What is Plywood?

What is Plywood?

Plywood is a durable, useful and long-lasting building material. It is frequently used in furniture design and construction industry. It is created by joining several thin wooden boards with glue. The thickness of plywood varies between 3-50 mm and its useful structure comes from this. It is resistant to bad weather conditions. It is often preferred in building materials. Since plywood is a material produced using different trees, its varieties are many. For example, those produced from poplar wood are called poplar plywood. In addition to these, it is divided into many varieties such as oak, pine, beech, flexible, birch, soundproof.

When the fibers of the overlapping coatings are combined perpendicular to each other and in different directions, their strength increases and is less affected by moisture. Plywood is a product generally used in the construction industry and it is expected to show water resistance and high strength in this sector. Plywoods are especially used in the preparation of concrete molds due to their durable structure. It is a very suitable material for unplastered formwork systems and provides comfortable use.

The material with high mechanical strength has a light structure. The outer layers are positioned to be parallel to the long dimensions of the panel. The layers merge perpendicular to each other. Thus, the resistance increases and resistance against shock effects is provided.

The use of plywoods, which replace traditional wooden molds, has increased in our time. It is divided into film and non-film. Filmed ones are used on surfaces that will not be plastered. Filmless Plywood should be used on the surfaces to be plastered. Concrete surfaces taken from non-film materials are gross but not shiny, thus allowing plastering.

Unplanned use of materials may result in additional costs. For example, the use of film material in the area to be plastered may require the use of some chemicals and may result in an extra cost. Film materials should be used for areas suitable for plaster application, and non-film materials can be preferred for glossy and non-plastered areas.

Things to Consider When Buying Plywood

Care should be taken to ensure that the number of layers is not less when purchasing plywood. It is good if it consists of at least 3 layers. With the increase in the number of layers in plywood, the resistance to external factors increases in parallel. The number of layers should be determined correctly according to the area to be used. Edge straightness is extremely important. Plywood whose edges are not cut correctly and properly will cause problems in side-by-side operations.

The layers between the plywoods should be equal in thickness. This is a factor that directly affects longevity. It should prefer plywood made from a single tree. The quality of plywood composed of different woods will decrease.

Usage Areas of Plywood

Use of Plywood in Constructions

– Interior partition and roofing works

– Mold work

– Floor and parquet industry

– Scaffolding platform

Use of Plywood in Furniture Works

– Seat making

– Shelf

– Door

– Making wooden chairs and tables

Use of Plywood in Transport and Shipbuilding

–Used for flooring of the floor and side walls of truck trailers.

– Buses

– Container floors

– Cargo compartments of ships

– Floor and side walls of wagons

– Animal transport vehicles

In addition to these, plywood types are used in many areas such as stands, stages, show constructions, and toy productions.

How to make Plywood?

• Cut tree logs are wetted
• The bark and other materials on the logs are stripped to reveal the tree.
• Before the logs are cut, a cutting plan is made by measuring them.
• The logs cut to the calculated size are sent to the stripping machine.
• With the help of special machines, layers are created by thinly peeling by blades parallel to the log.
• The cut sheets are dried to prepare them for use.
• All layers are placed perpendicular to each other. The panel always has an odd number of layers so that the fiber direction of the lower and upper surface layers is the same.
• The layers joined with glue are sent to pressing.
• Glued and stacked layers are pressed according to the thickness requirement.
• Panels are cut to desired dimensions.
• The surfaces of the panels are sanded. Palletized plates are made suitable for transportation and storage conditions.

Workability and Advantages of Plywood

When driving a screw on the edge of the MDF, the soft tissue is easily separated. When a countersunk drill bit is not used, the head of the screw may snap or push the chips before it sinks. Conversely, diagonally splitting plywood slightly reduces its tendency to split when nailing on its edges. Plywood holds nails. It doesn’t disintegrate. Its extremely durable structure makes it preferred in many sectors. Thanks to its ability to adapt to all weather conditions, it is the most preferred durable building material in exterior architecture.

Excellent strength / stiffness to weight ratio

Multi-layer structure; properties are easy to change

Long durability with strength properties

Easy to use and good workability

Renewable natural resource and recyclable material

Easy availability and reasonable price.