OSB/ sterling board in living room - options?

hohum

We will shortly be completing on a 60's semi detached house. It needs some work and we have some money set aside to do immediate works.

One of these immediate works is the living room. It is part renovated and some works are unfinished. For some inexplicable reason, the vendor has done some boarding (presumably to cover up plaster that needs work) in OSB board. I know that you can use it as a design statement but a) they've also put a dado rail in/ finished it off very nicely so it's more of a traditional look which doesn't fit in my eyes with the OSB board b) it's not the design statement I am looking for!

They have also removed the understairs cupboard and boxed it off...in OSB.

The big thing is the work done in boxing off the understairs cupboard. It's actually quite decent quality work, why use OSB over plasterboard I don't know (stronger?).

I originally thought we could either plaster or paper over it (there's a fair amount of plastering to be done). But reading up about OSB it appears that getting it wet is not a good idea? I've looked at painting over it, however in pictures you'll always be able to see the strands and it will take a lot of paint and primer, plus will have to be oil based as water will swell the strands.

I'm relatively handy in that I can follow instructions and work things out but I'm not a carpenter or joiner. My thought is that it would be shame to take out the work under the stairs, but it will also really annoy me if I can't cover up the board satisfactorily.Any ideas? At the moment I am thinking we put aside some money for someone to redo the understairs/ put in a built in desk/ shelves. If there is a way to cover it fully I am open to suggestions, particularly if anyone's worked with it in this way (I don't expect anyone to have had this situation because why would you! )

Pete9501

Rip it out, you don't like it and nor will anyone else in the future who will think your covering something up. Under the stairs, build a frame, screw plaster board in place, fit a cupboard door and get the plasterer in.

Pete

hohum

great thanks, it's good to have another person saying 'get rid' as I tend to second guess myself. Looking at the pictures I'm thinking this is going to turn out somewhat more involved than we planned but that's ok. At the least, it's going to get messier before it gets better...We can do the demo ourselves but I think we will spend on someone to fit out the understairs and obv plastering. I quite like the cupboard not being there but I now have ideas about how that desk and wall behind it could work..

Owain_Moneysaver

Rip it out.

Design statements are all very well for people on the telly ... I'm also not convinced about the spread of flame properties of something like OSB on the walls.

If they've blocked off a former understairs cupboard so there's a sealed void I'd be wary of rot in the future ... or wondering if it's already there and been concealed.

hohum

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Rip it out.

Design statements are all very well for people on the telly ... I'm also not convinced about the spread of flame properties of something like OSB on the walls.

If they've blocked off a former understairs cupboard so there's a sealed void I'd be wary of rot in the future ... or wondering if it's already there and been concealed.

good point, especially as one of the panels is over the chimney breast - currently non functional but at some point we might want to put a stove in there.

The meters have access panels in the sealed off part under the stairs and no damp apparent there, although we shall see when we start taking it down.

I shall have to find a way to post a pic as it's quite something. I'm not sure if there's much of a design statement beyond 'I have a load of surplus OSB from some other job, and some walls to cover'