18mm plywood what grade and prices

[Andrew1]

Hi i am about to start the build of a lot of base and wall cabinets for my workshop. typically i need approx 20 boards 8 x 4.

i am able to source the following-18mm x 1220mm x 2440mm WBP B/BB External Plywood for £28 per sheet or MDF Board 18mm x 1220mm x 2440mm for £18 per sheet or WBP Plywood Birch Through Out BB/CP 12mm x 1220mm x 2440mm for £40 per sheet.

i do want the cabinets to look finished and will be varnishing them at the end with water based poly.

i am unable to go and view the boards personally due to location, but they come from a reputable source.

my questions are-
MDF at £360, external ply at £560, Birch throughout for £800, will i see a significant difference in the finish for twice the price, what would people recommend

 

[Simon_M]

I bought 1/2” B/BB 4x8 birch throughout for £47 a couple of times with no other grades on offer. BB/CP should be less expensive as it can have patches on both sides and more patches. £40 doesn’t seem unreasonable. See before buy e.g. 9plyx1.4mm. Good ply can be routed, sanded and planed and worth it for the experience alone but 3/4” is more than £65 so prices itself out of reach.

Avoid B&Q or similar with (no) quality e.g. voids, delaminates, with h/w ply it’s with a paper thin skin - absolute rubbish. Their S/W ply is only for shuttering/construction. Marine ply may be WBP but term WBP may not guarantee anything except “magical” properties and a higher price.

 

[Deadeye]

Where did you get that Simon? It's almost twice that price near me!

 

[Yojevol]

I bought a sheet of 6mm birch ply at what I considered a reasonable price from Timbmet last week. A phone call to get a quote might be worthwhile. They will almost certainly deliver 20 sheets free of charge.
Personally, I would go for a cheaper ply for a workshop situation where I would not be too fussy about finish.
Brian

 

[SkinnyB]

From JW Timber: 3 x 18mm BB/BB Sheets Birch Plywood £48.33+vat per sheet.

 

[Andrew1]

18mm x 1220mm x 2440mm WBP B/BB External Plywood for £28 per sheet, i have checked image on website and appears to be 9ply.
as i am not experienced in ply, this seems good value, does the fact that it says external plywood make any difference to the quality of the face

 

[AJB Temple]

This is the kind of thing you typically get from places like Builder's Depot for just under £28 a sheet.

It usually has a pretty thin Far Eastern hardwood face on it which is nowhere near as nice as baltic birch but can be OK depending on what you want it for and a bit of luck.

I recently bought 48 sheets and used it as a backing for panelling out a building which will have MDF panel strips applied to it and then be painted. Some was used for roofing as well (not structural).

In my experience you will get a few surface bubbles and some risk of folded strips of face veneer from where it has gone through the lamination machines.

With ply, you get what you pay for. All DIY store stuff is rubbish and over priced though!

 

[AJB Temple]

PS: ply gold standard

https://www.lathamtimber.co.uk/contentf ... 7_4_19.pdf