Plywood is a material that is common in construction sites. It’s often overlooked and underappreciated and yet it one of the most versatile materials to be available for construction purposes.
Plywood may be cheap, but its quality and strength are commendable. No matter where you live, or what building you are in, chances are, you will find that structure has a lot of plywood hidden in different corners. Whether it is flooring, cabinets or walls, you would find it everywhere.
Common Uses Of Plywood
Here are a few of the times you would need one.
- Exterior Wall Sheathing: New houses are often made with walls that have separate exterior-grade plywood sheathing for protection. The panels keep the studs in place so that the structure does not shift under any circumstance.
- Interior Walls: You can use it for wood paneling or framing indoors. While cheaper often look unaesthetic are kept out of the front view, there are great A-grade options which can be painted to look beautiful.
- Roofing and Flooring: You can use them as sheathing for roofs; they are durable and provide a base to fix the tiles. It’s also a great material for making subfloors because of its tongue-and-groove edges that make it easier for them to carry load.
- Concrete Forms: No blog post on this site would be complete without the mention of concrete forms. Yes! Plywood can even be used with concrete forms for sale!
Essentially if you need to have a plane or surface, plywood is not only a possible choice but might be the go-to choice.
The Top Advantages of Plywood:
Here is what will work for you.
While solid wood is tough, plywood happens to be stronger without any of the disadvantages of wood. The strength is evenly distributed due to the cross-grained structure. It can be made even tougher with the help of veneers and strong phenolic adhesives.
Moreover, solid wood tends to split when you try to drive a hole through it. On the other hand, plywood does not split easily.
Plywood Is Durable
Yes, it will last for a long period of time. With uniform strength throughout the body and along the grain, it can hold up better than solid wood. Coupled with strong veneers and adhesives, plywood becomes resistant to pressure exerted during manufacture. It’s this durability that makes even used plywood so valuable. In case you are planning to consider used plywood you must look out for these factors before buying: inspect for damage and examine the edges.
Easy To Work With
You don’t have a fixed size to choose from. Go for large sheets that easily measures at least 1800mm in length and 1200mm in width. With it, you will be able to accomplish a lot with just one sheet of plywood. If you can’t find the size you want, plywood is easy to cut to spec for your project.
Considering how strong the wood is, its weight comes as a surprise. In fact, it is designed to be lighter than solid wood. That makes it easier to work with. Heavy wood can prove to be inflexible when used for commercial applications.
Can Tackle Big Projects
The standard size of plywood sheets is on the higher side which makes it the perfect material to use when it comes to areas with big square foot coverage. You can use just one sheet to cover an area, and it will ensure that there are no extra gaps. You will not even waste a lot of material, and that will give you value for money.
It is important for us to be eco-friendly in today’s times when the environment is in so much danger. Making plywood requires less wood than it would take to create objects out of solid wood. Conserving timber is an important step towards a better future.
There is little to no wastage. No matter what project you are working on, you will find that a standard plywood sheet provides you with much more use than solid wood.
Moreover, it is light and you can carry it from one place to another, saving you some of the transportation cost. Plywood is always marked lower than solid wood, but it gives the same, if not better, performance. How you use plywood could determine whether you make it under or over budget.
This engineered wood product has quickly become one of the most popular materials to use for commercial construction projects.
Stock up on your plywood!