Natwerk Designs

Plywood (osb) or sheetrock?

We are finishing our basement this summer, Making laundry room, Bedroom, Game room, Storage room, and a work shop, The basement is dry, We were planning on using sheetrock but there is a big sale on 7/16 OSB Plywood! Would it be so bad to use plywood in the basement on interior walls? Where there is possible moisture and going to be a living area, Or is there something I could do to use it with no problems,( Seal it, Paint it, etc) If you know anything about remodeling, Construction, designing your input would be great! Thank you!

Public Comments

1. You can use plywood if so desired. Sheet rock would be easier to work with, but that would be your choice. My house is all paneling or plywood, has no sheet rock in it and the wood does help with the insulating value and is almost sound proof.
2. OSB is not plywood.
3. Personally, I would not use OSB for a basement wall. I have OSB on one short wall in my shop, and it was a bear to paint. Even after painted, it looked like, well, an OSB wall. I would stick to a traditional finish like drywall in this case.
4. Yes, you can use Oriented Strand Board (OSB), but like prior answers, I wouldn't do it at my house. Although excess basement moisture would be a problem for either wallboard or OSB. The end result looks better with wallboard. Also you could use green-board which has better results in humidity. So, if you use OSB, Ensure you paint all six sides. YES, all 4 edges and both sides, to keep any future moisture out. In time though, 5-10 years, you may still find the OSB will delaminate!
5. If the basement is dry, either is fine, depending on your desires for the finished look. Greenboard would do the best, for preventing mold, and cosmetic values... or, try the various designs of wall board that gives you many decorative options.
6. OSB is no good unless you want to see all the seams in your wall. Drywall is meant to be finished and painted. OSB will not sand smooth either, so even if you paint it you will see the strands in it.
7. I would consider using the greenboard. If you do not want to paint all of it, there is a plastic wainscoting board that comes 48" or 8' in height and has the grooves in just like the wood. It is especially designed for basements or bathrooms. It is fairly new on the market and usually has to be ordered but samples are in the showrooms because I saw it. That way you could paint the top and then change it whenever you like. I would put a heavier rail (similar to a chairrail but you can prop paintings up on it). Consider nailing the 2x4's into the studs at the top and then using construction adhesive a few places down the wall. That way you do not have to drill into the walls or try to put nails in. Keep your electrical outlets about 2' from the floor just in case. Also, for the shop area and perhaps the laundry area, I would paint the pegboard and use that on the walls. I stenciled red bricks and then green vines on my shop walls before putting up any brackets. It looks very professional. Consider doing something else in your laundry area - like sunflowers, old fashion washlines with pins, a clothes pin bag, pictures of old washing machines, old washboards, etc. Use wicker baskets, hand old galvanized tubs on the wall, maybe even agate ones. If you are planning a bedroom, you will need to stay with the code that an outside entrance must be there, or a egress window. If you are putting in any closets, I would use brown felt paper on the walls as a barrier. Also use that or black roofing felt as a vapor barrier under the carpet padding. You can really tell the difference. Watch those copper pipes if you put them in concrete. They may only last 50 years. It sounds like a long time but our copper oil lines to the furnace broke and we had to cut and then take them around the walls. Concrete will eat the copper over time. I put a frame around the furnace and oil tank and put grooves in the top 2x4 and the bottom 2x4 on the floor, then I buckled the white paneling and just sat it in. If I have to get to either, all I have to do is lift it out. I made the top groove deeper for that reason. Also, around the furnace I installed a furnace register cover in order to get air to the furnace. I did this also to open to the water meter and the oil tank meter. Consider using something besides wood for the baseboard also. Just in case.