Should I rip out my OSB flooring?

[MalcolmR]

Longish story in another thread, but I was convinced to get 3/4" OSB for flooring for my coop instead of the plywood that I intended getting at the store. Apart from the fact that it is a little short on the sides and I had to add in a patch to make it fit, I am now wondering if the OSB is up to being a floor at all? The coop is 12 X 8, and half of it will be used as a shed or woodstore or even a people sitting area for a while at least (unless we end up with the smelly variety of chickens...)

Right now it would be easy to remove the floor - just a matter of unscrewing it, but after all the rest of the structure is built, it will be a big pain in the nether regions. But at the same time, I'll have to shell out yet more money....

Any thoughts?

Malcolm

 

[Junkmanme]

I would seal it with 3 coats of polyurethane. And then each year thereafter...clean it and spray one more coat of polyurethane. I wouldn't expect that you would THEN have any problems with it .

just ONE opinion,
-Junkmanme-

P.S. I had a table top (OSB) that I coated with polyurethane. It sat outside in ALL Weather, with NO UPKEEP for 3 years before it showed any deteriation. IF I had coated it again each year..it would have remained just fine.

 

[MalcolmR]

Three coats!

Yes, I'm sure you are right... And thank you for the comment. Apart from the extra time involved, I guess 3 coats of polyurethane will be cheaper than replacing it all with something else - which I guess would really need to be treated/sealed as well anyway! And will save me time in the long run too.

Malcolm

 

[Penturner]

Malcolm, I read your other thread on this floor as well. Truth is, No you did not use the right stuff for your floor. You where on track with the plywood. this stuff would have then been placed on top of that if you needed it or is roof material. I am not sure which. But as a floor material all by itself it will not be able to put up with the traffic for a real long time.
Coating it, painting it and whatever will help it hold up longer and the truth is any floor will wear out eventually. Since you did go with 3/4 inch you are in better shape than you could have been but bottom line the OSB is not meant to do what you are doing with it. Living with it or changing it is up to you to choose.

 

[MalcolmR]

Thanks Penturner, I know that you are right. I guess I will be removing the floor, and replacing it with something better. Even good quality plywood would benefit from being treated and sealed right? I want this to be a good building as it is my first, so I'll accept a week's setback in my construction with good grace!

Malcolm

ps - I'm terribly impressed with the pens you make. I did not know that such works of art existed!

 

[patandchickens]

Well, I dunno. OSB is not going to be a great coop flooring -- it is rough (even when painted) and thus hard to clean, and if/when it imbibes ANY moisture it will tend to sag and collapse. However if you really, really do not want to replace it, then certainly priming and painting it PROPERLY (i.e. do use primer, and use multiple THIN coats of paint, not thick coats, brushing or fuzzy-roller-ing well to get all the little nooks and crannies painted), and don't let the inside of your coop get wet (no damp litter, no leaks or waterer spills, no hosing it out) I would guess it'd last for "a reasonable while", like maybe 5-8 years depending on your climate and the details of the coop. It is really important to paint the UNDERSIDE of the OSB too, not just the top floor surface, as much exposure to dampness will be coming from below, unless the coop is raised fairly high above the ground.

Honestly I think it'd be waaay less aggravation, and not *much* extra expense, to replace it with plywood. Ideally you'd prime and paint the plywood, just to make cleaning easier.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[MalcolmR]

Thanks Pat,

I am having fun really.... I agree, and I will get some new flooring when I next go to town (we live an hour away). One significant oversight that had probably not occurred to me in my haste to get it all going was the painting/staining/sealing of the underside of whatever floor I have. So I will do that before I install the next stuff.

And, having read your ventilation page pretty thoroughly, I will make sure that we have lots of vents!

Malcolm

 

[Penturner]

Thanks for the compliment on my Pens. I work hard on them. Since you screwed down the OSB it does not need to be a complete loss. you can use it later for other things like nest boxes. I was actually thinking of the roof when you go to put that on. I know it may sound weird that you don't use it for a floor but can use it for a roof. but on the roof you cover it with tar paper and shingles. No water is ever supposed to get to it. anyway it does not have to be thrown out just recycled.
Good luck

 

[imthedude]

how about covering it with linoleum for the moisture barrier and also as a slick surface for cleaning. 3/4" OSB is strong enough to be a floor, provided your joists aren't more than 24" apart. as far as moisture, it would have to be submerged in water for a little while to have any lasting effect. a few occasional sprinkles won't do any damage.

 

[RocketDad]

Tongue and groove 3/4" OSB is great subfloor, but OSB must be protected from moisture. The only thing worse for failing due to moisture is particle board.

I'd cover the floor with something cheap. Like mis-tint latex paint. Paint a thin coat, maybe even watered down, then put on a heavy pour-on layer. Or two. Apply the second and third coats as soon as the prior coats are dry enough to work on, to get the layers to bond to one another.

Then I'd wait a year, and see if it's starting to show signs of swelling where it's gotten wet (near the pop door, or by the in-coop water if you have some) then you can repaint, or cover some or all of the floor with something cheap. Like masonite, which also wants to be painted. I used melamine-faced masonite for my coop walls, and sealed all the seams and screws with white silicone caulk. I painted my plywood floor with high-gloss white oil-based enamel. My exterior walls are OSB, with several coats of pale yellow mis-tint. It's holding up great, even with some of the water-control mistakes I've made.

One thing, the underside of the OSB coop floor also needs to stay dry. So make sure that rain water and snow melt-off isn't running under the coop, and have some kind of ventilation for the "crawl space" underneath, if it's close to the ground.

My kids have an open-top tree house with a scrap of OSB for the floor. It's been there year round for a couple years now, and I'll replace it this spring just for splinter safety, but it's holding up better than I thought it would.