How to make painted OSB look halfway decent?

[krw]

Yes. Thank you. I was thinking about Hardiboard ("no, that's not right - that's the clapboard stuff") and then Hardipanel ("no, that's the stuff for board-and-batten"), must be...

[krw]

Actually, it works very well for that purpose. It won't fix a rotten subfloor but it is as good or better than any other sheet goods for the purpose. The recommendations I've seen are a minimum of 1-1/4" of subflooring under tile. 3/4" ply with 1/2" Hardibacker works.

Interesting. I would have thought the tar paper would allow too much movement.

[krw]

It's a lot of work but none of it is all that difficult. Floor tile is easily a DIYer project. Wall tile is a bit more difficult, IMO. Gravity is working in your favor on the floor. ;-)

[krw]

Because it isn't really a problem. Sprinkler systems are expensive and create their own problems.

[-MIKE-]

My point, exactly.

[-MIKE-]

Just to clarify... tile on its thin-set over mortar bed over moisture barrier over plywood had stood the test of time.

Tile on its thinset on plywood will last about 8 months or two season changes.

[-MIKE-]

3/4"-1/4"=1/2", no? According to their website, it's for floors, too. Again, I always call their tech support to clarify their published product specs when matched against my project specs.

[-MIKE-]

We'll have to agree to disagree on that. :-)

[krw]

-(Thinset x 2)

[krw]

Though they are required in some jurisdictions. Obviously someone thinks there's a problem.

[-MIKE-]

I guess I falsely assumed that 3/4" referred to the thickness of the hardibacker. Oops.

[-MIKE-]

That's a whole 'nother debate.

Many jurisdictions have some pretty ridiculous codes with many requirements based on little more than old wives tales or an anomalous occurrence that happened once but was sensationalized.

I think sprinklers are a pretty cheap and easy preventative measure that don't have any more inherent problems than the plumbing already in the walls.

[Martin Eastburn]

I have two sheets of OSB that have been used as shipping container sides. They have weathered heavy storms and week long rain. Now they are made to stand water! Phew. Used a 4x8 sheet on top of a 4x8 pallet on my tractor fork and loaded a pickup load of plants and small trees.

Now it is handy as a work center and saves taking each and every plant or tree by hand.

The new flake OSB is tight and strong like it was designed for.

40 years ago they made it with water soluble and it was used on homes. Those melted after months. Caught that builder with his pants down!

Mart> >

[dadiOH]

WHAT?? I did my kitchen counters 17 years ago, you mean they are now kaput? Oh, wait...I used mastic, not thinset :)

[Swingman]

Most likely because you don't know what to look for; and/or the elements of fire resistant construction, draft stopping, dampers, etc. are hidden by wall coverings.

DAGS "Fire Resistance-Rated Construction", part of every framing/building inspection I've ever been through, both residential and commercial.

[John Grossbohlin]

There seems to be a gap between the ideal and the typical when it comes to this stuff... It is not unusual for me to see exposed 2x4 trusses or I-Joists in basements in newer homes I've been in... That includes a friend's 10,000 sq foot home that is about 6 years old... the majority of the basement is finished but the ceilings of the two mechanical rooms and the dead storage rooms (as compared to the pantry room, are not and the trusses are exposed. Arguably, the mechanical rooms with the furnaces, A/Cs, humidifiers, hot water heaters, heater and filter for the indoor lap pool, electrical panels, etc. should be the rooms with the most fire resistant construction...

It wasn't too long ago I read an article in either Fine Homebuilding or Journal of Light Construction about putting drywall on the sides of the 2x4 trusses to make them more fire resistant... this was a retrofitting process, not a construction phase process.

I don't think home owners appreciate the risks they face when the fire proofing detailing is left out... They simply don't know any better and surprisingly (to me anyway) even the home inspectors they rely upon are not noting the issues.

John

[krw]

It's an unfinished basement. The first-floor joists are exposed. I expect that when these are finished, a very small percentage are even sheetrocked. Most would have suspended ceilings, so no protection there, either. I don't intend to finish the ceiling because it's my shop (probably will cover the walls).

I was wondering if you were talking about some sort of treatment of the I-beams themselves.

[krw]

My house is about 40% of that size (1-1/2 story) but the basement is completely unfinished. There are only two of us so it's not like I need more living space but the shop space is nice. ;-)

Wow! With plumbing and electrical, that sounds like a *major* undertaking. Rocking the ceiling would be much simpler.

...or it's not the code.

[krw]

That's well (under-)stated! You just described the entire federal government.

That assumes you have an unlimited water supply. AFAIK, you need more than a 3/4" street connection to support them. Then there's the problem of false trips. It *does* happen and water will do as much damage as a fire (that's most of the damage in most residential fires, where the fire department "saves" the structure).

I was talking with some VFW folks when I was in VT. They were forcing them to install a sprinkler system that was going to set them back around $100K. The stupid part is that it's a one-story building, on a slab, that has windows all around. You can't be more than ~30' from a possible exit (and they're in all directions). But, rules are rules.

[-MIKE-]

Do a lot of walking around on those counters, do you? :-)