Exact Indoor Plywood Type to Buy
|
I am puzzled at the exact choice of plywood. We need about 10 sheets. I understand the AC type but am not sure if:
Here are the two options that I couldn't decide between today: https://www.lowes.com/pd/23-32-CAT-PS1-09-Radiata-Pine-Sanded-Plywood-Application-as-4-x-8/3551942 https://www.lowes.com/pd/Top-Choice-SkyPly-3-4-in-HPVA-Maple-Plywood-Application-As-4-x-8/1000083319 Thank you in advance |
|
FWIW I've used the first style to make the volumes on my wall and have had zero problems. |
|
Save your money. CDX is fine. AC is just a higher grade on one side, it that matter to you. Same core, same # of layers. |
|
Wes C wrote: Thank you, wonder if that's the case for whole size sheets? |
|
Tim N wrote: My largest volume is a triangle with 30ish" sides and is attached to the 45 degree portion of my wall. It sees significant stress and it feels solid after 18months of use. I also drilled a t nut grid into it and don't currently have any screw on holds attached to that volume. |
|
Tim N wrote: If you need plywood for roofing, walls or subfloods, then choose construction plywood or OSB. Oak or birch hardwood is good for cabinets, storage and furniture. |
|
M Jarmland wrote: I've personally ripped a T-nut through OSB. NFW I'd use it for a climbing wall. Birch or other fancy plywood is just a waste of money IMO, though I could see using it if, for example, the wall was in your living room. |
|
Muscrat wrote: Exactly. AC is All Clear and better for paint and stain only. Regular 3/4" CDX is all I've ever used. Spending more money on cabinet grade ply is silly but so is a first time climber who buys the most expensive shoes. |
|
Either of the options you chose would be fine, I would go with the birch ply personally. I switched to cabinet grade plywood on all walls I build about 5 years ago and wouldn’t look back. There is such a small difference in price any more. $5-10 extra per sheet is worth it to avoid the hassles of working with warped panels. Also the blow outs you get with cabinet grade plywood are much less than AC ply. Even stacked with the good face up you will get tear out on the top surface as your drill bit starts to dull.
There is a big difference in the quality of the veneer layers between AC and CD. It has to do with acceptable voids in the plywood matrix. Buy good plywood for your walls. Good walls can last 20+ years. I have panels I build in the late 90’s that are still rocking homes today. OSB is not an acceptable base for climbing walls. You want to consider the top layer mostly for aesthetics, birch or oak veneer ply is going to have fewer voids and irregularities than AC. I also find it drills better with fewer blow outs in the veneer when drilling Tnut holes. Try stacking 5 sheets of AC ply and you will see the difference. Spend the time researching plywood and check with local hardwood suppliers. I can get Baltic Birch (hardwood core plywood) for a few dollars more a sheet than the Purebond birch at Home Depot. Use the best quality plywood you can reasonably afford and your wall will be something to admire vs something to hide in your basement. |
|
Kevin Stricker wrote: I agree with all that, except the price difference between normal AC and the premium Baltic Birch plywood is significant. The occasional small pocket you encounter in AC plywood isn’t really an issue either. If you’re building commercial walls, then yes, Baltic birch is the way to go. It’s a bit stronger and your edges and holes won’t tear out when cut giving you a clean finished look. But you’re going to pay for it. Typical AC plywood in 3/4in is between 35 to 50 dollars a sheet, while Baltic Birch is somewhere around 80 to 100 a sheet. If it’s just a home wall and you don’t care about making it all purdy, just get the AC at the Depot. If you want it to be ultra premium and don’t mind doubling your material costs, Baltic Birch is definitely the way to go. The stuff is really really nice and is great for climbing walls. It’s what’s typically used on professional, commercial wood built climbing gyms. |
|
This is great advice thanks! |
|
Assuming for a climbing wall? 3/4” CDX for paint, higher grade if you want it to look purdy unpainted. Do NOT use OSB!!! |
|
No but if it costs more its better right??? ;) |
|
I don't get the hate for OSB. It's as good, maybe better than CD. Studies have shown it has equal or greater fastener pull-thru strength. Plus I prefer the random texture on my wall. Here's a link with some info: https://bct.eco.umass.edu/publications/articles/choosing-between-oriented-strandboard-and-plywood/ |
|
Walt Heenan wrote: If it stays dry its 100% fine, give it high humidity for a week and it swells and softens. Plywood can deal with humidity swings way better. I'd use OSB in a climate controlled interior room any day, the main drawback is it looks not so smooth when finished no matter which side gets used. |
|
I like full one inch plywood rather than the usual 3/4 inch. I am also a fan of overkill on the frame with 4x4's and 4x6's. We are trying to build a rock. |
|
M M wrote: Wouldn't use it in an exterior application or a steam room. If your OSB is swelling, your CD is probably delaminating. Neither likes being wet. |
|
Has anyone used 1-1/8" OSB for a wall (sold under the tradename Sturd-I-Floor)? It's about the same price as 3/4" ply and 50% thicker. |
|
Hubbard wrote: Wow, that is a recipe for an extraordinarily strong wall. What's the layout for the 4x4s and 4x6s? For what its worth I've been training with ice tools (a lot more torque on the holds than fingers) on a ~60 degree roof built with 2x6 joists 24" apart and 5/8" CDX and the flex is insignificant. |
|
Hubbard wrote: That is beyond overkill and a huge waste of material and expense. Climbing walls need to be sturdy and a bit over built. 2x6’s on the frame work and 3/4in as a minimum thickness on the plywood is standard and plenty over built for a home wall. Unless you’re trying to stop a truck from driving through it, or going to park your sprinter on top of it, you don’t need 4x4’s and 4x6’s. |
|
True OSB story: I once dropped a Skil 77 onto a sub-floor; it went right through. No, it wasn't running. Another point to bear in mind about OSB if you think you might later want to apply a texture paint: the smoother surface is coated with slack wax. I've been trying for years to learn how to remove it so as to apply finish coats. Wax, in general, is not an easy coating to reverse. Now let's clear up some nomenclature with regard to birch plywood. There's "finish" birch, which is ordinary interior fir-core plywood with at least one cabinet-grade hardwood face veneer. Then there's thin-ply "Finnish" birch, which is imported from Russia or the Baltics in 5' x 5' sheets. Generally an excellent product; I watched a crew from Entre Prises install a wall at my university, and that's what they used. The cheap 18mm 4' x 8' "baltic" birch sold at HD and elsewhere comes, I think, from Asia and is a really poor material for just about any application. Warped. Uneven thickness. Random lamination. Voids. Extra-thin face veneer. You can buy 4' x 8' sheets of high-grade birch plywood with a void-free 13-ply birch core--brand names that come to mind are ApplePly and EuroPly--but expect to pay $100+ per sheet. Addendum: True Chinese "shop birch" story. I once demolished a carbide-tipped TCG blade and almost started a dust-collector fire when the table saw started throwing sparks. Apparently a steel glue-injector head had fallen off and been pressed into the sheet. |