Osb board as flooring

[davissquared]

I'm looking for help. I own a store and used osb board as an industrial look for the flooring. It came out great with a heavy poly covering. Now we're opening a second store and I ordered more osb which was just delivered. Problem is the face (stamped side) is much darker than what I had previously, though the underside(lined ink side) is the lightness I expected. Also there are dark dots along the face of it which I fear may be mold. So question is, can the stamped side be sanded to get the lightness back, and is it common for new boards(there were roughly 50 of them)have mold or is the spotting common? Is having the lumber company take them back an option? Thanks

[abonus]

Re: Osb board as flooring

I'm not sure if sanding is an option but returning unused material always is. Send it back if it won't meet your needs.

[Happy Home]

Re: Osb board as flooring

All of your suggested corrections will cost money. They can be done. Spots / mold...osb has a lot spots / markings on it. Most are from ink jet printers at the mill. Do the mold spots wipe off. Ink will not readily wipe off.

Osb is a commodity. Mills open and close and use different mixes of materials all the time. Yards buy what's available at the best price.

As said you should be a satisfied customer. Were me, I'd go to the yard(s) take a look first to see what they have and buy what you want. I as a contractor know to be clear with a comm tenant as to the osb appearance.

Even if you have to re-buy again, and can't return, you can sell what you have on Craigslist even for a dollar or two less and still be better off than correcting what you have.

[Alaskan Son]

Re: Osb board as flooring

Not an answer to your question, but FYI, the lined ink side is actually the face, and the stamped side is the underside. If you read carefully, you should find a note saying "this side down". The reason for the lines is to make it easier to fasten the sheets to framing members. They're usually marked at 16" and 24" centers.

[m beezo]

Re: Osb board as flooring

I had a guy do this for a utility room floor, approximaetly 20 by 15. He installed it all then rented one of the pad sanders that some of the rental places have. It took off the ink for him plus smoothed out anywhere that the nails had kind of raised up the OSB. I never asked if it was a tedious job or not. He actually took a couple of sheets and cut either 6 or 8 inch strips out of it, stained it darker and left the rest natural. Installed the strips around the edges and thru the middle of the room and made a nice looking space.