Exact Indoor Plywood Type to Buy

Paul Morrison wrote:

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.

I just bought 4x8 sheets of 3/4" Baltic Birch 13-ply void-free plywood with all 13 plies identical thickness from Menards for $70/sheet. Well, that's actually not true, they're doing their 11% rebate right now, so my final price is $62.29 per sheet. It was only 40% more than ACX, so I went for it.

Andrew Krajnik wrote:

I just bought 4x8 sheets of 3/4" Baltic Birch 13-ply void-free plywood with all 13 plies identical thickness from Menards for $70/sheet. Well, that's actually not true, they're doing their 11% rebate right now, so my final price is $62.29 per sheet. It was only 40% more than ACX, so I went for it.

That is a killer deal. I would expect to pay $100 for 4' x 8' sheets of Baltic Birch (but that would include delivery, which is a big plus for me).

I understand that the Menard's Baltic Birch plywood is good quality stuff. However, it specs out at 17.5 mm instead of the normal 18 mm. I think that is because it is meant to be veneered, with the veneer taking it up to the standard 18 mm. I don't expect that will make a difference for your application.

Sanded pine 3/4" (AC)  comes out really nice if you plan on leaving it unpainted.  If you want something functional that also looks nice, it doesn't cost much more.  Depends on your budget and how nice you want it to look and feel.  I think 3/4" osb subfloor material would work well in a dry environment, but I have never tried it (the T&G edges would be nice on a wall).  I built on 16" OC with 2x6 on the overhang, 2x4 knee wall below.  Personally I like to 'overbuild' it.

I understand that many people are confused by the prices, I would recommend taking a look at today's plywood sheet prices before offering much of an opinion. With current exchange rates, Russian ply, which is a true baltic product(not the red glue Chinese shit) is very reasonable right now.  So much so that I bought 12 sheets without a wall even scheduled to be built.  Anyone in the market for a custom woody?

Here are current Home Depot prices in Denver, Colorado.  I am a general contractor so try to avoid Home Depot for plywood as our local hardwood distributers have better materials at much better prices.

Sanded Ply $46.98/sheet

Domestic ACX $48.98

BCX $33.28/sheet

As you can see you can get the lowest quality import 3/4" plywood for about 30% less than a quality domestic ACX.  Import Birch ply is actually cheaper!  Last Summer I was buying BB/BB 4x8 13 ply Russian birch for $64/sheet and domestic birch ply was $56. I build bouldering walls as a side job so my specifications are probably different than the average home wall builder.  It really has become a no brainer when it comes to plywood choices over the years as the domestic and Chinese import quality has continued to slide.

A typical home wall is 4 sheets of plywood.  Why would you skimp on the surface you have to look at for as long as you have your wall?  All to save $50?  We will spend $50 on a volume or jug but not the base quality of our walls?  Silliness..

Do not use OSB! The link to the first ply is fine. You don't need maple and it's twice the cost. 

MDO (medium density overlay) is an outstanding product for exterior use.

One thing I learned using the 4x4's and 4x6's is that after the walls were built I was able to carve deep holds right into the wood of the frame. Plenty of meat to work with allowed a lot of extra holds for free. Another favorite move I made was to drag 200 pound chunks of real granite from a quarry and position them at a couple spots along the base of the wall for actual footwork. Try it you will like it.

Hubbard wrote:

One thing I learned using the 4x4's and 4x6's is that after the walls were built I was able to carve deep holds right into the wood of the frame. Plenty of meat to work with allowed a lot of extra holds

One could just block in those spots and save a ton of weight and cost.

Drew Alldredge wrote:

MDO (medium density overlay) is an outstanding product for exterior use.

Yes. I've used it for outdoor signage. Not always easy to find.

Then there's Koskisen Color Plywood--Finnish birch with a translucent phenolic film in some pretty egregious tints.

Kevin Stricker wrote:

Here are current Home Depot prices in Denver, Colorado.  I am a general contractor so try to avoid Home Depot for plywood as our local hardwood distributers have better materials at much better prices.

Sanded Ply $46.98/sheet

Domestic ACX $48.98

BCX $33.28/sheet

As you can see you can get the lowest quality import 3/4" plywood for about 30% less than a quality domestic ACX.  Import Birch ply is actually cheaper!  Last Summer I was buying BB/BB 4x8 13 ply Russian birch for $64/sheet and domestic birch ply was $56. I build bouldering walls as a side job so my specifications are probably different than the average home wall builder.  It really has become a no brainer when it comes to plywood choices over the years as the domestic and Chinese import quality has continued to slide.

The SandePly stuff from HD is crap. It is nominally "hardwood plywood" but, then again, balsa is a hardwood, too. It chips, splinters, has a lot of voids, and dents with a fingernail. It is noticeably lighter than other hardwood plywood, too. There appears to also be a marine-grade plywood also called sande ply, which is obviously not the same as the HD product.

Where are you getting your Russian birch plywood? I am being quoted $90-100 for Baltic birch 3/4" 4' x 8' BB/BB  and $68-75 for Baltic birch 3/4" 5' x 5' B/BB. That surprised me a bit because the 5x5 is slightly cheaper per sf and of slightly higher quality.

Austin Hardwoods.  I haven't checked recent pricing.

Yes, any import from Home Depot is going to be mostly garbage.  Occasionally HD will bring in Arucco plywood from Chile.  That is a pretty good ACX product with very few voids. Lowes used to stock the Arucco, not sure why they stopped carrying it locally.