Why should builders choose West Fraser’s SterlingOSB Zero over plywood?

West Fraser’s SterlingOSB Zero, is often seen in restaurants, exhibitions and retail outlets where the theme is “natural”, “eco”, and “earthy”. It is also commonly used as a hoarding panel for building sites, or for boarding up broken windows.

The fundamental engineered panel is, most commonly however, used in most new and refurbishment building projects. It’s a precision-engineered square edge, and tongue & groove board, which is used in flooring, roofing and offsite cassette or timber frame manufacturing.  Plywood can probably do the same job; but OSB excels for both practical and economic reasons and is more aesthetically pleasing. The Zero refers to the fact that there is no added formaldehyde in the formulation which is important for the health of contractors and building occupants. As a bonus, zero formaldehyde resins are made of bio-based feedstocks rather than petroleum-based alternatives which gives them a lower carbon footprint.

Helping to cut carbon emissions

While OSB is really popular in terms of technical benefits, in these days of environmental awareness and Net Zero, SterlingOSB Zero is assisting the construction industry to cut carbon emissions.  The board is manufactured from a natural product which in itself locks in CO2 from the atmosphere, with the myriad strands of softwood coming from forest thinnings and sawmills’ off-cuts. Plywood, on the other hand, needs the peeling of much larger tree trunks taking longer to grow. 

And, of course, West Fraser’s timber comes from responsibly managed forests, mainly in the UK, so all chains of custody are known meaning stocks are conserved by replanting and carefully planned cropping. There is a new rail system being developed adjacent to the Inverness plant where only renewable electricity for the sites is used and the drying process  now uses biomass in the place of gas power.

Less waste on site

After leaving the factory gates, because SterlingOSB Zero is precision-made, there is less waste on building sites or in modular building fabrication, so the associated costs of disposal to landfill are significantly mitigated.  Contractors also report lower waste in handling because SterlingOSB Zero is more resilient to damage than rival products like plywood and is much easier to align when used for tasks like sheathing or laying floors.  The accuracy of manufacture is especially good for producing SIPs panels with no need to “size” boards in the factory or suffer misalignment during installation.

All West Fraser panel products produced in the UK are net carbon negative and manufactured in mills that have obtained the coveted environmental ISO 14001 accreditation.  Responsibly sourced, the panels are FSC® certified (C012533) and created from locally grown timber, cutting embodied carbon from transportation.

For further information, call 01786 812 921 or visit Uk.westfraser.com