Plywood vs OSB for subfloor, made the wrong call I think

I redid a 12x14 bedroom floor in my 1950s bungalow in Portland last month. Chose OSB because it was $40 cheaper per sheet than plywood. Now I feel like the OSB is gonna swell up if I ever spill a drink, and the screw holding feels softer. Did I mess up saving that cash, or is OSB fine for bedrooms if you keep it dry?

2 comments

2 Comments

ruby_patel2715d ago

Oh man, you're overthinking this but I get it. Here's something nobody's talking about though - in a 1950s house, your floor joists might be wider spaced than modern builds. OSB is actually stiffer than plywood in some ways, so if those old joists are 24 inches on center instead of 16, the OSB might hold up better against sagging over time. The swelling risk is real near bathrooms or where you might track in rain, but for a bedroom with area rugs it's probably fine. Honestly, I'd be more worried about the screw holding feeling soft because that could mean you're not hitting the joist dead center, not that the material is weak.

abbyg1415d ago

Right? The joist spacing thing caught me off guard too when I redid my spare room. I ended up going with OSB because the old 2x8s were all over the place and it actually laid down flatter than plywood would have.