Plywood

[John A langley]

The other day I was in HD and found some 3/4" birch plywood that was manufactured by Columbia. It is their their pure bond which is formaldehyde free. It cuts well and stays flat. I looked around just out of curiosity and they had some US made 3/4 MDF also, My question is - has all the complaining on the forum about the foreign stuff finally done some good? The Chinese stuff used to run about $30 - $35 a sheet and the Purebond was $42. I would gladly pay the extra money for the Purebond. And it was actually $2 cheaper than my wholesaler had been charging me.

[David Hawxhurst]

not all home depot carry the same items. mine does not as of yet carry any birch plywood. most of the plywood is warped but not all. i think the complaining from the contractors has probably had more effect then the general consumer.

[Larry Frank]

In general, I have stopped buying plywood from HD. The ones around me use these heavy steel racks with several arms sticking out. The plywood lays across them and tends to bow between the arms. Even if there are 50 sheets of plywood, it still seems to bow.

I found another place that has good prices and stores the plywood and sheet good on a flat rack. It makes all the difference in the world when trying to make something nice. I guess if you are buying 1/2 exterior plywood, this will make not difference. However, if you are making cabinets or something else, it makes a huge difference.

[Steve Meliza]

My local HD has hardwood plywood made in the US for about $42-45 a sheet, but their method of storing tends to bend all of the sheets. My last purchase of plywood was from a popular local woodworking supplier and for that same price point I got 11 plys instead of just 7, a large number of poorly patched veneer defects, had to dig through the stack to find flat pieces with minimal defects and still came home with one piece that had a bow, spent an extra 1/2 hour driving, and it was imported. Can't say as I'll be going back for that particular product unless I can't find a flat sheet at one of the two HD's I pass on my way there.

[Troy Turner]

John -

Glad to see some of the box stores are listening to somebody. Used to shop HD, but they're customer service was miserable so I went to Lowes. Their CS is great, but their products are going down hill fast. Maybe they're buying HDs leftover :D I've started going out to our one and only lumber yard. Was suprised to find extremely nice ply and for only a couple dollars more than the box stores.

[Don Jarvie]

The Oak plywood at HD is awful. I bought a 3/4 sheet for some shop cabinet doors and the veneer splinted terrible.

[Steve Kohn]

I know that Menard's is not nationwide. However in my area I buy almost all of my wood from them. They carry several species of hardwood plywood in the stores, and can order what is not in stock. Last weekend I was building a deck for my son and even the PT joists he ordered from Menard's was 10X better than the junk at HD or Lowes.

[Jeremy Milam]

I asked about HD purebond over a year ago http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?164151-HD-Purebond-Birch-Plywood&highlight=

My bookshelves are holding up well over a year later.