Plywood Grades: When buying plywood at your local supplier, you may notice that there are a number of different grades. The normal grading system uses the letters A, B, C & D, where A is the best quality, with virtually no blemishes and very well sanded. Grade D typically contains up to the maximum number of blemishes allowed. The letter grades typically come in pairs, where one letter refers to the "better" side, called the face, and the other letter to the back side, opposite the face. As such, a sheet of A-C plywood will be very well finished on the face with a relatively unfinished back. Conversely, construction grade plywood would be C-D (commonly referred to as CDX plywood), which is great for structural use but not suited to be finish material. Plywood Bonding Types: In addition to the plywood grades, there are four common plywood bonding types. The difference is in the glues that are used to bind the plies, or layers of the plywood. Interior Plywood: Plywoods for interior use only are made from various hardwood and softwood species, and can be used only in interior applications such as wall sheathing, furniture (where exposure to moisture is limited), cabinetry and the like. Interior plywood is available in most grades, as well as a number of hardwood species such as birch, oak and cherry. Interior plywood is dried and constructed for internal conditions Exterior Plywood: The most common type of plywood, readily available at home centers. The glues used in exterior plywoods are much more resistant to moisture than interior plywoods. Once again, nearly all grades are available, with A-C, B-C and CDX the most common. Numerous hardwood species are also available in exterior varieties. Exterior plywood is dried and constructed for external conditions,YES dried for exterior use Marine Plywood: When moisture resistance is a priority, look into marine plywood. This type uses the best adhesives and is manufactured to the highest standards. It also is most commonly graded as A-A, with two top grade faces, but is limited in the hardwood choices that are practical for use in marine settings. Marine is dried similar to Exterior plywood. It is designed for marine use Structural Plywood: When the appearance of the face is of lesser concern than the strength and stability of the material, structural plywood will typically be the choice. The resins used to adhere the plies are designed for extra strength to avoid separating of the layers. Structural plywood is seldom found in a grade higher than C-D. It is commonly used in concrete forms on
Good guide that Matt. So what is best out of above? I need to order 25 sheets this week for a Nursery job.
DAZ, where is the plywood going to be installed? internal? so the correct plywood would be Internal! BUT with the crap we are being sold installers are using all types. Like i say we should be installing internal........
Marley safetred spectrum. And carpet tiles. I have used some from Travis Perkins last week so going to get that. It's far eastern hardwood WBP, seams good gear. It has a stamp on it so will take a picture when I use it.
Surely by using ply like a Spruce ply that conform to BS5268 you should have no problems. I have alot of experience in plywood and most of that plys that flood the builders yards are cheap chinese with veneers so bloody thin you dare not bond anything to it. Try where poss purchase ply which has the TRADA mark or WISA spruce and with a WBP glue line this will provide you with ply that has been load tested, and is bonded together with an external phenol formaldehyde and is the same thickness throught the whole pack......
Mate any good timber merchant: Lathams , travis, jewsons, EH smith just need to ask for the right gear.
If you don't ask what ply your local sellers are giving you they will give you any old rubbish & the grade can vary at the same place week to week. I normally ask to see it to check it every time & they still give me the same comments "But its only plywood mate!"
You shouldn't have to ask tho! Of I'm buying plywood from a flooring wholesaler I would expect it to be suitable to lay flooring on! If its not they are taking the ****!
So, you buy it because the wholesaler should know if it's good, but where does he buy it from and is he told it's suitable? he's only the middle man, I agree that he should sell the best quality for flooring but until it's stamped quality flooring grade then this will continue... If you buy any other goods tv,washing machine,van the person selling it will always tell you it's good quality for the money, when it breaks what happens, they tell you to contact the manufacturer except van ofcourse...
Try to steer clear of b and q ply I once did an amtico job on top of customer supplied bnq ply and it had gaps in the middle layer and stilettos went straight through. I use wbp flooring grade ply which is stocked by carpet and flooring headlam/Garrard waters.
Last bit of b and a ply I used looked more like a quaver than a sheet of ply. Awful Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
