OSB) does not contain urea-formaldehyde adhesives and meets the world’s leading formaldehyde emissions standards, including the U.S. HUD, Manufactured Housing Standard, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Air Toxic Control Measure for Composite Wood Products and the European EN-300 Standard. 

Durability

Even as part of the NZ Building Code, building materials must be sufficiently durable. They must ensure the building, without reconstruction or major renovation, continues to satisfy functional requirements without needing to be repaired or replaced. 

There are two factors to consider when evaluating the durability of construction materials. The first would be the ability of the material to bear weight. According to testing, the load-bearing capabilities of OSB exceed that of most plywood and milled wood panels. The OSB panels get this durability from the manufacturing process. While OSB doesn't have a continuous grain like natural wood materials, it can be manufactured in a manner that creates a strong axis that has great load-bearing strength. That’s why Formance SIPs are so strong and durable. In fact, Immediately after the 7.5 Kaikoura quake, a client living within 30 minutes of the epicentre reported in to say his Formance home had stood up remarkably to the strong shaking in an area where many of the surrounding homes were destroyed.

The second factor relates to how water-resistant a building material is under wet weather conditions. OSB materials are sufficiently water-resistant because the panels have no internal gaps or voids to absorb water. With that said, OSB panels are not recommended for exterior use. That is because they require the addition of extra membranes to achieve enough impermeability to water for exterior walls to resist humid or wet weather conditions.

Interesting Facts about OSB

• While OSB developed fairly recently, it became more popular than plywood in North America by 2000. Today, nearly twice as much OSB as plywood is produced in North America.
  
  
• OSB can be manufactured into panels that are larger than plywood. 
  
  
• OSB was invented by Armin Elmendorf in California in 1963.

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References 

* Sourced from Oklahoma State University