Pre-finished plywood availability and pricing....

[Justin Jump]

After some exhaustive research, and calling just about every where within a 2 hour drive of Pittsburgh, I need to know if $20 more for a sheet is worth not making the trip to Menards, and are the other


Menards - 3/4" Pre-finished, $55 per sheet (both sides, but could be junk and a 21 day delivery)

Bennett Supply through Allegheny Lumber - 3/4" Pre-finished, $75 per sheet (though only finished one side, that's all I should really need right?)

They also have 1/2", finished both sides for shelves and drawer boxes, $76 per sheet.

They also have 1/4", finished one side for drawer bottom, $45 per sheet.

Do the prices seem fairly reasonable?

THX

[Loren Woirhaye]

Did you go to the library and look up "plywood" in the b2b directory? That's where you'll find the commercial dealers. Whether they will price lower than Menard's in your area I can't say, but in my experience they deal in quality product and the prices are lower than what you find at retail yards for comparable product. Call up the dealers and ask to speak to a salesperson, tell them you're a cabinetmaker needing some material prices. It's a very normal sort of call for them. Ask what they have in pre-finished maple and birch ply in 1/2" and 3/4" and go from there.

Last time I bought 3/4" prefinished maple with one sapwood side and the other with brown heartwood on it I think I paid about $60 a sheet from my local commercial dealer. The core was nicer than the pre-finished birch I see at Home Depot. Probably flatter too. Some commercial dealers don't like to take credit cards, so cash is best, imo.

[Mark Bolton]

If the number you got for the Bennett is for domestic Id say with a middle man you may be doing well. Our material comes from Bennett and we only buy domestic however its wholesale. Im not sure what Loren is talking about with commercial dealers not wanting to take credit cards. That really has about zero to do with it. A commercial dealer (wholesaler) is a wholesaler or they are not. They dont sell to the public, period. If they do they are not a commercial/wholesale dealer. The reason a shop or retailer gets wholesale pricing is because the wholesaler doesnt deal with the headaches of the retail customer. While they will sell small lots, their aim is larger quantities and their pricing schedules clearly reflect that.

The unfortunate fact Justin is that when you have to buy a sheet or two at a time your kind of at the mercy of the retail market. It stinks but its just the facts.

Bennett has anything you want, PF 1 side, PF 2 sides, 1/2, 3/4 and so on. I believe they are moving both import and domestics but we only buy domestics. They were running True North and another brand but have now moved to Columbia Purebond. You get what you pay for.

What material you need just depends on what your doing. You may need 1/2" pf2 for partitions, 3/4 pf2 for shelves, 1/2 or 3/4 pf1 for carcass, and so on. When you cut the 55/sheet pf2 for 3/4 it will likely have rice or egg rolls (or worse) in the core as opposed to wood. Be good if your stomach is grumbling.

[Jerome Stanek]

Have you tried Baird brothers lumber in Canfield OH

[Justin Jump]

@ Mark, the Rep from Bennett told me it was all Domestic.

Two good factors though, the Bennett warehouse in Cheswick is @ 10 minutes from my house, and I can still just pay the retailer, and pick it up at Bennett.

@ Jerome, yes I did call Baird, they told me that they didn't have pre-finished, add $40 to the cost of the cost of the sheet if I want it finished.

[Peter Quinn]

Here I'm paying $77 for PF one side 3/4" maple A-1, $85/sheet for PF2S A-1 maple. So the Bennet price seems about right, the Menards price is low enough I would want to inspect the material first and have the right of refusal. If its a special order and your committed to it, I'd pass unless they can specify the grade and manufacturer very clearly. Often the big boxes sell junk grade from manufacturers you've heard of and its just not worth the hassle even on a full kitchen. You save $20/sheet, need maybe 15 sheets on a medium kitchen....so for $300 on a $15K kitchen you deal with headaches from junk? No value to me. I've seen columbia pure bond at my local big box....same manufacturer and line I source at my hardwood lumber outfit, but its ungraded, complete junk, often delaminating, voids every where, and on top of that its stored poorly then handled rough by the public at large. Ouch.

On PF ply, I prefer PF both sides as it tends to stay flatter in storage. Guys who glue boxes together to make long runs of FF cabs often prefer the PF 1S so they have a glue surface.....I just use polyurethane glue on the PF2S, never fails. So there is and argument either way, just be careful to store your PF1s carefully should you go that way. Ever finish one side of a board and have it stay flat over months?

[Trevor Remster]

I purchased a bunk of this Menards stuff you priced last year just to see for myself. Not good at all. Sheets were warped, too many voids and inconsistent thickness. Wastes way too much time. I can get decent import stuff for about the same price, but I spend the extra for domestic.

[Mark Bolton]

Here I'm paying $77 for PF one side 3/4" maple A-1, $85/sheet for PF2S A-1 maple. So the Bennet price seems about right, the Menards price is low enough I would want to inspect the material first and have the right of refusal. If its a special order and your committed to it, I'd pass unless they can specify the grade and manufacturer very clearly. Often the big boxes sell junk grade from manufacturers you've heard of and its just not worth the hassle even on a full kitchen. You save $20/sheet, need maybe 15 sheets on a medium kitchen....so for $300 on a $15K kitchen you deal with headaches from junk? No value to me. I've seen columbia pure bond at my local big box....same manufacturer and line I source at my hardwood lumber outfit, but its ungraded, complete junk, often delaminating, voids every where, and on top of that its stored poorly then handled rough by the public at large. Ouch.

On PF ply, I prefer PF both sides as it tends to stay flatter in storage. Guys who glue boxes together to make long runs of FF cabs often prefer the PF 1S so they have a glue surface.....I just use polyurethane glue on the PF2S, never fails. So there is and argument either way, just be careful to store your PF1s carefully should you go that way. Ever finish one side of a board and have it stay flat over months?

Agreed on the borg purebond. Why anyone would buy there in the first place is beyond me but at times one has no other choice. To that point a long while back we had lost all distribution of sheetgoods in our area and out of shear desparation we ordered some purebond from the local home crapo and it was junk. Clearly a case where columbia decided (and rightly so) to deliver crap when crap is whats paid for.

All the columbia via bennett has been great quality and, while wholesale, paying no where near these prices. I have a bit of everything on the shelf. 1/2 pf 1 and 2, 3/4 pf 1 and 2, raw, and have never had an issue with flatness and couldnt imagine paying for 2 sides finished if I didnt absolutely need it. Itd be throwing bills into the fire for me.

[Jeff Duncan]

If your buying small quantities it may be worth it for you to find a local cabinet shop willing to sell you a few sheets? I wouldn't trust anything at a box store and $55 seems awfully cheap to me. I don't use a lot of pre-fin but last time I bought I think it was Norbond and roughly $68 a sheet, (wholesale). I always get both sides finished when I do buy it as it does stay flatter and is also easier to use for other things like shelves. Also the price difference is only a couple dollars a sheet IIRC.

Price is important….quality is more so! Most jobs the material cost is only say 1/3 of the cost of the job or sometimes less. So it does not benefit me to save a couple hundred bucks on inferior products. I want a good quality product at a fair price and if you don't know where your product is coming from….that's a problem!

good luck,
JeffD

[Alexandra Wallace]

Have you tried Baird brothers lumber in Canfield OH

I agree,, try this..

[Mike Wilkins]

Not sure which magazine this idea came from, and I have not tried it yet, but it sounds like a great idea. Why not pre-finish your own plywood prior to cutting it down to size. The article described sealing with shellac (wax-free of course), sanding for smoothness, apply the dye/stain, allow it to cure and then finish with whatever finish you like. I have not done the math of pre-finished vs. roll your own, so I don't know if this would work for you. Just appetizers for thought.

[David Hawxhurst]

Not sure which magazine this idea came from, and I have not tried it yet, but it sounds like a great idea. Why not pre-finish your own plywood prior to cutting it down to size. The article described sealing with shellac (wax-free of course), sanding for smoothness, apply the dye/stain, allow it to cure and then finish with whatever finish you like. I have not done the math of pre-finished vs. roll your own, so I don't know if this would work for you. Just appetizers for thought.

when i did the math for me it was cheaper to buy the pre-finished. i feel the pre-finish has a more durable finish than i can apply for a reasonable amount of money.