Shear Walls - no OSB on a residential wall
Shear Walls - no OSB on a residential wall
(OP)
My builder did not use OSB on the exterior of 1 wall on my new house, they are using styrafoam/chicken wire/stucco like the other exterior walls but leaving off the OSB board underneath. His input was that the shear walls were determined by the engineers, if it wasn't a shear wall it didn't require OSB, it was drawn that way and that this was a common practice in the industry. There should be no measurable impact to heat loss, srength, etc... Does this sound right?
It was on the plans that way, and it did pass inspection, I've just never seen this done before. These guys do a nice job, they are very reputable, but I am just a little uneasy about that wall...
It was on the plans that way, and it did pass inspection, I've just never seen this done before. These guys do a nice job, they are very reputable, but I am just a little uneasy about that wall...






RE: Shear Walls - no OSB on a residential wall
Although structurally there may not be an impact, it may affect the aesthetics of the wall where the transition occurs.
RE: Shear Walls - no OSB on a residential wall
RE: Shear Walls - no OSB on a residential wall
DaveAtkins
RE: Shear Walls - no OSB on a residential wall
Wood studs in a wall sheathed on one side with properly attached gyp board can be considered laterally braced. Those studs can carry gravity loads as well as if they were sheathed on one side with OSB.
If, as you say, you have engineering drawings that specify shear wall locations in other places in your project, it sounds like lateral loads have been considered in the design of the structure and your questionable wall is not part of the lateral force resisting system. Is that correct?
Heat loss I can't comment on.
Regards.
RE: Shear Walls - no OSB on a residential wall
Fiberboard is a less expensive sheathing product, but provides very little lateral strength. It provides a better R value than most materials. If this product is mixed with the sheathing for engineered shearwalls, someone is actually being wise in terms of budget and resources.
RE: Shear Walls - no OSB on a residential wall
RE: Shear Walls - no OSB on a residential wall
Can stucco span horizontally across the studs to transfer out of plane wind load to the studs?
Is this wall connected to any diaphragm element (i.e. floor or roof)?
This wall will see some kind of lateral load if the answer to any of the above are 'yes'. Don't rely on city inspection/plan review. Ask the engineer if no osb was his/her intent?