Oriented strand board
![OSB is easily identifiable by its characteristic wood strands.](/Images/godic/202501/31/Courtabœuf_2011_0762236.jpg")
![OSB is used in housing construction.](/Images/godic/202501/31/LSFosb052236.jpg")
![OSB in production before gluing in a thermal press](/Images/godic/202501/31/OSB_production2236.jpg")
![OSB, closeup of corner](/Images/godic/202501/31/OSB-Platte2236.jpg")
Oriented strand board (OSB), also known as sterling board, sterling OSB, flakeboard, aspenite, and smartply in British English, is a type of engineered lumber similar to particle board formed by adding adhesives and then compressing layers of wood strands (flakes) in specific orientations. It was invented by Armin Elmendorf, California US in 1963. OSB may have a rough and variegated surface with the individual strips of around 2.5 × 15 cm (1" × 6"), lying unevenly across each other and comes in a variety of types and thicknesses.