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Plywood is a board of plies or sheets of real wood glued together. The arrangement of these sheets which have grains will determine the strength of the whole material. There are numerous instances where plywood is used for different purposes. Some of its applications are on floors, roofs, furniture which are custom built, walls and kitchen cabinets. Below are the types of plywood:

  Hardwood plywood

This type of plywood has great strength and stiffness. With great impact resistance, hardwood plywood is used for wall structures. Although it will require finishing for a smooth attractive look, hardwood plywood can be used in making furniture. Hardwood plywood can be made from oak, mahogany, birch or maple.

  Softwood plywood

Softwood plywood is a product derived from softwood trees such as fir, cedar and spruce. Softwood plywood is mostly used in furniture making whereas hardwood is applied in construction. Moreover, softwood plywood is less expensive than hardwood plywood but less durable than the latter.

  Tropical plywood

This type of plywood is derived from tropical wood. It has a better strength and quality than softwood plywood. This has brought about an increase in its demand worldwide. There has also been an increase in its price as buyers search for reliable sources in Asia and Africa.

Advantages of plywood

• It possesses great uniform strength. By establishing an alternating pattern for the grains, plywood is able to gain uniform strength.
• It is available in several large sizes unlike solid wood.
• The layers of plywood can be altered to give both beauty and strength.
• In contrast to solid wood or real wood, plywood makes the most out of the raw material available. Its making assists in conserving trees.
• Depending on the type, plywood is a versatile material.
• Hardwood plywood lasts longer because of its great quality in strength. In general too, plywood is more durable than fiberboards (MDF,HDF and Particle board)
• Plywood costs cheaper than solid wood.

Disadvantages of plywood

• It is essential for a purchaser to buy water resistant plywood if its later use will expose it to wet conditions. This is because the layers may detach.
• One has to find a trustworthy source when buying the material. It is easy to tell the type of wood used on the outer layers but not the inner ones.
• Work has to be done on the edges of the plywood where the layers are observed. This is mostly the case when using plywood as a material for a custom made furniture. In this scenario, covering the edge with wooden strips after applying glue might do the trick.
• Plywood is less strong than solid wood.
• Plywood is more costly than fiberboards.
• Furniture made out of plywood has to be manually done thereby taking lots of time.
• Nails are not recommended for plywood for they may cause the material to split. Screws are the best way to fasten the material through proper technique such as drilling.
• Plywood can delaminate in hot climatic regions.