# House without OSB or plywood in walls?



## joesmithmi (Dec 31, 2010)

Is it possible that a house could be built without OSB or plywood in the walls?

The house was built in late 1970's in Michigan.

The exterior is aluminium siding. Then there is this paper thin cardboard stuff that has a shiny aluminium coating on both sides. (not sure what it is called). Then there are the studs with insulation in between. Then there is drywall.

I discovered this while cutting a vent for a new over the range hood.

Is this structurally sound? Could the builders have pulled a fast one? How could it pass a framing inspection?

Thanks for any thoughts.


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

> =joesmithmi;559481]Is it possible that a house could be built without OSB or plywood in the walls?


Sure. There is a lot of single story housing built like that.







> Is this structurally sound?


sure. 



> Could the builders have pulled a fast one?


maybe but doubtful.



> How could it pass a framing inspection?


because it is and was code compliant as it was built.



> Thanks for any thoughts.


while wood sheathing does add (a lot) to the structure of a house, many homes are built without it in an effort to save money. There is typically some angle braces at the lower corners of the walls to provide a resistance to racking. Some homes were built with plywood at just the ends of the wall as well. It would be a step in between the fully sheathed wall and just the corner bracketing.


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

I did not know that nap, I knew trailers were built that way but not stick built homes


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## DIY_ing_Guy (Nov 19, 2010)

My house is brick-facade, but vinyl on the other 3 sides and the vinyl is laid over exactly the layers you describe. It is two stories over a basement, built in the early '90s. I believe the material is a 1/4" rigid foam board with foil facing. I've never seen any sign of water intrusion through these walls, even in hard hurricane - driven rain. No problems with flex appearing as drywall cracks or anything like that. This is a large-subdivision house; I have to believe it was a pretty common practice. The material was clearly designed for this application.

Guy


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

I installed it for about 7 years, starting in 1973, it's called Thermo-ply. Click on the second one down; http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&source=hp&q=thermoply&btnG=Google+Search
It is foil faced on both sides, you could get blinded while framing interior walls from the reflections with the outside perimeter walls already up, lol.

Gary


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