Now that you have a little information on the various types of sheathing, you must ask yourself a few basic questions to facilitate your selection process.

Do you live in an area that is prone to flooding or heavy rains?

Does your home site sit low to the ground or does it sit higher above ground level?

Will your house sit at the bottom of a hill?

Do you have a lot of snow accumulation during winter months?

Are there heavy rains when the ground is frozen?

All of the above questions help you assess the risk of your house coming in contact with water.

A basic variable to take into consideration is the amount of money you have allocated for this portion of the job.

We opted to use a combination of pressure treated plywood on the corner of the house closest to ground level and CDX on the remainder of the house. The cost was a little than if we had used OSB, but I felt that plywood was stronger and longer lasting than OSB. But again that is my opinion based it is based on our situation. You will have your own opinion based on your situation.

Measure the area of each exterior wall.

• Multiply the length of the wall by its height.

Add the area of all of the walls together, to give you the total area of the exterior of your house.

Measure the area of a sheet of sheathing.

• Multiply the length of the sheet by its height.

Divide the total area of the exterior the house, by the area of one sheet of sheathing.

The result will be the number of sheets needed for the job.

Remember to buy extra sheets just in case...

Sheathing can be applied vertically or horizontally. If you choose to apply it horizontally, then you will have to apply caulking to all seams. This is not necessary when applying it vertically since the seams will be over the studs.

Choose a corner to begin sheathing.

Remember when we set the sill plate 1/4" in from the outside of the slab? The purpose was to create a lip to set the sheets of sheathing on to.

Rest the bottom of the sheet on the outside lip of the slab extending past the sill plate.

Align the edge of the first sheet with the outside corner of the wall.

If everything is plumb, then the edge of the sheet should line up perfectly with the outside of the wall and the other end should end on the center of a stud.

If the edges don't line up, then use a level to figure out if the corner of the wall is off or the stud is off plumb. If its the stud, then bang it into place with your hammer.

Secure the sheathing to the bottom plate and top plates as well.

All sheathing must be secured with ring nails throughout the house, as it is important for the integrity of the house. Ring nails have less of a tendency to pull out once they are inserted.