Can you nail 3/4 inch hardwood onto OSB (chipboard)?

Question

I guess I should have been more specific. We are laying hardwood floors in place of the gross builders carpet. Our house is fairly new (1 1/2 years old) and have heard different theories on weather we have to lay plywood over the chipboard.

Answer 1

Details, details, details... the more details you provide, the better answers you will get. heheheh.

Ok... first lets look at some definitions.... many times, the names of different kinds of wood substrates get called by various names... not always correctly....

OSB -- Oriented Strand Board.... also known as "Wafer Board" on the common market... this looks like panels of wood made from wood shavings (Actually, thats what it is, lol) So, you have some flakes of wood that have been compressed with the resins to form a board, anywhere form 1/4 inch thick to 3/4 inch thick standard... and you can get thicker product with special orders. Often this product is used on floors (5/8" or 3/4"),or exterior walls (7/16" to 3/4").

Particle Board - also known as "chip Board"... this is made from sawdust, and resins, compressed together to form panels. The most common usage is in cabinet building, countertops, and flooring where vinyl goods will be installed. Many mobile home companies use particle board, instead of plywood, for their floors.

Ive heard the term "chipboard" used to describe BOTH OSB, and Particle Board...but this is not a correct usage of the term, and is confusing.

Now, of the two products.... particle board provides the smoothest surface... good for laminates, vinly floors, etc... but it does not tolerate getting wet, very well. OSB tolerates moisture better, but due to the nature of what it is made from... there is quite a bit of variation in the surface texture...thats ok, if youre installing carpet, laminate floors, or solid floors... items that are thick enough that the variation in the panel surface will not telegraph thru.

One other option is, of course, Plywood.... plywood comes in many grades, thicknesses, and species.... typically, the more layers there are in a sheet of plywood, the stronger it is. A 7 layer, 3/4" sheet of plywood will be much stronger than a 5 layer sheet of the same thickness.

You CAN install solid wood flooring over OSB, OR Particle Baord...tho, particle board will be more likely to chip out, with the nails driven in at an angel on the tongues of the solid wood flooring. IF you have Particle board... you may want to consider using GLUE to put the wood floors down, rather than nails.

As some of the others have mentioned, you need a felt paper between wood floor and the subfloor, if you are going to nail it... or even if you are going to glue the wood floor to itself to create a floating floor. A floating floor can be installed over ANY kind of subfloor....even concrete...tho, with concrete, you NEED a vapor barrier in addition to the felt.

My recommendation then, is if the floor is not plywood, or OSB, then go with a "floating" floor, and glue the wood floor together by applying wood glue to the tonge/grooves of the flooring. Titebond is an excellent wood glue, by the way.

Have Fun!

Answer 2

Not unless you also nail into the OSB supports as well.

Take flooring - you can nail into OSB but for good holding power you should make sure you nail into a flooring joist as well every so often.

For hardwood - you might reconsider nailing hardwood to anything in the first place. If you're using oak - you'll wear yourself out before the nail gets through. Try alternative methods of fastening like screws (drilling a pilot hole first). If you're handing a cabinet, try using a french cleat attached to the wall studs.

Answer 3

the answer to your question is yes. You can nail hardwood floor too OSB. It does not hold as well as a 3/4 or 1 1/8 T&G plywood subfloor but will sufficiently hold the hardwood. If you want to do more work for yourself, you can (doublestick) as well as nail. Doublestick is were you glue down felt paper and glue wood over top of felt as well as nailing. This is way overkill but if you are leary this will kill all doubts

Answer 4

If you mean 3/4 inch hardwood tongue & groove flooring, yes you may. The "chipboard" , or OSB, or wafer board as it is known, will support the flooring. You will need a flooring nailer which you can get at a local rental center, various saws, and a great amount of ambition. These are not easy projects, but can be very rewarding. Good luck

Answer 5

Based on the fact that you can nail chipboard onto hardwood, I would gather that the same nail would work in the opposite direction.

Answer 6

They ruin your real nails. You have to cut your natural nails very short and then they use a drill to make your nail smooth which makes them thin and weak. Even the removal process if you only got them once is damaging. The store bought ones are also damaging but not as much. You have to buff your nails down yourself and the glue needs to be removed with 100% acetone and filing.

Answer 7

Osb Flooring

Answer 8

Yes. I assume your putting in a hardwood floor. first lay down "underlayment paper" its kinda like construction paper and it is pinkish red in color. Dont skimp on the nails because if you do the new floor will squeek.

Answer 9

Is it OSB or is it chipboard? Two different things.

OSB is dense enough that yes, you can, but screws would be better.

Cheap grades of chipboard don't have a strong enough bond between the fibers so no, you can't.

Answer 10

the answer is yes! the best fastening method depends on the particulars of what exactly the job is. When in doubt read the directions. I assume this is either flooring or wall planking, both come with directions!!!
Measure twice, cut once!!