Plywood Roof Sheathing Gap

If the wood structural panels are tightly butted there is no room for expansion and buckling can occur.

Plywood roof sheathing gap.

Position the first piece of plywood or oriented strand board sheathing on the bottom edge of the rafter tails at one end of the roof. Apa recommends a 1 8 inch space between panel edge and end joints. Virtually every one recommends that you your carpenter or builder create a 1 8 inch gap around all edges when installing plywood. This gap will minimize or totally eliminate any puckering caused by swelling.

And scroll down to see more details on each with installation hints and tips below. Properly fasten panels including fastening and spacing hints step 4. Cover sheathing with. Check the nailing surface is level step 2.

That can mean costly time consuming callbacks. Ventilate the roof according to current building codes step 3. The shaft of the nail is slightly larger than 1 8 inch. H clips provide additional stiffness between bearing points for the unsupported edges of wood panel plywood or osb roof sheathing along with the necessary 1 8 gap for expansion as shown below illustrated on a bag of simpson h clips.

Some older h clips do not provide a built in gap. Plywood and oriented strand board osb like all wood products will expand or shrink slightly with changes in moisture content.