Marine plywood was created back in the 1930s by the Dutch manufacturer. It was even used for the construction of boats during World War II. In today’s modern world, the importance of marine grade plywood is still the same and can be used for building furniture of your patio and outdoor projects. Being highly durable, it is used for decks, garden benches, porches, and backyard playhouses. It comes in various sizes, grades, and weights, and it has significant advantages over regular plywood. Before purchasing it, make sure your marine plywood suppliers provide it of the highest quality.
What is Marine-Grade Plywood?
For the construction of various structures such as decks and boats, marine-grade plywood is preferred rather than regular plywood. It has greater strength and is made up of high-quality Western Larch or Douglas-fir material. The product cannot be treated with chemicals, and the wood has a thin sheet of plies that are set up perpendicularly to strengthen the material. The process of setting up the plies perpendicularly is known as cross-lamination.
Difference between Marine grade plywood and regular plywood
When it comes to plywood, you can purchase it in terms of different grades such as A, B, C, D. These grades determine the quality of the wood as A grade is of the highest quality as compared to the other grades that have various defects. But, remember that even the highest grade of plywood is not considered as good as marine grade plywood. On comparing with marine grade plywood, regular plywood’s grades have not the highest quality.
Do you wonder what makes them different in terms of quality?
Keep in mind that standard plywood lacks layers and is made up of softwood. It doesn’t have as many layers as marine grade plywood, and even its layers are thicker. By cutting it into a panel of standard plywood, you can observe that there are holes and voids with the layers of the plywood.
Marine-grade has more hardwood layers that are even thinner and offer greater strength. These 100 percent hardwood layers make the marine plywood much stronger than the regular one. Moreover, it doesn’t have hidden holes and voids inside the layers, and it even creates a stronger panel of wood overall. These holes can be seen in the regular plywood, which makes it not as reliable as marine grade plywood. Marine-grade plywood offers more resistance and is made up of high-quality material, and it cannot be easily torn apart.
Why Waterproof glue matter?
Keep in mind that marine-grade plywood yields benefit over other types of woods such as cedar, cypress, and redwood because it makes highly-durable goods. Marine should be protected with waterproof glue if it is exposed to water. This is the main benefit of using waterproof glue for marine plywood as it resists against moisture, humidity, or even extreme temperature. With the help of waterproof glue, you can ensure the strength of wood layers and it won’t fall apart. When you’re building a boat hull with plywood, this is a vital characteristic that you need to bear in mind. Even if the hull’s protective finish gets damaged, the plywood will still remain intact when the water enters the wood and makes it wet.
Different Quality of Marine Grade Plywood
There are a lot of things to consider when choosing the best marine grade plywood including lightweight, strong material, and free of defects. While purchasing, your marine grade plywood suppliers really matter. Keep in mind that it is one of the best and strongest materials if purchased from a reliable supplier. This material is used for building outdoor furniture where other ordinary materials cannot withstand the humid environment. For that reason, marine plywood comes in different grades such as A-A, A-B, and B-B, which varies in terms of various key features as well.
Grades of Marine Plywood
Different grades of marine grade plywood offer various knot size, weight, frequency, and thickness of plies at the same time. Keep in mind that the sheets contain knots rather than knotholes. Let’s have a look at some of the main grades of marine plywood.
- A-A: This is exterior Western plywood that comes in two different sizes such as 4 feet by 8 feet or 5 feet by 12 feet. It has half an inch of thickness which makes it high-quality material.
- A-B: Likewise, A-B grade offers the same size as A-A grade but it has is ¾-inches of thickness. It has no open knots and is considered as the strongest plywood grade. You can purchase it from reliable, marine plywood suppliers near me in USA. When it comes to weight, the 3 ply panel weighs 5-12 pounds. However, 9 ply panel comes up with a weight of 37-44 pounds.
- B-B: It is another high-quality grade of great strength that is often known as face-back marine plywood.
How it can be used?
If you’re looking for outdoor furniture for your patio then marine grade plywood is an ideal choice for you. Even it suits outdoor structures made up of mood in a moist climate. It can hold up for long in such severe climatic conditions. For instance, you can consider marine grade plywood for most of the projects that include garden furniture such as benches, tables, porches, chairs, and decks. Whether it is a stationary or mobile construction project, marine plywood is the ultimate choice for you that can withstand contact with water.
Keep scrolling down and learn about some of the projects in which marine plywood can be used.
Boats
Boats should be made up of such material that can maintain its structure even being kept in water. Keep in mind that marine-grade plywood has remained the best option for this project. You can easily find out, marine plywood suppliers near me in USA to purchase the high-quality wood for this project. Being 100 percent waterproof, it is highly durable and resists against water damage and leaks. It can be used for building the hull or other curvy parts because it is pliable. Make sure that it is properly sealed with Acetone, soft cloths, or paper towels.
Docks
The construction of docks is carried on water, and marine plywood suits perfect this type of structure than any other wood. Other types of wood also need to be sanded regularly, but marine doesn’t need it, and it is more effective when it comes to eliminating decay, rot, and warping.
Bathrooms
For your custom designed bathroom, ensure choosing plywood from the top-ranked marine plywood suppliers. You may face an issue with your bathtub or toilet that it gets damaged due to the water leaks in the bathroom. With the help of marine plywood, you can ensure fixing the issue because it minimizes the growth of mold and eradicates the moisture at the same time. You can use it as an alternative for flooring, siding, or backsplash.
Kitchens
The kitchen is the hub of your home that remains wet throughout the day. Steam and water caused by cooking can affect the existing lower-grade wood in your kitchen. For that reason, it is necessary to use marine plywood that can stave off moisture and keeps your cabinet look captivating at the same time.
Patios, Porches, and Decks
Marine plywood comes in larger sheets which makes it best to cover the decks easily. Usually, the deck requires many days to complete the project with ordinary wood. However, you can complete the same project in hours with the help of marine plywood. It is a budget-friendly option for your decks which makes it the best option for you. Moreover, there are no such gaps and voids in plywood that can be easily found in other types of wood. All these characteristics of marine plywood make it suitable for your patio, porches, or decks.
Besides, there are other garden furniture options as well for which you can use marine plywood. But, make sure to choose such marine grade plywood suppliers that provide plywood of highest-quality.
Advantages of Marine Grade Plywood
- It has the capability to resist warping, rotting, and shrinking no matter whether used as a floor or subfloor.
- It is 100 percent waterproof and offers resistance against steam humidity often caused by cooking in the kitchen.
- Marine plywood is highly-reliable for extreme temperatures such as boiling water.
- It has more than three layers which make it stronger and more durable as compared to regular plywood.
- The layers are bound together with waterproof adhesive, that make it withstand against heavy loads and absorb moisture.
Conclusion
Marine plywood has been used since the times of World War II, and it has been essential for the construction of water-resistant structures. Consisting of 5 layers, marine plywood offers greater strength as compared to the regular plywood. By searching marine plywood suppliers near me in USA, you can ensure choosing the highest quality of material for your bathroom and kitchen structures. There are reliable suppliers in the USA that provide marine plywood for sale.
Very interesting!