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Borrego
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2011 06:06pm - Edited by: Borrego
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You've probably seen me asking about what kind of flooring to due in my cabin due to the pole construction. Well, I was at a new restaurant last night and they had OSB ply cut in about 4'x4' pieces, with metal strips at the seams and all sealed with a glossy epoxy resin/varnish/I don't know what. It looked beautiful, the finish coat brought out the colors of the OSB with reds, browns, yellows....
I'm sold on the OSB because of the durability. flexibility. ease of install and of course, cost!
Wondering if anyone has seen this floor done before? I'm thinking of using 1x3's instead of metal for the strips in between the OSB. It'll be important to make sure they're flush, the retaurant had the metal flush with the wood, I guess by routing recessed channels in the ply.....
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2011 06:42pm
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Sounds interesting...If you liked it, go for it! I would think as long as it has a good finish it should be fine.If you decide to go this route please post pics...would be curious to see it all done. Good luck!
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2011 06:48pm
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BTW...I think it would look cool in your cabin-modern and in the dessert-all the more reason to do it!
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Borrego
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2011 08:59pm
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I'll get some pics of the restaurant floor and post it, I won't be doing mine for a few months....
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bobrok
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# Posted: 12 Sep 2011 10:19pm
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Its not my floor but my ceiling done in osb. Std 4 x 8 sheets with batten boards at the seams & unfinished. I had seen another camp where they painted the osb white and left the battens unfinished. I thought it looked ok and helped brighten up the interior vs. unpainted. Alas, the wife nixed that plan.
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PlicketyCat
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 07:29am
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OSB can actually look pretty if it's the right grade and/or sanded smooth. some OSB is even veneered on the "A" face with a nice ply while the remaining layers are oriented chips. If you sand regular OSB well, then prime and paint you can barely tell it's not solid wood underneath.
You're probably going to need 5/4 sheets or two layers of 3/4" on a floor to be sturdy enough not to bounce.
If the spacer strips are wider than the joists, I'd imagine that the strip is wider at the base and routed out on top to form a frame for the OSB to rest on. Either that or the strip is very thin (1/4" or less) and the edges of the OSB are planed/routed so the strip just lays in the groove. Either way, it sounds like a good deal of work on the router/tablesaw/joiner to get it right... worth it if you really like the look.
Of course, you could always save yourself some work and faux paint or stain a grid on to get the look before adding the poly/resin sealer.
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 10:24am
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Quoting: PlicketyCat Of course, you could always save yourself some work and faux paint or stain a grid on to get the look before adding the poly/resin sealer
I saw a picture on the internet of someone who drew a grid with marker in 12x12 sections so that after it was all sealed it looked a lot like cork tiles. This may be an idea to consider.
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Malamute
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 01:22pm
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I've seen OSB that didn't look too bad, but think plywood looks better in general. Getting a good finish on it will be important, it will likely shed splinters as it wears.
I did 3/4" T&G plywood for my cabin floor, on 16" center joists. It feels fine, and looks decent. I will have a different floor eventually, but haven't minded the look of the plywood for the past several years.
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PlicketyCat
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 03:23pm
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Quoting: trollbridge I saw a picture on the internet of someone who drew a grid with marker in 12x12 sections so that after it was all sealed it looked a lot like cork tiles. This may be an idea to consider.
Polished OSB can definitely look like cork if you're not up close.
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Borrego
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 10:16pm
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Quoting: PlicketyCat Polished OSB can definitely look like cork if you're not up close.
Yes! That's the look! How do they get the seamless look? And what is the sealer? Epoxy? Is it nailed down or screwed?
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PlicketyCat
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 10:58pm - Edited by: PlicketyCat
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hehe - I'm a freak, but I can still see the seams in that photo. However, you can mask the seams by mixing sawdust and wood glue together, cramming that into any seams and nail/screw holes with a stiff putty knife, then sand everything smooth with 100 & 220 grit.
I'd probably use screws on OSB rather than nails, screws just work better on floors IMO and nails seem to work out of OSB easier than from solid wood or ply. Every 6" on the edges and 12" in the field into the joists should do the trick.
Three coats of normal gloss polyurethane should seal it and give a shiny durable finish, or use satin to be a little softer (more like cork). True clear epoxy resin is expensive and hard to work with IMO, better to save epoxy for a floor you want painted solid or speckled finish and use an epoxy porch paints (Bejamin Moore's is good). Marine varnish is another good option, and you can really get a thick "plastic" look if you use several coats (it will yellow a little) -- here's what 10 coats of marine varnish looks like:
Another way to lay this so you don't have to worry as much about seams is to do it parquet style. Since OSB has a direction, if you alternate vertical and horizontal you'll end up with something that looks sort of like parquet flooring so the seams are part of the look.
Edited to add:
If you have a subfloor, you can do a grid and OSB floor using 1x2 furring strips as the grid and laying in 3/4" OSB, then sanding smooth...
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Borrego
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# Posted: 14 Sep 2011 12:10am
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PlicketyCat - Thanks!
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 14 Sep 2011 09:44am
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Boy PlicketyCat sure knows her stuff!!!!! Thanks for all the knowledge you pass on. BTW...I looked REALLY hard and still cannot find the seams!!!!!
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Rob_O
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# Posted: 14 Sep 2011 09:46am
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Great thread, some good ideas here.
Here is a great post I found on choosing the correct paint for the situation
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PlicketyCat
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# Posted: 14 Sep 2011 06:31pm
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Quoting: trollbridge BTW...I looked REALLY hard and still cannot find the seams!!!!!
Hehe - it helps that I'm currently working on my own floor :) Look at the light reflection in the lower right corner of that photo... it perfectly highlights a 4-pt corner, from there your eye can detect the subtle color and texture differences on the rest of the sheets (or maybe not, LOL, I am a bit of a freak with the visual stuff).
But, in any case, I doubt that the filled and sanded seams would be obvious to most people under most circumstances. You just have to be careful about light sources highlighting them on accident, especially with shiny high-gloss finishes... which is why I prefer satin finishes for those "less than perfect" applications :)
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 15 Sep 2011 10:07pm
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Quoting: PlicketyCat corner of that photo... it perfectly highlights a 4-pt corner,
Oh Geez!!!!! I bow down almighty plickety!! LOL
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kahla
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# Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:29pm
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PlicketyCat : I was wondering what color stain that was on the parque looking OSB? How thick is the OSB that you are working with?? Did you screw down the tiles or glue them?
Thanks for the help!
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PlicketyCat
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# Posted: 15 Oct 2011 06:30am
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I'd venture that OSB isn't stained, just the natural color after a few coats of varnish. At most, it might have a coat of one of the "Cherry" wood toned stains, but stains don't take so well on OSB because it's impregnated with glue.
Our subfloor is 5/8" OSB, with 1" finished planks on top. If I were going to leave one single layer of OSB or ply as a floor I walk on a lot, I wouldn't make it less than 3/4" on 16" oc joists, or 5/4 on 24" oc joists. Or put down two layers if that ends up less expensive. Otherwise your floor get be a bit bouncy. With 5/8" on 24" oc joists, our cd player would skip anytime we walked heavy or dropped something.
With OSB on a floor, either sheet or as parquet, I'd use coarse-threaded deck screws. Nails tend to pull out of OSB easier than screws in my experience. If it's on top of a subfloor, you might get away with using an adhesive spread out in a thin layer like mastic, but OSB is normally layered in plys so the top could eventually delaminate from the bottom if it got wet, suffered temperature extremes, or flexed a lot due to traffic. Best of all worlds - glue and screw :D
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fthurber
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2011 11:10am
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I might be old fashioned but OSB anything does not sound appealing. I would go to your local sawmill and price out some green rough-cut pine planks and compare the price to OSB; i'll bet you don't save much with OSB. The issue with the green rough cut is that you have to season it and then sand it but the finished product has to look better than the beach wrackline look of OSB. Sawmills also usually have shiplap planks with one side finished for a reasonable price.
Note that I said "sawmill" and not one of those multinational big box stores...cut out the middleman.
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Talkbluffprez
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2011 07:02pm
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Finished plywood over the top of your subflooring with a clear, water based poly finish might be a good alternative to OSB. The material will cost ~50% more, but you don't have to worry about sanding it, and I think it will hold up better.
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PlicketyCat
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2011 07:29pm
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The nice thing about OSB (and some plywoods) is that it is dimensionally stable, which means that you don't get as much expansion and contraction with heat and humidity like you do with other wood flooring options. Over time, this means you have less likelihood of developing ridges, cracks and squeaks... which is why OSB is used so much for subfloors.
There are a ton of options for "wood" finished floors - from green slab/planks to engineered laminates - but if you actually LIKE the look of OSB, then a few coats of poly or marine varnish should do the trick :)
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RnR
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# Posted: 24 Oct 2011 02:44pm
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This is great!
If anyone is thinking of painting a wood floor I strongly recommend Alkyd (oil) floor paint. I used white latex/acrylic porch and floor paint in one project and really regretted it because another project I did with white semi-gloss Alkyd is SO much tougher. The paint job with the acrylic/latex floor paint is delicate and has scraped off in many areas. I know that Alkyd is not as good for the environment and is much more hassle to work with, but if the job is going to last a lot longer than Acrylic/latex, I think it makes sense to do so.
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groundhognurse
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# Posted: 29 Mar 2012 01:35am
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I was wondering if anyone has done it or thinks this can be done. I would like to use osb on top of linolium, like a floating floor but I would glue it down and possibly put screws on each corner of each panel. Of course it will have to be sanded and have a couple coats of something put on top. The linolium is in good condition, no wear and tear, no spots missing and is totally flat.
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groundhognurse
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# Posted: 29 Mar 2012 03:10pm
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This is absolutely beautiful and just what I've been looking for!
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Ditchmonkey
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# Posted: 8 Jun 2016 06:12pm
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Quoting: PlicketyCat If you have a subfloor, you can do a grid and OSB floor using 1x2 furring strips as the grid and laying in 3/4" OSB, then sanding smooth...
I wonder if anyone could comment on the specific methods for building a floor like this. How to attach the pieces to the subfloor? Is some kind of commercial floor sander required?
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Don_P
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# Posted: 8 Jun 2016 11:36pm - Edited by: Don_P
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Plickety Cat... wonder how they're doing? ... said she uses glue and screws which would be best, set them below sanding depth. I'd go ahead and use a countersink and plugs and put them in some kind of pattern. You could screw from the underside if you have it real bad. I'd glue all touching sides of the grid material, probably a trim gun for those strips. The sander would be a regular walk behind floor sander, rental yard. Go through a progression of finer and finer grits till it is acceptable then apply the finish. I was looking at a penny floor going in on one local job this week. Best guess was the pennies add up to about the same price/area as oak here.
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