Sheathing Alternatives
I’m reposting a reply below that I submitted to a conversation posted on 3/17 labelled: “Buying Sheathing in 2021.”
I’m gathering materials for my son’s house, a new build. We have similar sheathing prices in our area to those described in the post from 3/17 where 7/16″ Zip System sheathing, is selling for nearly $50 per sheet. I just purchased enough fiber cement lap siding to do the entire house for pennies on the dollar. Included with the Hardie Plank was LP Smartside siding which is 3/8″ thick in 16′ lengths. The widths vary from range from 7 3/4″ to 16″. I plan on covering the sheathing with roofing felt then adding 3″ of EPS with staggered seams. I was thinking that if I installed the Smartside on a diagonal that possibly that could replicate the traditional method of using boards to sheath a house. Any thoughts? I would have enough Smartside to cover the equivalent of 23 sheets of OSB, so it’s a tempting solution. The one downside is that I don’t think I would be able to do advanced framing with the studs 24 o.c. as 3/8″ is acceptable for 16″ o.c. The house is going to have an attached garage with living space above, so I was thinking I could at least do the walls of the garage with Smartside.
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Replies
Your main issue is going to be code compliance. Since Smartside isn't a "plank" or "board" in the usual sense, you'll probably get some resistance from building department folks about using it in this applicaiton for this purpose. You could try contacting LP and see if they have any information about this application. If LP can provide some documentation saying it's OK and has been tested, then you should be good to go with the building department folks. I'd absolutely check before building this way though.
Diagonal steel bracing is also permissible for racking resistance purposes, which I assume is part of what you're considering using Smartside for. The steel bracing is probably a cost savings now with the cost of sheathing as high as it is. That might be another option for you.
Bill