HD/Lowes Plywood

[Dave Lame]

OK, I know Baltic birch is good. I use a lot of it.
I also know HD/Lowes hardwood plywood is not as good.
But way cheaper.

For some of my projects the lower cost is quite attractive.

I have heard or read of multiple horror stories. Are are these horror stories current or way out of date? Representative or one in a thousand?

Has anybody had relatively recent experiences these products?

Dave

[Greg Berry313]

Just used some 3/4 from Lowes and it was not the best. Found a void where I was drilling the pilot hole for hinges and it pushed through the other side a little. Home depot here has better birch and oak than lowes. A lot of filled spots also but I had gift cards. I will be buying the next sheets from our local hardware store for $33 a sheet.

[Tim Howell]

I looked at HD & Lowes. It was paper thin veneer (est . . .015-.020) and had a gray tint. Every piece had chips around the edges andvoids. So I coughed up $85.00 + $15.00 s/h and bought a sheet of Red Oak from acabinet shop, grade B-2.
After cutting it to size and a close inspection I realized 1/3 of the face side veneer looked like it wasdamaged in a planner, rotary cutting or sanding as it has a line across it andthe pore grain torn out in places. It is wavy in thickness from .730 to .754 –voids – and 4 small knots on the face. The veneer looks about .025. I couldhave bought solid stock for the price! Poor quality from a Domestic mfg. – sad!
I’ve learned a lot lately.. Next time I will buy a plywood that isveneer in the center (strength) outside layer is MDF (flat =smoother moreuniform surface for the face veneer which is thin away.)
On the sheet I bought – I believe it was the thin faceveneer over a louse veneer build that caused the pore tear out. I will not cough up for a sight unseen sheetagain.
Looks like the domestic plywood mfg.’s are setting themselvesup to be a GM – what a shame.
Note you can see a photo of my ply sheet under "finishing" / Grain filling red oak plywood. - here on the forum -

[Brent VanFossen]

I'm using HD cabinet grade 3/4-inch plywood for some cabinets I'm building. I haven't found any voids larger than 1/2 inch or so. That's in about half a dozen sheets recently. About $25 per.

[Tim Howell]

At my location N Central Fla it's 44.97 for 3/4" 4x8 sheet graded C-3. HD reviews are bad - so was my visual. Way south here so our stock may be the last junk to land. When you ask hardwood here they take you to hardie board siding!

[Alan Bienlein]

At my local Home Depot they are carrying made in the USA 3/4" oak and birch plywood now for $44 a sheet.

[Tony Zaffuto]

I used two pieces of Lowes "best" 3/4" plywood. It was imported from China and looked like "white wood". The wood was very soft, and had many voids throughout the pieces. The worst problem, was the very fine white powder generated during sawing (can't call it saw dust, because it wasn't like any sawdust I've ever seen). You need a dust mask and as fine as the particles were, it better be a good one.

The plywood was a true 3/4" thick, and I had issues with it de-laminating through the projects. Cost was either $44.95 or $49.95 per sheet (can't remember) and I would never buy this crap again.

[Carl Beckett]

I have had mixed results.

A few times I have been able to purchase very good material at a good price (a couple times I got the cabinet grade, on sale, and it was great stuff). Other times, the price was just 'average', and the material 'below average' (chips, voids, and a very soft outside veneer)

Also I have visited the local lumber yards. Sometimes they get a nice batch of material and discount it to move it. This has been the best, but not always available (just have to wait until they have a good deal).

I have lived in the Northwest, Midwest, and now New England. Definitely regional variation, even at the big box. New England is the worst (everything here costs, is more difficult to find, and less convenient to procure).

So I have to advise - if you want to save $, shop around. No single answer.

If you want to ensure good quality, you are going to have to step it up a bit in price (and for this I would start with the local lumber yards). (sometimes if you have a contractor friend you can buy through you can get a decent discount).

[Jefferey Scott]

I've used Home Depot's 3/4" Sandeply which is from Ecaudor I believe. It's face veneer was very smooth, a little softer than hardwood birch or maple ply but void free. I built some pantry cabinets with it and was satisfied for the $40 a sheet I paid for it. The face veneer is thicker than most of the hardwood ply I've seen lately too.

[Jamie Buxton]

I think the issue with the giant stores is that they're trying to get the best price, and they have the buying power to go anywhere in the world to get it. They also stock a zillion products, and don't thoughtfully examine each one. All of that means a bean counter is making the purchase decision, not a woodworker. This month they may be getting a good deal on a good product from one place, but next month the plywood may be coming from the other side of the world. This means that broad generalizations like "HD is bad" or "Lowes is good" don't hold. You really have to examine the products available at the time you purchase. Feel around on the surface for interior voids. Stand the sheet on edge and examine for flatness. Or if you're lucky, shop at a lumber dealer who's only in that business. They'll pay more attention quality. As it happens in my town, the good lumber dealers are almost the same price as HD.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Neither Lowes nor Home Depot around me carries plywood.
What they carry is big giant thick unsalted potato chips...

HD garbage is a domestic brand. Lowes carries a Chinese brand.
Menards carries both foreign and domestic junk.

None carry full 4'x 8' sheets.
They vary in width from 46" to 47 and a fraction.

Actual thickness of the sheets varies - even across an individual sheet.

Make sure you measure what you buy so it doesn't bite you later on.

The red oak appears to be red oak.

The "white stuff" is some sort of mystery wood.
@ Menards they call it birch - which it looks like it might be.
@ Lowes and Home Depot, I forget what they call it. I believe they just might call it "white" or something similar.

[Steve Baumgartner]

I've had mixed results at HD. The stuff itself can be very different depending on when I look. Sometimes it's the same US or Canadian as other stores, and sometimes it's Chinese or other Asian. It seems that all the makers have gone to paper-thin face veneer, regardless of the source. The unpredictability of metric vs imperial thickness drives me nuts! But, the biggest problem with the store near me is their poor handling of the stock. Virtually every sheet is warped and/or scarred.

[Prashun Patel]

I've never understood the vehemence against HD/LWS plywood. I've bought plenty from both. I've also bought 'quality' plywood from higher end dealers when the situation demands. But for most shop projects or cabinet interiors/backs, I haven't had a problem with the BORG stuff.

[Myk Rian]

My son and I walked through HD the other day. Went by the pile of 1/2" ply, only to see the second sheet from the top bowed 6-8". Unbelievable.
Buyer beware.

[Conrad Fiore]

When at HD, look for the Pure Bond brand by Columbia Forest Products. Solid veneer core with few or no voids and extremely flat. Clean face with a very good reverse side. The face veneer is per industry standard thickness. No "red glue" coming through to the face. Available in the NJ area in red oak, birch and maple.

[Jay Jeffery]

Having not had great luck with borg plywood, I finally drove across town this month to buy a sheet of domestic red oak plywood from a hardwood dealer. It ran about $60/sheet versus the $45 at Lowes. I drove past a handfull of BORGs on the way to the hardwood dealer, got stuck in traffic and it took half an hour at least just for the transactiuon. I get cutting some dadoes in it, smell a familar smell I was not expecting, and realize that the plys are made of PINE!

There must be some sort of grading of plywood I don't understand. Whatever it is not simply "Hardwood dealer > BORG" or "More $ > cheaper."

I'm no wood grading expert, but when I bought a sheet of "Red Oak" plywood, I expected an oak veneer over some kind of decidous plys.

Okay, I'm done ranting, but not done learning.

One thing I will say about the BORG set up is that the panel can be really nice. With what it takes to break down sheet goods in my shop, having 4 free cuts and any more I want at 25 cents/cut makes life much easier.

[glenn bradley]

Import birch ply at my yard is under $30 per sheet for 3/4". Does your BB ply source carry "shop grade" or other low end sheetgoods? The reason I ask is that the worst stuff I've seen at my chosen lumber yards is better than the best stuff I see at the BORG around here (this varies by region). Just a thought. Just because you don't want high-end stuff doesn't mean your yard isn't the place to shop ;-)

[johnny means]

Jay, a large part of the plywood equation is the preservation and extension of resources. There is only do much clear red oak available for harvest and a lot if demand. Using it as inner plies would essentially waste several pretty oak faces for every sheet produced. Hardwoods are slow growing, thus difficult to replenish. Pine on the other hand is fast growing and relatively easy to replace. Dont feel as though pine core is an inferior product. The differences in quality have more to do with the actual construction of the core than the material used better products will will have inner cores that are made from trimmed and seamed leaves. Each later will be void free with nice tight seams.when seem from the edge your plies will look near, even, and parallel. Garbage is made by throwing a bunch o of untrimmed leaves into a glue soaked pile between trip face veneers leaving lots of overlapping leaves and voids. This haphazard construction is evident when seen from the edge. Better plywood us also sanded before the face is applied, so as to hide the grain of the substrate

What you were thinking of does exist. But, its a premium over the premium. Expect to pay a couple of hundred bucks a sheet for clear maple. Appleply is the brand that comes to my mind. In many ways this type out product is actually better than solid wood.

[Will Winder]

Apparently I got lucky when buying plywood this weekend, I don't buy very much plywood so I was surprised to read all these stories after my good experience.

I got some of the BORG's top end plywood, it was 1/2" Maple Veneer (labeled 12mm) and cost $45 after tax. They cut it up into the 6 rectangles I needed and I didn't see any voids along the edges. When constructing the first drawer I made dados for the bottom and still saw no defects. The veneer was very thin but at this point its hard to expect otherwise. It was made in China.

[Jerome Hanby]

I think what they actually stock is regional. For example, I've never seen anything other than oak and birch as far as hardwood plywood at the borgs in Birmingham...


Apparently I got lucky when buying plywood this weekend, I don't buy very much plywood so I was surprised to read all these stories after my good experience.

I got some of the BORG's top end plywood, it was 1/2" Maple Veneer (labeled 12mm) and cost $45 after tax. They cut it up into the 6 rectangles I needed and I didn't see any voids along the edges. When constructing the first drawer I made dados for the bottom and still saw no defects. The veneer was very thin but at this point its hard to expect otherwise. It was made in China.

[Fred Voorhees]

Wow....I haven't been on here with any kind of regularity for months on end... but it seems like some things never change.....people still ranting over the HD and Lowes plywood issue. At this point...I would think that anyone that has been a member of this forum for any length of time has been exposed to this issue and is fully knowledgable about the risks and gambles of dealing with the lower cost big box store plywood. Seems as if the price is still a factor in purchases. Me, I haven't bought any in a while, but when I did...I didn't have that bad of an experience with it. But darn man.....you guys are still going back to the well of risks and purchasing this stuff....at this point...I would think that your allowance for complaining is pretty much squandered.

[Bruce Wrenn]

When at HD, look for the Pure Bond brand by Columbia Forest Products. Solid veneer core with few or no voids and extremely flat. Clean face with a very good reverse side. The face veneer is per industry standard thickness. No "red glue" coming through to the face. Available in the NJ area in red oak, birch and maple.Here in NC, where Columbia Forest Products makes a lot of HD's plywood, we can only get Red Oak and Birch. HD stocks a C-3 grade, also know as "shop" in these veneers. Once in while, but not very often my local HD will get a unit of Maple in. Everything in Lowes here is from China.

[Jim Summers]

If I am working with 3/4" stuff, I generally just buy solid wood and joint/plane/glue to the dimensions necessary. The cost is basically the same and plus I generally have some useful scrap or for sure some good firewood. But for me time is not part of the cost equation.

HTH

[Ole Anderson]

If I am working with 3/4" stuff, I generally just buy solid wood and joint/plane/glue to the dimensions necessary. The cost is basically the same and plus I generally have some useful scrap or for sure some good firewood. But for me time is not part of the cost equation.

HTH

Cost is the same? You have got to be kidding.

Anybody see any of the 13 ply 3/4" cabinet grade (even chinese) at the BORG recently?

[Jay Jeffery]

Cost is the same? You have got to be kidding.

You mean you can't get solid hardwood for about $1/bf?

My local Rockler has been getting in pallets full of 2-4ft long pieces of wood they sell for $1/board. Not board foot, but board. Most of it is hardwood like red oak, maple, and poplar. Most of it is milled 1X with some thicker stuff that isn't. A couple of times I have been lucky enough to be the first to root through the pile and got oak boards 6-12 inches wide. That works out to be cheaper than oak plywood.

[Ole Anderson]

You mean you can't get solid hardwood for about $1/bf?


A buck a foot for decent boards is crazy low. Around here you pay twice that for #1 common soft maple or poplar unless you get into 100 bf or larger discounts or sel & btr red oak in 500 bf orders. Still for big flat panels I prefer ply as it is dimensionally more stable. Now big raised panels is another story...

[scott vroom]

The only plywood I purchase from HD is sheathing for construction applications. It's crap and twisted like a potato chip but usable for external wall sheathing and cheap $. One poster mentioned oak or birch 3/4" for $44. My first question would be whether the hardwood veneer is plain sawed or spiral cut.....I suspect the later, which makes it junk to me.

[Jeff Duncan]

Plywood is graded.....usually, box stores don't always carry material which shows the grade, if it has one, your buying. When I order material I can often order the grade of face veneer I want. I also specify only North American products. Generally the lowest quality material my suppliers stock is B, I think the box stores carry a lot of C.

Short answer is to look for yourself. If it looks reasonably flat and clean, then you may be OK. Of course it also depends on what your building. If it's cabinets for the shop then you don't need to be as picky as if your building a product for someone.

FWIW I would never consider building cabinets out of solid wood....too unstable and wasteful IMHO. Fine furniture has been using veneer forever, why re-invent the wheel?

good luck,
JeffD

[Bryan Slimp]

Same here. I bought fairly good ply at Lowes a couple of years ago. Went back this summer to eyeball the stock and the 1/4 probably had a 12 inch curl from center to edges, and 3/4 probably bent up 4 inches center to edges.

Menards is far and away better than the other two here.

[Albert T. Tappman]

I wonder if anybody has tried ordering Columbia Forest Products Purebond hardwood plywood from HD? Supposedly you can go to the "Pro Desk", whatever that is, and order anything listed on this product sheet (http://homedepotpurebond.com/Content/Documents/HomeDepot_SpecialOrderPlywoodGuide.pdf). I think it's all made at a mill in North Carolina, using North American timber.

I was thinking of trying to order some MDF-core plywood this way, since the two lumberyards where I live don't carry it and won't try to get it for me.

[Jim Summers]

Cost is the same? You have got to be kidding.

Anybody see any of the 13 ply 3/4" cabinet grade (even chinese) at the BORG recently?


I forgot to further qualify, I have been working with cherry for the most part lately. The borgs here don't sell any type of cherry ply. So where I get my solid wood, the plywood they sell is about the same for the equivalent solid in bf. The veneer is to thin for me on the ply you get from borgs. So probably borg ply is cheaper than solid wood route.

[Rick Moyer]

I forgot to further qualify, I have been working with cherry for the most part lately. The borgs here don't sell any type of cherry ply. So where I get my solid wood, the plywood they sell is about the same for the equivalent solid in bf. The veneer is to thin for me on the ply you get from borgs. So probably borg ply is cheaper than solid wood route.
Assuming $48/sht that's $2/bf. Can you buy cherry lumber for that where you are?

[Neil Brooks]

I wonder if anybody has tried ordering Columbia Forest Products Purebond hardwood plywood from HD?

Somebody, above mentioned it.

Last night, I was watching a taped episode of Hometime, and -- as they toured a fairly substantial cabinet shop -- I noticed PureBond was the brand THEY were using. I took notice. Sure, they'd be driven by price, but ... probably not if it was garbage.

I plan on trying it, on my next furniture piece.....

[Prashun Patel]

I will say that on 'furniture' that might require some flushing of edge banding, then the thicker veneers of quality ply is really desirable. Even on the times I've found decent oak/maple ply @ HD, I have experienced sand-thru. Well worth the extra price to buy quality here.

[Kyle Brooks]

I seen the local custom cabinet guy at his other job the other day and said something to him about how I was not happy with the oak plywood at Manards. He said to me, "you are not using that cheap crap are you?" I told him not any more but I need to find some place I can get some good quality lumber and plywood. He told me to let him know what I need. He can order it with his that he gets out of KC. Might be a little more but I know it is twice the quality of the big box stores around. The other thing he did say was that he could get about anything. Quartersawn white oak, walnut, baltic birch, all for what I considered not a reasonable price. Anyhow my two cents. I'm not happy with the big box stores on their lumber and plywood either. I think a lot of it is leftover crap or the cheapest it can be made.

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> Might be a little more but I know it is twice the quality of the big box stores around.

The big box stores sell what is generically known as "cabinet" grade veneered plywood. It's face grades are generally "BC" and it's not intended for high grade furniture. A cabinet shop will generally be buying "furniture" grade veneered plywood with face veneers graded "AA" or "AB". That's the reason the plywood at the big boxes is less expensive.

[Tim Howell]

The B-2 plywood I ordered from a cabinet shop 85.00+15s/h ( note my post above) was from Columbia Forest Products. Next time I will use the MDF core as much as I hate the stuff. I think you will get a more even veneer face and less chance of the nasty pore tears I got in the B-2 grade due to the variations in the underlying core veneer. There is a photo of my ply in the finishing section here under "Grain filling red oak plywood"

[Ole Anderson]

I remember years ago I got some Oak ply from the BORG that had a OSB or particleboard core, one layer of pine or fir on each side with a Oak final ply of measurable thickness. I would use that again in a heartbeat. And I still have some smaller pieces of their 13 ply Chinese birch at worked well for shop jigs and my router table.

[fred klotz]

Columbia Plywood has a plant in Klamath Falls Oregon, near me. A tenant in my rental worked for them and when my home burnt down, Columbia donated a truckload (a 1 1/2 ton truckload) of plywood to me for subflooring. I knew them to make quality plywood, and figured it would be damaged, blows, etc. It was all first quality, I couldn't use it for subfloor and have used it for many projects. The sheets in my lumber shed in storage almost 20 years later, are still flat and straight. I highly recommend their product.

[earl wojciechowski]

I just finished building a chopsaw stand and some cabinets for my workshop. I had used 3/4 ply from Lowes. For what I was making, this wood was adequate. As has already been mentioned the top veneer layer is exceedingly thin. Also, had to be careful choosing the sheets, as some were really bad. I did have one corner of one sheet separate. The wood also had this weird tint and when I applied the finish, there was some blue bleed thru. Having said all this, the price was right for shop furniture. I definitely would not use either Lowes or HD for furniture quality items. I would spend the extra $$$ and go to my local lumber store to buy what I needed. Hope this helps.

Earl

[Joe Gard]

Greg,

I know this quote is a couple of years old, but I too live in League City and am wondering which local hardware store you are buying from? I'm looking for some Oak plywood to use on a kitchen island i'm building.

thanks in advance
Joe Gard


Just used some 3/4 from Lowes and it was not the best. Found a void where I was drilling the pilot hole for hinges and it pushed through the other side a little. Home depot here has better birch and oak than lowes. A lot of filled spots also but I had gift cards. I will be buying the next sheets from our local hardware store for $33 a sheet.

[Bob Potter]

Here in Iowa it's Menards for good plywood. 3/4 x 48 x 96 red oak @$ 49.00 per sheet and $ 39.00 when on sale. Much better than HD or Lowes. Also the same for birch.

Bob

[David Ragan]

I bought the best 'Baltic birch' big box had, and spent hours and hours filling and sanding cause it was painted glossy black. Never again. too many voids, etc.

the local lumber yard has much better plywood with no/minimal voids. when I buy it for jigs, and for anything beyond crude rough stuff, it will be come from lumber yard. The purpose of plywood is to be stable, and less hassle in the long run. If I make something and it looks crappy on the edge (voids) I am not happy with it. You get what you pay for 98% of the time.

[Mike Schuch]

I buy the same grade plywood that HD/Lowes carries at pretty much the same price (some times cheaper) from my local lumber yard and get a much better product. The sheets at my local lumber yard are stored flat and stay flat when working on them. Every sheet I have ever gotten from HD/Lowes has always had a considerable bow in it making it much tougher to work with.

The last time I did a counter top I did it with plywood from the local lumber yard but ended up one sheet short. The lumber yard was closed so I bought one sheet from Home Depot on a Sunday to finish the sub-counter. I put the one sheet from Home Depot on the counter; then I tore it off and replaced it with a sheet from the lumber yard the following day. No matter how hard I tried I could not get the Home Depot plywood to lay flat!

Home Depot/Lowes just sells junk when it comes to wood!