What is the difference between OSB and BraceRite sheathing?
El Pasoan
| Posted in General Questions on
My builder is wanting to build my house with Bracerite instead of OSB. I would like to know if it’s better quality and is it beneficial to use in the Southwest? I’m not familiar with Bracerite material. Thank you.
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
El Pasoan,
These are two different materials. OSB stands for oriented strandboard. OSB is a plywood substitute made of wood chips and glue. OSB is dense enough to be used for subflooring, and holds nails well.
BraceRite is a type of structural fiberboard sheathing manufactured by International Bildrite. Fiberboard is not as dense as OSB. It is too soft to be used as subflooring, and it doesn't hold nails well.
Either material can be used to brace walls -- that is, to provide racking resistance -- as long as the material is properly nailed.
Since fiberboard can't hold screws, siding can't be nailed to fiberboard. Instead, the siding has to be fastened to the studs with long nails or screws.
Builders in cold climates sometimes worry about moisture accumulation in OSB during the winter. For these worriers, fiberboard is often preferred, for this reason: fiberboard is vapor-permeable, and therefore dries quickly in the spring. Because OSB isn't very vapor-permeable, it may stay damp for a long time in very cold climates. (This worry doesn't really apply in the Southwest, however.)
For more information, see this article: Wall Sheathing Options.