Pre-finished Plywood

[Douglas Williams]

Just a quick question. I am planning a kitchen cabinet project. Two sided pre-finished plywood is $20 more per sheet than one sided in my area. Is two sided really needed for stability (warping) or is the One sided fairly stable?

[Jack Lemley]

Just a quick question. I am planning a kitchen cabinet project. Two sided pre-finished plywood is $20 more per sheet than one sided in my area. Is two sided really needed for stability (warping) or is the One sided fairly stable?

Douglas,

Don't stability/warping would be improved with 2 sided finish cause if you got moisture problems then the ply is going to warp over time regardless. I would only pay the extra $20 if I had a specific need for both sides to be exposed to view. In the cabinets I have built there has always been at least one hidden side, ie where used on the end of a carcass then the exterior was covered with 1/4 in ply the same species as the face frames etc.

My two cents.

Jack

[Bruce Wrenn]

Prefinished on two sides, eliminates any chance of staining, or color matching.

[Matt Meiser]

But you'll need 2-sided for all your shelves. I've gotten a fair amount of shelves out off the offcuts from the rest so the savings of buying a mix might not be what you think.

[Jack Lemley]

But you'll need 2-sided for all your shelves. I've gotten a fair amount of shelves out off the offcuts from the rest so the savings of buying a mix might not be what you think.

Matt,

Good point! I didn't think about the shelves I just had carcass construction in mind.

Jack

[Jim Becker]

But you'll need 2-sided for all your shelves. I've gotten a fair amount of shelves out off the offcuts from the rest so the savings of buying a mix might not be what you think.
Yea, this is a good point that Matt makes! For $20 more, it will save you oodles of time and eliminate the need to "spray into a box". (I don't usually buy pre-finished material, but when I'm doing carcass construction, I tend to pre-finish components knocked down before assembly for exactly this reason)

[Peter Quinn]

Depends on your construction. We make boxes at work where you dado and screw three smaller boxes, then screw and glue these into one long carcus, all connected with one long FF. so we need the one sides pre finished for that, 2 sided for shelves and a few odd things. We always use finished ends, so it's a moot point there. I like two sided for moist areas like bathroom cabs or vanities, or next to a dishwasher, but otherwise the horizontal partitions should resist warping for most boxes. If you buy 1 sided, get just what you need, store it flat in a dry location, keep the unfinished faces face to face, use it quick. It will warp to the point of difficult to work with in short order if given a chance IME.

[Douglas Williams]

Thanks for the feedback. I was just curious as to the stability of one sided versus two sided.

[Peter Kelly]

Unless you're planning on buying a full skid of material, cutting and then assembling immediately, I'd get the 2-sided stuff. Plywood sheets are warped enough as it is these days, not worth compounding the problem by unbalancing them imo.

[Larry Fox]

I have had about 10-12 sheets of pre-finished, one-side-only ply on hand for over a year now and they are showing absolutely no signs of warping whatsoever. I store them horizontally in a stack and when I pull one it is pretty much as flat as the day I brought it into the shop. Points others have raised about getting the finished-both-sides to give you some flexibility for stuff like shelves makes a lot of sense but if you use a lot of it I am not sure it makes $20 per sheet worth of sense. I only buy as much of the two-sided stuff as I need for a project. I typically buy the lumber-core stuff from Russell Plywood and it is really, really nice stuff to work with - as ply goes of course. It has surprisingly few (almost no) voids and machines very well.

[Jefferey Scott]

I used finished 2 sides 3/4" for my carcass sides tops and bottoms. For the backs of the cabinets I used finished 1 side 1/2" because that's all my supplier had in stock in that thickness. I haven't had any warpage issues with either plywood. I would use 2 sided on everything if I could just for a little extra peace of mind. It will also save you so much time finishing. Check out my construction blog if you want to see how I used these materials in my own build. (Click on my name). And best of luck with your project!

[Jeff Duncan]

I buy 2 sides myself as it just seems like I'll have a better chance of using all the little scrap pieces. Though I don't think it's quite that much a price difference in my area.....has been a long time since I checked? Anyway what you have to ask yourself is what are you really saving on your overall project cost, and what are you going to do with the leftovers? As said small pieces can be used for shelves if 2 sided, not so much single sided.

good luck,
JeffD

[Dave Lewis]

I bought several sheets of pre-finished maple for a walk-in closet last year - about 4 double and 2 single.. I'd buy get double again if only you can pick best grain and/or avoid slight runs on edges. Not everything is perfect all the time...

My purchase was through Highland Hardwoods - Brentwood, NH. Reputable and volume dealer.

[Mike Goetzke]

Don't know if you have a Menard's close but this past weekend I found two sided UV hardened maple ply for $37 a sheet. It was less expensive than the unfinished sheets.

Mike