Particle board interior finish

[EVAUSA]

See it quite often these parts...not that I like it mind you. Substandard and a fire hazard as far as I am concerned.

Are you kidding me?!?! WHY do people do this. Until now I thought wall to wall vinyl was the tackiest thing... but this takes the cake.

 

[Dutchman]

Formaldehyde free OSB is available thus the outgassing problem is pretty much solved

 

[Mr Rex]

Formaldehyde free OSB is available thus the outgassing problem is pretty much solved

Available at every Al Gore Inconvienient Hardware and Lumber Outlet in the US I'm sure.

 

[Cigar]

It's called OSB, in the business good builders never use it, I never have and never will. It's designed for exterior use only, they do make some for interior stair treads and stringers which must carry a special formaldehyde free label, but it's not in the building code, in California it's in the Code of Regulations which most building inspectors don't even know exists, or what it is. It's the stuff that's making FEMA withdraw all of those trailers because of people getting sick in them, and it's not exposed in them, it's used as sheathing on the exterior walls and roofs.

(d) Emission Standards for Hardwood Plywood, Particleboard, and Medium Density Fiberboard.
(1) Emission Standards. The emission standards in Table 1 apply to hardwood plywood (HWPW), particleboard (PB), and medium density fiberboard (MDF) that is sold, supplied, offered for sale, or manufactured for sale in California. Except as provided in the “sell through” provisions of subsections (e)(2), (f)(3),(g)(3), (h)(3), and (h)(4), no person shall sell, supply, offer for sale, or manufacture for sale in California any HWPW, PB, or MDF which, at the time of sale or manufacture, exceeds the emission standards in Table 1 on or after the effective dates specified in Table 1:

Notice that California law doesn't refer to OSB in the section because it's never used in the interior, other in the stair cases cited above. Most of the major manufacturers, like Weyerhaeuser are selling off their OSB divisions to Flakeboard in Canada, which is good because in the trades we call it "flakeboard". Of course they are trying to put it out of reach of U.S. law, it's very expensive to litigate against a foreign corporation.

Flakeboard made history in 2006 when it acquired three MDF and three particleboard plants from Weyerhaeuser. The plants are located in Malvern, Arkansas; Albany, Oregon; Eugene, Oregon; Bennettsville, South Carolina and Simsboro, Louisiana and manufacture particleboard and MDF. This historical acquisition added 1.1 billion square feet of capacity to Flakeboard operations.*

Most of those newer cheap tract homes you appraisers are appraising is covered with it, it disintegrates when wet, the edges swell under asphalt shingles, it's been a disaster.

​

* http://www.flakeboard.com/corporateInfo.asp

 

[Riick]

How many listings in the area where the local Realtors® say:
"Magnificent interior featuring OSB flakeboard walls and natural wood trim" ???

But then I was around when a compatriot wrote an Ad about some 3 sty, 650 sq.ft. (total GLA) "trinity" homes we were trying to sell ...that said:
"Perfect for a Single or a Couple in love"

(( Link TrinityHouse ))

 

[c w d]

It's the rugged outdoors look yet inside. Folks, lets not focus on being negative. Instead lets be positive. It's biodegradable. It's organic. It has a lighter environmental footprint. It produces less CO2 than drywall and paint. It's a renewable resource. It's "fabulousth"!!

That's the problem with you appraisers. You look at something unique and revolutionary in the market place and only want to knock it down and penalize it for frivolous things like marketability and your voodoo words like "functional obsolescence".

 

[Joker]

It is OSB and it is the interior paneling of choice for garages, pole barns, and construction offices in my neck of the woods. It burns no easier than any other wall and is not inferior to plywood. For some applications, it is superior. Like any other wood, it does swell when it gets wet, but unlike plywood, it rarely warps. In my market it has been proven to be superior to plywood for many appications, especially walls and floors.

(and yes, I have walls with exposed OSB in my doublewide and/or garage)

 

[Cigar]

CWD:

First of all I'm a builder and lawyer, not an appraiser. The stuff is junk and causing problems everywhere it is installed. It's also not "green" or biodegradable, here in the California Bay Area we have to segregate it in the landfills, it can not go in with the wood and other degradable products, I don't know where they truck it to dispose of it, but I've heard some canyon in Arizona is taking it. Perhaps our G-man can tell us what they are doing with it, and what percentages of the landfills are being filled with it as it's coming off deteriorating buildings.

All weatherproof barriers become "overwhelmed" (industry terminology) at some point, the quickest legal "boat test" failure is Tyvek at 10 minutes, the standard is 20 minutes, the best is Fortifiber's Two Ply Super Jumbo Tex at 150 minutes, after that period time the moisture overwhelmes the weatherproof barrier and wets the sheathing, when in contact with moisture OSB swells to (I've seen) over 150% of it's thickness, cracking stucco, or buckling wood siding. There is a class action suit going on right now against the manufacturers. You cannot seal up a building, buildings have to breathe or they develop mold and mildew problems, code requires a permeability rating to allow all buildings to breathe, so the substrate is going to get wet at some point.

 

[CANative]

Someone removed one of the photos I posted. The best one showing walls AND ceilings. What gives?

LOL.. It's back again. I guess someone is trying to take out the photo with the pictures.

 

[Cigar]

More on formaldehyde:

Health Effects Early health symptoms of formaldehyde in the home include eye, nose, and throat irritation as well as coughing and breathing difficulties. If the problem reaches a serious level, asthma attacks, nausea, vomiting, severe headaches, and nose bleeds can occur. The effects of short-term exposure are relatively small, as the health problems usually disappear once the pollutant has been removed. However, long-term exposure increases a person's sensitivity to the gas, increasing the probability of health risk. Studies have shown that persons in high contact with the gas over a long period of time (such as biological scientists or morticians) experience a high risk of acquiring cancer. Those who have worked with or lived around the gas for 10 or more years are considered at high risk.

Formaldehyde has been known to cause cancer in laboratory animals and could possibly cause cancer in humans. There is no known maximum threshold level and no known level below which there is not a threat of cancer. The risk of getting cancer from formaldehyde depends upon the amount and duration of exposure.

Exposure GuidelinesFormaldehyde, because of its high danger level, is considered a potential human carcinogen and is therefore classified differently than most pollutants. It is normally present at low levels, usually less than 0.03 ppm (parts per million), in both indoor and outdoor air.

Levels above 0.1 ppm can cause acute health problems such as those mentioned above. The World Health Organization recommends that exposure should not exceed 0.05 ppm.*

* http://www.propex.com/C_f_env_formldy.htm