Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I am having a hard time finding ACX grade plywood. I'm sure I'm just not looking hard enough. Anyway the questions are;

1. Is a BC grade plywood exterior grade or is there more to it than that? I can find BC within about two miles of my house but don't know if I can use it. (I'll be covering with aluminum)

2. Do I need to varnish the exterior of the plywood before applying my Henry's glue and my aluminum sheet?

Thanks in advance, try and take it easy on me, I'm sensitive.

Scott F.

ACX plywood is redily available at the big box home improvement stores (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.) The letters A and C refer to the surface quality of the sides. The A side is smooth, the C side is rough. X means the plywood is rated for exterior use. Whatever you use, you want to make sure its exterior grade plywood.

I painted my tear with epoxy paint. I assume, you want to prevent condensation under the aluminum from rotting your sides. You might consider using Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer from the Rot Doctor. I used to prior to painting my tear.

Scott...Tom covered you on the ply...we varnished our whole tear first for several long non aplicable reasons to your question...if you are going to use the Henry's product then it will seal at the same time it adheres so it is not really necessary to seal first however whether you seal or not I would seal all the edges and it won't hurt anything to seal everything...also regardless, seal the bottom with asphalt emulsion or some such...we used MinWax ClearShield a UV stabilized outdoor grade polyurethane
madjack

p.s. we sealed all nonexposed(to elements) areas with a water based interior polyurethane

OK, here's a follow up question guys: My HD has pressure treated ply. Any thoughs on using that for the flooring material?

Clay wrote:OK, here's a follow up question guys: My HD has pressure treated ply. Any thoughs on using that for the flooring material?

...short answer...no, treated woods contain copper chrome and ARSENIC, you do not want to be in an enclosed space and in contact with these materials...very bad for your health...from a building aspect, unless you have adhesives specifically formulated for them they will not adhere well
madjack

Ok, next question. I found 4X8 3/8" ACX plywwod for $35 a sheet. This seems pretty pricey to me but I haven't bought any plywood to speak of for years and years. I know you get what you pay for but holy cow. Opinions?

Scott F.

s4son wrote:Ok, next question. I found 4X8 3/8" ACX plywwod for $35 a sheet. This seems pretty pricey to me but I haven't bought any plywood to speak of for years and years. I know you get what you pay for but holy cow. Opinions?

Scott F.

Sounds kinda steep to me. I remember paying something like $25 or $28 back in January. But, then again, the hurricanes may have driven up the price. It's pretty common stuff. Try calling a few other yards and see if you can do better.

I too recently purchased 3/4 for 27.95 a sheet at H.D.One of the guys told me that prices were going up approx. 30% because of, as Tom said the hurricanes...

yeah; last time it was "we have to rebuild iraq..."

OMG that has to be the heaviest stuff on earth. I used for the floor in my shed. Between that and the Hardy panel, I about busted a nut.

I just paid 19.95 for 1/4" ACX today at Home Depot...(weighs 25# 4x8 if you're interested)....one of the things driving the price of plywood is our tariffs on imported Canadian softwoods....PS this ply was not for a tear...I used 1/4" luan more bendy.....Doug

Plywood Update
I am having no luck at Home Depot. I called yesterday and asked if they had 3/8” ACX. They said they have it. I went last night and stood around for 15 minutes and got no help. They even paged the lumber guy twice and he never showed. So today I go by on my way home. I ask the guy where the 3/8” ACX plywood is and he looks at me like I’m speaking Chinese. When I say exterior he says the only exterior they have is the treated stuff. None of the racks say ACX. I guess I’ll try the other big box store. I’m beginning to think it’s worth $35 a sheet just to avoid the hassle. Since I’m on my plywood soapbox. I think it’s a shame that it’s cheaper to manufacture and ship plywood from China then make it here in the USA. Sorry, I just needed to vent.

Scott F.

I lived in Texas for a few years in the '80's. I would go to Home Depot -- a brand new store in Carollton, and look for 3/4 plywood.

They had something made out of "southern pine" that was heavy and tended to warm terribly. I found that if I looked I could find North West Fir plywood. It was much lighter and did not come warped.

I am back in Idaho and don't find the southern product often. There is a difference. It might not matter often, but again it might.

The grade we use is CDX. It has a C face on one side, and a D face on the other and has Exterior glue. There are a LOT of grades of plywood.

As much as we all like Home Depot and Lowe's they may not be the best source!

If you really need a light flat product, it might be necessary to cozy up to a cabinet shop and see if they can get it for you from their distributors.

dave in idaho

The big box stores are great places - if you know what you want and just go in and get it. I worked at HD for a year and was always amazed at the "pros" they would hire... I occasionally like to someone for something just so I can watch them turn green and wander off...

I've been going to St Louis Hardwoods, St Charles Hardwoods, and Rockler's for ideas & supplies. Look in the phonebooks or do local online searches for similar stores.

asianflava wrote:OMG that has to be the heaviest stuff on earth.

Talk about heavy. I priced 5' X 8' X 3/4 ply and about fell over. $105.00 a sheet. They did have sanded seconds in a 5' X 8' X 1" for $58.00 a sheet. I was doing a solid floor (not sandwich) anyway so I saved the money and went with the 1". I still had to buy a sheet of the $105.00 stuff for the cabinets though.