The Ultimate Guide to Plywood

The Ultimate Guide to Plywood: Everything You Need to Know

Plywood production is a multifaceted process and a significant part of the wood industry that transforms raw timber into durable and versatile panels. Plywood’s immense utility and diversity have earned it a vital place in a wide range of applications, from furniture creation to construction projects. To fully comprehend the value of plywood and its potential, we delve into an extensive guide that explores its composition, types, and use cases.

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What is Plywood?

Plywood is a composite wood product fabricated by gluing several thin layers or ‘plies’ of softwood or hardwood. Each ply is laid with its grain running at right angles to its adjacent layer. This cross-graining technique significantly enhances plywood’s strength, reduces shrinkage, and provides uniform strength.

Within this wide-ranging category of plywood exists a remarkable type known as shaped plywood. 

 

The History of Plywood

The conceptual roots of plywood extend back thousands of years, but the material as we know it today began to take shape in the early 20th century. Industrial advancements, coupled with the booming construction and furniture industries, propelled plywood to the forefront of manufacturing materials.

How Plywood is Made

Plywood production is a fascinating process that hinges on using certain key materials. 

Key Materials in Plywood Production

Plywood production primarily requires two key elements: logs of suitable species and adhesive. The species selection depends on the desired properties of the final plywood product, be it strength, grain pattern, or resistance to environmental factors. The adhesive, typically a formaldehyde-based resin, binds the layers together under heat and pressure.

The Manufacturing Process

The manufacturing process of plywood is a meticulously crafted sequence of steps, each pivotal to producing high-quality panels. This process is a symphony of precision, where technology meets raw natural resources to create an indispensable material in construction and design. This careful orchestration makes plywood versatile, robust, and uniquely adaptable to various applications.

Here’s a breakdown of the manufacturing steps involved:

Log Preparation: This is the first step of the process, and it is all about getting the logs ready. The logs, typically sourced from suitable tree species, are debarked and cut to the appropriate length. This process prepares the logs for the next steps, ensuring a smooth, clean surface for peeling.

Peeling: The prepared logs are then subjected to peeling, where thin layers, or veneers, are stripped off. This is done using a lathe, which rotates the logs against a sharp blade, resulting in a continuous sheet of wood veneer.

Drying and Sorting: The freshly peeled veneers are somewhat damp and need to be dried. They are passed through a drying machine that removes excess moisture. Post-drying, these veneers are sorted according to quality and thickness for optimal panel construction.

Bonding: The final step is bonding the veneers together. Here, adhesive, typically a formaldehyde-based resin, is applied to the veneers, which are then layered together. This stack of veneers is subjected to high pressure and temperature, bonding the layers into a solid plywood panel.

Every step of the manufacturing process, from log preparation to bonding, is carefully monitored to ensure that the plywood meets the highest quality standards. The result is a product that embodies the strengths of its constituent layers, forming a versatile material used worldwide in construction, furniture, and many other applications.

The Properties of Plywood

Understanding the properties of plywood is crucial to appreciate its widespread use and versatility.

Strength and Durability

Plywood exhibits remarkable strength due to its cross-laminated structure. The alternating grain direction of the layers increases the panel’s resistance to splitting, bending, and warping. The durability of plywood is also enhanced by treatments that make it resistant to fire, water, and pests.

Versatility and Use

Plywood’s versatility is evident in its wide application range. From furniture and flooring to shipping crates and musical instruments, the utility of plywood spans numerous industries. Its ease of shaping and joining, coupled with its availability in various sizes, thicknesses, and types, further broadens its appeal.

Plywood Types

Given its versatility, plywood is available in many types, each with unique properties tailored to its intended use.

Softwood Plywood

Softwood plywood is derived from evergreen coniferous trees that typically retain foliage year-round. Pine, fir, and spruce are common sources known for their characteristic properties that make them suitable for specific applications. When it comes to plywood, it’s essential to understand that the term ‘softwood’ does not signify weakness or inferior quality but classifies the type of tree from which the wood originates.

Common Varieties and Their Uses

CDX, standing for “C-D Exposure 1,” is a popular variety of softwood plywood. This grade indicates that it is constructed with water-resistant glue, making it known for its strength and resistance to moisture. Therefore, it’s particularly suitable for exterior construction applications. On the other hand, types like Sanded Pine are valued for their smooth surface and aesthetic appeal, making them ideal for crafting furniture or cabinets.

Here are the key details to consider about softwood plywood:

Source Species: Softwood plywood predominantly comes from coniferous trees like pine, fir, and spruce. Each species imparts its unique properties to the plywood, such as pine’s resistance to shrinking, swelling, and warping, spruce’s strength and lightness, and fir’s durability and stability.

Applications: Softwood plywood’s strength, stability, and affordability make it popular for many construction and industrial applications. It’s frequently used for wall sheathing, roofing, and home subflooring. Its smooth surface also makes it suitable for making furniture and cabinetry.

Versatility: Softwood plywood is available in varying thicknesses and sizes, making it adaptable to various projects. It can be easily cut and shaped, making it a versatile choice for DIY enthusiasts and professionals.

Affordability: Compared to hardwood plywood, softwood plywood is generally more cost-effective, making it a practical choice for larger projects or applications where budget is a consideration.

Furniture Uses: Softwood plywood’s aesthetic appeal lends itself well to furniture-making. Pieces like bookcases, wardrobes, and bed frames can all be crafted from this type of plywood. Its ability to take paint well allows for customization in terms of color and finish.

Understanding these aspects of softwood plywood can guide you in choosing the best material for your project. Remember, the best plywood isn’t always the most expensive one; it’s the one that fits your project requirements perfectly. At Keller Woods, we’re dedicated to supplying the highest quality plywood and providing the knowledge you need to choose wisely.

Hardwood Plywood

Hardwood plywood, produced from deciduous tree species like oak, birch, and maple, is highly prized for its attractive appearance and durability.

Popular Types and Where They’re Used

There is a wide range of hardwood plywood types available, each with unique properties, lending them to different applications. Understanding these types and their common uses can aid you in selecting the right plywood for your project.

Baltic Birch: Known for its high strength-to-weight ratio, Baltic Birch is a superior type of hardwood plywood. It boasts a multi-ply construction that ensures strength and dimensional stability, making it a go-to choice for high-end cabinetry, furniture, and high-stress structures.

Oak Plywood: Oak plywood is loved for its distinct and beautiful grain pattern. Its natural strength and resistance to wear make it ideal for many interior decorative applications, including paneling, flooring, and furniture construction.

Maple Plywood: Known for its light color and smooth surface, Maple plywood is a favorite for a wide array of woodworking projects. Its uniform grain and durability make it an excellent choice for creating desks, bookcases, dining tables, and dressers. It is also popular for constructing kitchen cabinets and countertops due to its high resistance to wear and tear.

Each hardwood plywood type brings its aesthetic and functional advantages. Selection often boils down to the specific needs of your project, such as the strength, finish, or even the grain pattern required.

Remember, the versatility of hardwood plywood extends beyond these popular types. With various species and grades, hardwood plywood offers boundless possibilities for both practical and decorative uses. Whatever your project demands, you can find a hardwood plywood that fits the bill.

Marine Plywood

Marine plywood’s superior resistance to water compared to other plywood types comes down to its unique manufacturing process. It is bonded using water and boil-proof (WBP) adhesive, ensuring the ply layers remain firmly attached even under prolonged moisture exposure. 

Unlike other types, marine plywood is crafted from high-grade hardwood veneers known for their density and lower water absorption rates. Additionally, marine plywood is guaranteed to have no voids (gaps or holes) in its layers. The lack of voids prevents water from seeping into the plywood and getting trapped, which could otherwise cause rotting or warping over time. 

Features and Benefits

Thanks to its unique manufacturing process and material composition, marine plywood is specifically designed to tackle humid and damp conditions.

Superior Water Resistance: Unlike standard plywood, marine plywood is bonded with a water and boil-proof (WBP) adhesive. This ensures the plywood layers remain securely attached, even under sustained moisture exposure. This feature makes marine plywood an ideal choice for applications that will face regular exposure to water.

High-grade Veneers: Marine plywood is manufactured using high-quality hardwood veneers. These veneers, recognized for their density and low water absorption rates, contribute to the plywood’s overall durability and water resistance.

No Voids: Marine plywood is guaranteed to be free of voids, which are gaps or holes that could be found in the layers of other plywood types. These voids can allow water to infiltrate and get trapped in the plywood, leading to damage over time. With marine plywood, this risk is significantly reduced.

Versatile Applications: Given its robustness and durability, marine plywood is often employed in building boats, docks, and other marine structures. However, it can also be used in home construction, particularly in areas prone to moisture, such as bathrooms, kitchens, and basements.

Marine plywood is an exceptional product engineered to withstand harsh aquatic environments. It is undoubtedly the go-to choice for any project demanding high durability and unparalleled water resistance. With marine plywood, you’re not just purchasing a material; you’re investing in longevity and superior performance.

Structural Plywood

Structural plywood is engineered for strength and stability, making it a preferred choice for load-bearing applications.

Understanding Its Applications

Structural plywood is employed in scenarios where load-bearing capacity and stability are paramount, making it a staple in many demanding projects.

Building Sheathing: In construction, structural plywood’s strength and stability make it the material of choice for sheathing walls, roofs, and floors. It provides an essential layer of protection against external factors and adds structural integrity to buildings.

Beams and Columns: Owing to their high strength and rigidity, structural plywood is often used to produce beams and columns. These critical architectural elements bear a significant load, necessitating a material like structural plywood that can withstand such pressures.

Formwork for Concrete: Due to its dimensional stability, structural plywood is a reliable formwork for pouring concrete. Its smooth surface ensures a clean finish on the concrete, while its robust nature ensures the formwork remains intact.

DIY Projects: Outside of professional construction, structural plywood’s resilience makes it popular among DIY enthusiasts for creating sturdy furniture, shelving, and other home projects. Its ability to withstand substantial weight and resist warping ensures long-lasting results.

Structural plywood is the backbone of numerous construction and manufacturing processes, from providing the core structure of buildings to being the preferred material for high-load applications.

For a more in-depth guide on types and applications of plywood, a versatile and reliable material for construction, by visiting our comprehensive guide.

The company is the world’s best grey melamine plywood supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.

Strong, durable, and cost-effective, plywood is a popular building material. There are many different types and classes of plywood available, (and each with their own properties).

But with so many different types of plywood available, how do you choose the right ones for your project?

Our Timber Products Manager, Pat Collins, is a walking Plywood encyclopaedia. In this guide, Pat discusses how to achieve the best possible results by choosing the right plywood for your project.

What is plywood?

Plywood is made from timber, which has been cut into sheets and pressed together using adhesive. (Did you know, the Egyptians were the first to make plywood?)

Plywood is made from veneers that are peeled from a log that has been steamed in a log pond.

The veneer ends up as a long ribbon of veneer that goes from the outside of the long right down the core, and quality is then graded at that point.

The veneers are then laid up and applied with resin at a 90-degree angle to the next veneer, so that the grains of the wood are in different directions.

They are then pressed into plywood, which is then trimmed and packed.

Plywood has range of properties that make it and ideal building material, including:

• A high strength to weight ratio
• Great flexibility
• Excellent thermal and noise insulator

What affects the performance of the plywood?

• Thickness of the peeled veneers

Thin face veneers can either delaminate if exposed to moisture. I.E some plywood from the far east is peeled at anything from 0.51mm to 0.6mm. The thinner veneer has no bearing on the strength and is designed purely decoratively. However, if exposed to any moisture, the veneer can pull away. Veneers too thick can cause expansion of the timber itself, which can also cause delamination issues.

• How the veneers are laid up before pressing

This we call the “construction” and how the core is made up has a big effect on the performance. Any large gaps in the core and (or) in the overlapping of the veneers can also cause plywood failure if exposed to moisture, due to the mechanical effect of the timber expanding and contracting.

• Face grade

Face grade effects both the aesthetics and the ability to be finished, laminated or veneered and has little or no impact on its structural performance.

• Face and core species

Species makes a large contribution to the overall performance. Face species will effect the look and aesthetics, but the species in the core has a profound effect.

For instance, a lot of plywood from the far east uses fast grown hardwoods like popular and eucalyptus. These timbers are less dense and therefore take on moisture far quicker than other species. It also effects the flatness of the finished panel.

• Type of resin used for bonding the veneers

There are 3 main types of resin types (BSEN314/2 Classes 1 2 and 3).

• Class 1 – Urea Formaldehyde – This is purely internal only and in low humidity areas.
• Class 2 – Melamine Urea Formaldehyde – Humid conditions , damp internal uses and must be protected from direct wetting both internally and externally.
• Class 3 – Phenol Formaldehyde - Exterior conditions *

*Note all plywood edges should be fully sealed before exposure to moisture both internally and externally. Elliotts offer an ESP Plywood Edge Sealant product to do this.

 

Read our full guide on plywood classes

• Inconsistent production methods

“Plywood is made all over the globe, but not all is made in state of the art modern factories and quality can vary wildly”, say Timber Products Manager, Pat Collins.

“The “ideal plywood” would have no core gaps or overlaps , equal thickness of veneer, be very durable, thick face veneer, be aesthetically pleasing, super flat, strong, stable and cheap!

"Sadly it doesn’t exist and would we able to afford it if it was, probably not.

"So, the questions we need to ask are what do we need the plywood to achieve (i.e. does it have to be flat, strong, stable and structural)? Or does it have to have a beautiful veneer for say clear lacquering but the strength is not so important?

"At Elliotts , we feel it’s critical for us to understand the end use of plywood so we can make sure that we are offering the right product and at the right costs.”

Different types of plywood and their uses

Here are 4 of the main types of types of plywood available: 

3. Marine ply 

What is marine plywood?

Marine plywood is generally made to a far tighter tolerance but also durability of the timber used, the bond is no different from Pine plywood, it’s how it’s put together that gives it it’s performance.

Note there are currently 3 types of marine plywood:

Marine plywood type What it is What it’s used for Lloyds approved Some of the best plywood money can buy For use in Marine craft and underwritten by Lloyds of London “Made in accordance” Meets BS1088 standard Main Marine plywood sold in the UK, but not necessarily for Marine craft Light-weight marine ply Made using a less durable species Not available from Elliotts

 

What is marine plywood used for?

As the name suggests, marine plywood is designed for use in marine environments. It is typically used for boats and other marine applications. 

If marine plywood is being used for external applications, make sure all faces and edges are sealed before use. This will prevent moisture ingress. 

Marine plywood at Elliotts 

We supply 2440 x 1220mm boards in 6mm, 12mm and 18mm thicknesses, and we generally buy from Indonesia as a preference and sometimes Malaysia

 

Shop our range of marine plywood

4. Phenolic Ply 

What is phenolic plywood? 

Phenolic/film-faced plywood is generally birch plywood with a resin impregnated paper pressed to both sides. It’s a high strength, extremely durable plywood with a high resistance to moisture, thanks to its phenolic film.

The resin used in phenolic plywood is exactly the same as is used for EN314/2 Class 3 plywood.

What is phenolic ply used for? 

Phenolic plywood is most commonly used for concrete formwork and shuttering, but can also be used for:

• Lorry/trailer beds – anti-slip sided phenolic plywood
• Access towers & steps

Phenolic plywood at Elliotts 

We supply Vindeck (hardwood) 18mm Anti-slip 1 side with a smooth reverse. We also source birch-throughout plywood with a high abrasion resistant anti slip resin one side and smooth reverse.

 

Phenolic plywood is available from your local Elliotts branch

What is the most important factor when it comes to choosing plywood?

 

Choosing the right plywood class

“It’s important to choose the right plywood depending on what you plan to use the plywood for. This will ensure that the plywood you choose works for it’s given job”, say Pat Collins, Timber Products Manager.

“You should consider how and where the plywood will be used, particularly whether it will be used internally or externally, and whether or not it will be exposed to any moisture. 

“And if it’s structural (point loading) and/or having a finish applied to it.

“You will either need a class 1, 2 or 3 plywood.”

 

Here’s each plywood class explained

We’ll help you get the right plywood for your project 

When choosing plywood for your project, it’s vital that you choose one that meets the needs of your project, based on the classes above. 

We have a detailed guide on how to choose the right plywood for your project.

If you need expert advice about which plywood is right for your project, we can help. Send us a question, get in touch with your local Elliotts branch, or speak to our timber team.

Most common questions about plywood

Here are some of the most common queries we get about plywood as answered by Pat Collins, Timber Product Manager:

Plywood is made from both softwood and hardwood.

Structural plywood is designed to take a point load and must have structural evidence to back it up. Flooring, roofing etc.

Plywood grades vary from country to country and mill to mill, but essentially B/BB will have a clear face on one side with some defects allowed on the reverse.

CE2+ plywood can generally be regarded as structural, however this must be backed up by what we call a DOP (declaration on performance).

For more information, please visit Melamine plywood sizes.

Note, all Elliotts plywood is backed up by the necessary documentation.

Updated: 15.08.2023  First published: 29.03.2019