Design Values for OSB

The ASCE Standard ASCE 16 "LRFD Design of Engineered Wood Construction" is referenced in the model U.S. building codes. The design procedure is known as load and resistance factor design and is an alternative to traditional allowable stress design. The standard combines requirements for solid sawn lumber, glued-laminated timber, structural-use panels and other engineered wood products under one cover. A companion design manual is published by the American Wood Council. APA and SBA have jointly developed a Structural-Use panel supplement for this manual that includes design capacities for OSB. In Canada design values for OSB are given in the wood design standard CSA 086-01 for panels meeting CSA 0325, "Construction Sheathing".

Users can download a design manual for OSB directly from this site from the Free Literature page.

In Europe, minimum mechanical and physical properties are given for four grades of OSB in EN-300. Characteristic engineering properties for OSB were investigated in a pan-European research project, and are published in a separate EN standard.

A second manual developed by the AWC provides guidelines for A.S.D. procedures set forth in the 2005 National Design Specification for Wood Construction. This manual contains supplements with information on OSB structural use panels and shearwalls and diaphragm capacities.

A separate document provides special design provisions for wind and seismic loads. (Please consult the AWC website, www.awc.org, for further information.)

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