Menard's Plywood - Quality?

[Marty Tippin]

Curious if anyone has experience with the various hardwood plywoods from Menard's and whether the quality is any better than the typical Big Box store?

I've learned my lesson on buying hardwood ply at Lowe's and Home Depot but haven't tried Menard's yet...

[Martin Wasner]

My experience is less than stellar. I'd say buckle up and get ready for more disappointment.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Lowes is about a mile from me.
Home Depot is about 10 miles from me.
Menards is about 30 miles from me.

I'll drive past Lowes and Home Depot to go to Menards to buy their "stock junk" ply, but, only if it's on sale.

Pity - Home Depot stocked some decent American stuff for a short time. Now they went back to eh Chi-Ply that's so cuddly and warm and makes me feel all sugary and spice inside,,,,,,,(yes - that's heavy sarcasm)

[Randy Rose]

Hartville Hardware is 20+ min. from my house. Lowes is 7, I visit both frequently. The 3/4 Maple ply at Lowes for $47 per sheet is every bit as nice as that at Hartville and $20 cheaper. Some of my local Lowes products are crappy, some are quite good. As in everything else it pays to shop around. ( and I`m sure this varies with location) Menards is 40+ minutes, haven`t really shopped wood there. Will pay attention next time, thanks for the idea.

[Mike Berrevoets]

I've found the USA plywood at menards to be decent enough for some things. I just used about a dozen sheets of 3/4 birch ply for our kitchen cabinets and it stayed flat and there were only a few small voids and they were pretty infrequent. I avoid the Chinese plywood as I bought it once and it was full of large voids and made my eyes burn when cutting it.

The USA Menards ply isn't as nice as other stuff that costs twice as much but I've found it is still good enough for some things. For anything that is going to get stained or a clear finish and I spring for the good stuff.

I won't touch the Home Depot or lowes plywood.

[Randy Henry]

You have a gem in your backyard, Liberty Hardwoods. They have domestic plywood.

[Marty Tippin]

You have a gem in your backyard, Liberty Hardwoods. They have domestic plywood.

True, and I buy a fair amount from Metro Hardwoods (Liberty Hardwoods' over-priced retail outlet). Menard's is 60 miles away in Sedalia, MO so it's not "on the way" unless I'm visiting family. I love to stop in at Menard's whenever I'm in the area - where else can you get milk, eggs, construction adhesive, trailer lights and plywood all in in one store??

So I stopped by Menard's this afternoon and ended up buying 3 sheets of 3/4" UV coated ("pre-finished") birch "TigerPly" for $44.99 each - I had to dig through all 15 sheets in the stack to find 3 that were mostly flat. I don't recall seeing this stuff locally - it's like Baltic Birch, 11 plies total, and has a hard, clear finish on both sides. http://www.menards.com/main/p-1444441908132-c-13334.htm?tid=-7903103798448813983

I also bought a sheet of 1/2" birch plywood ("Made in USA") and a sheet of 3/4" MDO-veneer plywood. The 1/2" birch seems to be good quality and was nice and flat; the MDO-veneer is an experiment to see whether I like it or not.

I'm working on an outfeed table from FWW plans, so this stuff isn't going into furniture or anything fancy. I didn't look too closely at the maple and oak hardwood plywood that they had, but I think it was all either B2 or C3 grade so it's not top-notch furniture quality but would probably work for cabinets, etc.

The plywood will sit for a few days in my shop and either stay flat or twist up like a pretzel. And that will let me know whether I'll be making another purchase there or not... ;-)

[Larry Frank]

My Menards sells Aruaco Plywood which is exceptional quality. I think it us one of the best common plywood s and had very few voids and good surface. I bought about 20 sheets of the 3/4 and a bunch of the 1/2" to build my shop cabinets. It was great stuff.

The second thing about Menards is that they store the plywood flat and not on the steel arms like HD and Lowe's. The arms very frequently give the plywood not very flat.

[Robert Parent]

I have thus far had pretty good luck with the B2 grade plywood from Menards. I have used mostly Maple and Birch in 1/2 and 3/4 sizes. A couple years ago I did get one not so good sheet of 1/2 Birch (veneer separated) but the everything else has been much better than what I have picked up from HD and other places. This year I have used about 40 sheets purchased at various times and all have been fine. I have grown to really like Menards for most things.

Robert

[Ole Anderson]

Just at HD, they had 3/4" Oak edge stamped "Columbia Purebond" "Made in USA". Didn't see any gaps on the end or edges in about a dozen sheets. Need some for redoing my pool table skirt and for some bookshelves for my rec room. Any bad experiences with it? $50/ sheet.

[Chris Hachet]

My experience is less than stellar. I'd say buckle up and get ready for more disappointment.

I only buy American made plywood from a reputable vendor. I never have a single problem with it.

[Marty Tippin]

Just at HD, they had 3/4" Oak edge stamped "Columbia Purebond" "Made in USA". Didn't see any gaps on the end or edges in about a dozen sheets. Need some for redoing my pool table skirt and for some bookshelves for my rec room. Any bad experiences with it? $50/ sheet.

Looks like this plywood, as with so many other items, is a "Home Depot Exclusive" (translation: made specifically for HD, to hit a specific price point regardless of quality).
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Columbia-Forest-Products-3-4-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-PureBond-Red-Oak-Plywood-165956/100046409 - reviews are not encouraging.

[Rich Riddle]

Lowe's and Home Depot would earn an "F" for a grade; Menard's would merit perhaps a "D." I pay more and purchase at a real lumber yard. Hopefully that is possible in your case.

[Rich Riddle]

Just noticed you are from Kansas City. They had a Paxton's, Sweet Lumber, and many other local stores that sold decent plywood when I lived there in the early 2000's and when growing up.

[Ronald Blue]

Menards currently has their various hardwood plywoods on sale through the 17th and it clearly states in the description American made. I have no experience with it. Just letting anyone know who has a need for it that might be in reasonable distance of a Menards that it might be worth a look.

[Mike Circo]

My Menards sells Aruaco Plywood which is exceptional quality. I think it us one of the best common plywood s and had very few voids and good surface. I bought about 20 sheets of the 3/4 and a bunch of the 1/2" to build my shop cabinets. It was great stuff.

The second thing about Menards is that they store the plywood flat and not on the steel arms like HD and Lowe's. The arms very frequently give the plywood not very flat.

This exactly my experience. Menard's definitely stores it better by putting it in flat racks supported the entire length. That avoids the "potato chip" plywood I usually see at Home Depot.
I never looked at the exact brand, but I have had very good luck with their maple and birch plywoods. Stay very flat and have one good surface. The backs are questionable, but for most uses that's not an issue.

[Ole Anderson]

Menards currently has their various hardwood plywoods on sale through the 17th and it clearly states in the description American made. I have no experience with it. Just letting anyone know who has a need for it that might be in reasonable distance of a Menards that it might be worth a look. Might have to make a trip.
My closest store only has 2 sheets left per the website, likely picked over, plus I need 3 sheets. Another 17 miles to next store which has 30 sheets, not too bad. Their specs show it is 13 ply with poplar plies and 1/64" plain sliced red oak veneer on the good side, likely rotary on the back, still ok for me.

[Marty Tippin]

Just wanted to follow up on the Menard's plywood I bought a week or so ago.

The 3/4" pre-finished birch "TigerPly" was great to work with for my outfeed table. 13 plies, so it's a lot like Baltic Birch. I didn't encounter any voids anywhere and for the most part, the panel stayed as flat as it was when I bought it. The finish on the plywood turns out to be easy to scratch, so you have to be careful when working with it but otherwise, it's like pretty much any other plywood I've ever used.

The sheet of 3/4" MDO-veneer plywood (by Roseburg if anyone cares to look it up) was easy to use and I also didn't find any voids in it. I used it for the top of the outfeed table.

And the sheet of 1/2" American-made birch plywood that I used for the drawer boxes was probably the most disappointing - it seems like a good plywood, but I used 1/4" rabbets and 1/4" dado grooves, inset about 1/4" from the edge of the plywood and found that the 1/4" between the groove and the edge basically disintegrated on about half the pieces I cut. Maybe I should have used Baltic Birch for the drawer boxes, I don't know, but it's been a little bit of a challenge to get this stuff assembled well. Overall, the boxes will come out just fine but it was more of a challenge than I expected.

So overall, I'm happy with my purchase from Menard's - though all I wanted was shop-quality plywood. I don't think I'd use any of the material I bought for kitchen cabinets or other "show" pieces but it works fine for what I needed. And I'm not sure I'll make a special trip down there (it's 60 miles from home) unless it's for a big project - the local hardwood supplier, while overpriced, has good quality material that I can get more easily.

[Scott Underwood]

I worked at Home Depot for a number of years, and on occasion, they get in some "one time deal" products. A few weeks ago I picked up a couple of sheets of really nice 3/4" AC Pine for $22 a sheet. The work bench I built called for ripping the sheets into 3.5 inch sheets and laminating them into a 3.5 x 3.5 post. I didn't find any voids bigger than a dime, and there were very few of them.

They had MDF core birch ply a few years ago that had close to a 1/8" veneer. I wish I would have bought some of that for speaker building, but was living in an apartment at the time.

The regular BC ply and Hardwood ply they carry is pretty much junk. I don't think I ever cut a sheet of oak ply there on the panel saw without destroying the paper thin veneer.

[Ole Anderson]

I made it to Menard's and was quite surprised to find they had three different types of 3/4" Oak ply to choose from: MDF core with 1/64" veneer, 13 ply with 1/64" veneer and 7 ply with 1/32" veneer. I was hoping the 13 ply was nicely done like baltic birch, but the interior plys were done very poorly in some cases overlapping and the thin veneer just didn't cut it. Went with the 7 ply as I was banding edges with 3/4" solid Oak and needed to flush cut and sand it smooth. Boards were flat with a small amount (an inch or less) of loose veneer at the end of 2 of the sheets. Some minor voids but nothing to get worked up about as I was not going to have any edges exposed. I could have gone to my local supplier and gotten better quality, but at nearly twice the price.

Years ago I got some 3/4" Oak ply at HD that had a dense particle board like (not MDF) interior with a thick rotary cut ply just under the thick veneer. Really nice to work with. I would love a truckload of that.

[Scott Underwood]

I made it to Menard's and was quite surprised to find they had three different types of 3/4" Oak ply to choose from: MDF core with 1/64" veneer, 13 ply with 1/64" veneer and 7 ply with 1/32" veneer. I was hoping the 13 ply was nicely done like baltic birch, but the interior plys were done very poorly in some cases overlapping and the thin veneer just didn't cut it. Went with the 7 ply as I was banding edges with 3/4" solid Oak and needed to flush cut and sand it smooth. Boards were flat with a small amount (an inch or less) of loose veneer at the end of 2 of the sheets. Some minor voids but nothing to get worked up about as I was not going to have any edges exposed. I could have gone to my local supplier and gotten better quality, but at nearly twice the price.

Years ago I got some 3/4" Oak ply at HD that had a dense particle board like (not MDF) interior with a thick rotary cut ply just under the thick veneer. Really nice to work with. I would love a truckload of that.

That stuff was the old Sandeply before they switched to a 7 ply version that is pretty much garbage.

[Henry Kramer]

I have found that the Menards is the cleanest and most organized of the three (HD and Lowes) and that makes a difference to me too. No lumber thrown all over the place like nobody cares.

[John A langley]

Marty is Lawrence closer to you

[Marty Tippin]

Marty is Lawrence closer to you


No, I'm on the east side of KC. Plus I'm allergic to kansas... ;-)

[John A langley]

I'm not a big fan of Missouri The roads are bad