JLC • FEBRUARY 1994 Since plywood became widespread after the Second World War, builders have come to take it for granted. Practical, strong, cheap, and durable — it's easy to see why nobody thinks twice about the stuff. Not so with plywood's younger cousin, oriented strand board, or OSB, which was introduced in the early eighties. Though OSB offers comparable strength to plywood at a lower price, some builders still don't trust it. And after Hurricane Andrew devastated huge numbers of homes in South Florida in 1992, OSB was an early scapegoat. South Dade County's zoning board outlawed its use as roof sheathing, saying it was a factor in many unnecessary roof failures,
