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As one of Melbourne’s leading plywood suppliers, we make efforts to share our knowledge about what is plywood and all the different types of plywood available on the market today. That’s because we know firsthand just how vital it is to really understand the materials you’re working with. Engaging with all the unique properties or characteristics of your wood panel products can help you not only find the right material for your project but also support you in attaining the best results when working with that material.
The need to understand the properties of your wood materials becomes even more essential when working with plywood for structural applications. In the comparison of structural vs non structural plywood, there are a few key differences that you need to consider before ordering your wood products. This includes factors like comparing different plywood grades, aesthetic qualities, and more practical considerations like whether your plywood can be painted with minimal processing.
To help shed some light on the key differences between structural vs non structural plywood, our team at Cabinet Timbers is here to share their expert insights on how to get the best results when working with either of these different plywood types.
Article Contents between structural vs non structural plywood:
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Let’s start off with a basic definition of structural plywood. As its name suggests, structural plywood refers to any type of plywood that’s manufactured to provide superior strength and durability, making it suitable for a variety of different structural applications.
Structural-grade plywood may boast more wood plies or wood layers to boost the strength and durability of those wood panels. You’re also more likely to find structural plywood products with cores made of denser wood materials like radiata, hoop pine or birch.
As structural plywood isn’t typically used for aesthetic purposes, it’s common to find these plywood products with C-D grade veneer faces. In other words, you can expect your structural plywood materials to boast visible knot holes and other wood defects that have been sanded or filled in with wood fillers. These aesthetic flaws by no means impact the strength and durability of the panels themselves.
Alongside considerations for the types of timber used, the key to the strength of structural plywood actually lies in the quality of its glue bonds. Structural plywood usually boasts A grade glue bonds that help to maintain a uniform density from ply to ply. These A grade bonds are also a vital component in making plywood waterproof, or as waterproof as plywood can be.
However, not all structural plywood is marine grade. That’s because marine plywood is a subcategory of the different types of structural plywood. The structural plywood that’s used to build homes, for instance, doesn’t need to be as waterproof as marine-grade building materials.
And unlike other types of plywood, structural plywood can also come in different flooring grades. Plywood with these unique grades isn’t too dissimilar to your standard plywood panels except for the fact that the planks are fitted with tongue and groove edges that allow for easy floorboard installation.
As you’d expect from the inclusion of flooring grades, structural plywood can be used for interior flooring and cladding as well as the construction of trailer floors, ramps, external stair treads, and even horse stalls and other stabling infrastructure.
Structural plywood can also be used in commercial contexts for shopfitting, office interior and exterior cladding, and in the development of other transportation infrastructure like truck beds and load-bearing pallets.
It’s important to note that there may be differences in the quality and density of structural-grade, interior and exterior plywood. For starters, your exterior-grade structural plywood may boast superior waterproofing capabilities to interior-grade plywood. It’s important to note that interior – grade plywood is constructed with a C-Bond glue and therefore is not waterproof/structural. It’s imperative that you consider qualities like your plywood’s veneer grades and glue bond grades when determining which structural plywood products are most suitable for your unique woodworking or construction project.
Similarly, as structural plywood is manufactured for non-aesthetic purposes, you may find that the surface of these plywood products isn’t very conducive for painting. If you’re looking to paint your plywood for presentation purposes, then be sure to consider the presence of knot holes and other wood defects in a lower grade plywood and how these may impact the quality of your paint job.
If you choose to work with a plywood in an A or B grade such as our Hoop Pine or Birch plywood, the painting process is easy, being a furniture grade product, the plywood has a clean appearance with no putty fillers.
Although painting structural plywood may be tricky, working with this material in other contexts is anything but. The high-density and strength of structural plywood provide a highly forgiving surface when working with nails, screws, and other fasteners. Thanks to the material’s high dimensional stability, carpenters can position nails very close to panel edges without risk of your plywood splitting or cracking. This sturdiness makes structural plywood incredibly easy to work with, allowing for the rapid development of large and structurally sound construction projects.
Unlike structural plywood, non-structural plywood such as interior Bendy Ply is largely intended for lighter purposes, namely in small furniture production and other applications where your finished product isn’t intended to be load-bearing.
This isn’t to say that non-structural plywood is weaker or more brittle than structural plywood. On the contrary, there are plenty of non-structural plywood types that are actually more flexible or malleable than structural plywood. Whilst this flexibility or plywood bendiness doesn’t make some structural plywood types suitable for carrying heavier loads, these bendier plywood panels can be used to make dynamic pieces of furniture and other interior design elements.
As we’ve lightly touched upon, non-structural plywood is often less dense than structural plywood, which ultimately means that these materials can be more flexible. These non-structural plywood products can be more versatile as a result, but their lower dimensional stability also requires a deft and experienced hand to ensure that plywood cutting and other woodworking projects don’t damage panels unnecessarily.
High-quality furniture plywood can also be more expensive in comparison to structural plywood. This is typical because furniture-grade Hoop Pine is cut to maintain uniform, A or B grade veneer faces for presentability. These higher veneer grades and their aesthetic value are characteristic of high-quality non-structural plywood products.
Thanks to their aesthetic grain appearances and uniform textures, furniture-grade non-structural plywood is commonly used in furniture production, with many furniture makers using these materials to produce tables, desks, chairs, benches, cabinets, decorative partitions, and even shelving or decorative interior cladding.
Similarly, prefinished plywood and other more decorative non-structural plywood types can also be used in aesthetic architectural applications, including wall cladding in kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry room spaces, and even wall and ceiling linings in environments like foyers, museums, schools, and other industrial or commercial facilities.
All in all, the debate between structural plywood vs non structural boils down to one key consideration: context. Structural plywood is always going to be better suited to construction projects or other non-aesthetic applications where your plywood is required to be load-bearing. As structural plywood is also made in higher grades, furniture makers desire this product where the edges are left visible with its black glue line.
Non-structural furniture grade products are usually manufactured to be seen, providing a dynamic mix of aesthetic appeal and uniformity in wood grain and texture. If you’re wanting to use plywood for hoarding purposes, then non-structural case grade plywood would be the product of choice as a cost effective option.
Comparing structural vs non structural plywood for your project begins with outlining the scope of that project and working with experts like our team at Cabinet Timbers to find the materials you need. If you have any more questions about our range of structural plywood vs non structural or our range of plywood products, simply contact us via our website and email, or by calling (03) 8353 2222 to speak directly with a friendly member of our team today.
Want to read more about comparing different materials? Then, have a look at our comparative blogs to make an informed decision:
