What sheathing is used for exterior walls?
Sophia Hammond
Updated on March 07, 2026
What sheathing is used for exterior walls?
Sheathing Materials There are many exterior wall sheathing options available, with wood sheathing being one of the most commonly used materials. Wood sheathing materials include plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), and waferboard. Plywood is made of whole sheets of wood that are cross-laminated.
What are 4 types of exterior wall sheathing?
Common structural sheathings include plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), wafer board, and exterior gypsum board. When choosing plywood, OSB, or wafer-board panels, be sure they are rated as wall sheathing and choose an appropriate thickness.
Do exterior walls need sheathing?
Wood frame exterior walls must be fully sheathed, including areas above or below wall openings, with minimum 7/16-in. wood structural panels. Interior shear walls must be fully sheathed including areas above or below wall openings with minimum 7/16-in. wood structural panels on both wall faces.
What thickness of sheathing is used for exterior walls?
3/8-inch
The International Residential Code specifies 3/8-inch plywood for sheathing walls with a standard stud spacing of 16 inches, if the siding is nailed to the studs through the sheathing. If the nails penetrate the sheathing, but not the studs, the minimum plywood thickness that the IRC designates is 1/2 inch.
Is plywood sheathing better than OSB?
The National Tile Contractors Association and the Resilient Floor Covering Institute both recommend plywood for subflooring and underlayment, because it doesn’t have the risk of swollen edges that OSB does. Plywood also has a slight advantage in stiffness, which means that subflooring panels need not be quite as thick.
Is sheathing plywood exterior grade?
CDX is the most common exterior plywood grade. Oriented strand board (OSB) is an engineered plywood substitute that many builders use for sheathing and roof decking. It’s constructed with waterproof glue and performs best when only semi-exposed to the elements, as it is when covered with siding or roofing.
How thick does plywood need to be for a shed wall?
It should be the appropriate thickness and also rated for walls. What is this? The material I would use for the exterior walls of my shed is 1/2 inch CDX rated plywood. It is more resistant to moisture and rot.
Is exterior sheathing waterproof?
Exterior wall panels are the best sheathing options you can choose. Because they are cheap, waterproof and beautiful. It does no matter if the wall you want to cover is horizontal or vertical. With them, all types of walls can be covered.
What can I use for wall sheathing?
Plywood and OSB are largely considered the best wall sheathing choices because of their overall abilities to hold fasteners well, create a strong bond between studs, and provide some thermal advantages. The “big two” aren’t the only selections available however. Structural fiberboard is one such option.
Is OSB or plywood better for roof sheathing?
Plywood Holds the Moisture Advantage Over OSB When plywood gets wet, it tends to swell. OSB takes longer than plywood to get saturated, but also takes much longer to dry out. When used as roof sheathing, this tendency to hold moisture means it will degrade faster than plywood when exposed to chronic leaks.
What does CDX stand for in plywood?
CDX signifies class C to D exposed plywood. Manufactures make any type of plywood from several plies pressed firmly together to create a larger and stronger piece of plywood. Plywood usually is available in plies of three, five, seven, and nine, with the most reduced numbers denotes the highest class plywood.