TOPIC: These Stamps Aren't Made For Mailing

It was a lovely home, very large, bricked, huge hip roof with a gabled window on each side, and beautiful, newly-installed cedar shakes.  Gorgeous!  Outside and then inside.  And for $1.5 mil it should be!

My client and I had a good time.  There was little to speak about really - for a new home I was pleasantly surprised.  The supervisor beamed.  He had done a good job.  My client was impressed and very happy.

It was time for the attic.  The pull-down stairs made it easy as the ceilings were 10' high.  There was lots to see in the attic - insulation, ventilation, quality of the truss structure, the two HVAC units.  I climbed up, turned on the light and waited for my client and the supervisor.  He had started tagging along when I complimented him on the house.

Then I saw it.  My flashlight came across something I had never seen before in an attic.

It was a stamp.  Not a philatelic stamp.  These stamps aren't made for mailing.  It was a stamp placed on the wood sheathing by the manufacturer.  It read:

"This side should be installed up."

Now for me, that was a big Uh-oh!  I shined my light elsewhere.  More of the same.  A lot more of the same!    The stamps were everywhere!

Can you say, "Holy Moly Kingfish!"??

I pointed it out to my client.  I pointed it out to the supervisor.

That's why I was there, you should know.

My client looked puzzled.  The supervisor suddenly stopped beaming.

That's when the supervisor blew it.  He said, "Oh, those stamps don't mean anything..."

Given the seriousness of the moment, you should be proud to know I actually suppressed what could have been one really loud, long, bellowing, right-from-the-bottom-of-the-gut laugh.

My client is not a stupid man.  He was buying a house for $1.5 million!  He said, and you have to appreciate the logic here, "Then why are they on there?  Are there stamps on the other side that say, 'This side should be installed down'?"

No answer.  So I filled the void, "Yes."

That's why I was there, you should know.

As I looked at the supervisor, his eyes immediately diverted to his feet.  I think he was mad.  But mad at what?  Me?  My find?  That he was caught?  That I discovered something he didn't know about?  He has been on site for 120, 130 days or more.  I was there a couple of hours, a long morning really.  He didn't know?  Really?

I have to imagine that removing all those shakes, and sheathing, and not damaging any of those many trusses, then re-sheathing, re-tar papering and re-shingling (cutting and fitting all those shakes ... again), all the while not damaging or letting the weather damage anything inside, well, I have to imagine that it was quite an expensive fix.

I have to imagine that my client was happy ... again.

That's why I was there, you should know.

My recommendation:  When you hire roofers, hire the ones who speak English, or can read.  If it was your house, which would you prefer?

Unreal. Great job Jay, way to stand into the wind with the builder there. You really didn't have to explain, your client knew. well done, probably spoke volumes when NOTHING was said, hey?

Ian - I wasn't exactly Sherlock Holmes there.  The stamps are evident...!

True, but if he hadn't been there in person, he may have tried to play it off, but your client seems intelligent. Just by you being there and remaining mostly silent probably made the builder a bit fidgety.

Jay, did you explain to them what the stamps mean and why they are on the OSB?
Don't be a deal killer! That might cost upwards of 30 grand to do that work for nothing.

Help Desk Question: Which side out?
Posted At : June 23, 2006 2:41 PM | Posted By : APA
Related Categories: Plywood,Roofs,Walls,Floors,Help Desk,OSB
Question: Does it matter if a panel is placed with the stamp facing up/out or down/in?

Answer: From a structural or durability point of view it does not make any difference which side is placed "up" (or "out").

The stamped side of APA Rated Sheathing roof panels often goes down so the inspector can more easily access the APA trademark with the panels in place. Many APA OSB sheathing producers make their panels with one rough and one smooth side. On steep roofs, the rough side of OSB is intended to go up to provide a more secure working surface. The APA trademark itself, however, may occur on either the rough or smooth side. Plywood sheathing may also be stamped on either side "face" or "back."

While it is unlikely that a plywood APA Rated Sturd-I-Floor panel would be incorrectly placed because of the differences in the face and back surfaces, very often it is difficult to tell on an OSB APA Rated Sturd-I-Floor panel which side should be placed up. For this reason, many manufacturers provide a "this side up" or "this side down" stamp to indicate the appropriate face. This kind of stamp also finds its way onto plywood and OSB panels with asymmetrical tongue and groove edges. In this case, all of the stamps should be facing up or down so the T&G joints fit flush.

As with APA Rated Sheathing, there is no structural reason for placing either side of an OSB APA Rated Sturd-I-Floor panel up or down. If stamped, however, plywood APA Rated Sturd-I-Floor panels installed as floor sheathing should be installed as indicated by the stamp since the face ply and cross bands behind the face may be improved veneer grades intended to meet indentation and surface requirements.

The reasons listed above are serviceability related and are traditionally taken to be outside the scope of building codes. These guidelines also apply to wall sheathing; it does not matter which side is out. ???

Where did you get your answer from?