wood?

[frusteri4]

what kind of ply wood is everyone using for the sides/floor/roof? Can you get it at the home depot? does it come 1" thick?

[dh]

Are you building a tank?

I would not buy plywood from Lowe's, Home Depot, or any other huge national chain. PERIOD.

Try searching "PLYWOOD YOUR HOME TOWN" or nearest large city and see what comes up.

I used a 3/4" plywood frame for the walls, and skinned it with 1/8" baltic birch inside and out. Baltic Birch is NOT the same as the birch plywood they sell at HD and Lowe's, if you are buying it in a 4'x8' sheet, it is not baltic birch. B.B. comes in 5'x5' sheets.

The roof on mine, will be luan as my trailer is a smidge over 5' wide. This is cheap, and CAN NOT GET WET!!! Again, DO NOT GET LUAN AT HD OR LOWE'S!!!

Welcome to the forum, read around on how others are building thiers. Most who are using plywood walls, with no frame are using 3/4". If you really want a 1" wall, you could laminate up a sheet of 1/4" ply to it, or 1/4" panneling.

[afreegreek]

yup, stay away from the junk. there's no savings to be had.. best sources are commercial suppliers that supply to furniture manufacturers and millwork shops.

if you're looking for something like Baltic Birch and want 4x8 size there's a product called 'ApplePly' in 4x8 and 4x10. you can get it at the commercial suppliers but you can also order it from your local lumber yard. it's great stuff, superior to baltic birch as well.. you can also order it prefinished one or both sides under the name 'NovaPly'

[frusteri4]

please feel free to give me pointers

I'm thinking about doing a 5x8, no insulation just plywood top and sides. with aluminum skin and either wall paper or carpet on the inside. just lookin for what kind of wood would be cheap but water resistant enough/structuraly stable

[Corwin C]

I would suggest that you spend some time in the build forum and see what others are doing as far as ply thicknesses and materials used. You will find that there is no standard, however, there are quite a few things that are common. If you want an insulated trailer (to help with both hot and cold environments), then thick ply is not the way to go. On the other hand, 3/4 ply floor and walls is a very common material to use when insulation is not an issue. 1" ply is available (if you look for it, it's generally used for sub-floor and special applications), but I personally wouldn't use it because I believe that 3/4" in most situations is more than enough and a whole lot easier to find.

Also, just to echo the previous posts ... you really get what you pay for when it comes to the building materials that we use on our projects. I avoid the "box stores" when I can. However, I have found some real bargains there. I don't shun them, but I'm aware of what they have, and in most cases I can do better. If the person assisting you can't explain the difference in plywood grades and glues, then find someone else to help you (this is all too often the case at the box stores.)

My suggestion is to visit several reputable places, look at what is available, talk to knowledgeable people, and take all advice with a grain of salt. Pull a sheet out of the rack, look at both sides, look at the edges, count the laminations and note their thickness, and always ask questions. If they are a reputable source, it is actually to their benefit to educate you. Also, look at the materials used in quality (non particle board) cabinets and furniture. This is the stuff that I would recommend that you use. Learn for yourself how to recognize quality materials. It will not take long, and you will be able to make educated decisions on the materials that you buy.

Meanwhile, almost by accident, you will be finding out how these materials look when finished. This alone will influence what you buy and is a subjective decision that needs to be made by you. There is no reason to buy an expensive veneer ply if you're planning on painting or covering with aluminum. Also, if you're going to be happy with a simple, inexpensive project, you honestly don't need to buy the super expensive stuff. This is what makes each and every build "one-of-a-kind."

Good Luck and Welcome...

[dh]

please feel free to give me pointers

I'm thinking about doing a 5x8, no insulation just plywood top and sides. with aluminum skin and either wall paper or carpet on the inside. just lookin for what kind of wood would be cheap but water resistant enough/structuraly stable

Luan is cheap mahogany plywood. Set a wet paper towel on it, it falls apart.

Luan, properly treated with epoxy, or any other number of products, can be placed in a pot of boiling water for over an hour and survive.

Take a look at the Generic Benroy plans:

http://www.mikenchell.com/images/GenericBenroyPlans.pdf

You don't have to follow them, but they are a good starting point, and it sounds like what you are wanting to build.

[asianflava]

Luan is cheap mahogany plywood. Set a wet paper towel on it, it falls apart.

I think you may be taking some "artistic embelishment for emphasis." I put straps around my luan and wet it down with a garden hose. I wanted to pre-bend it prior to installation. The rear radius on a modernistic profile is pretty tight.

[dh]

I was refering to the sticky "Tips on buying and using luan" a good read. Sorry no link, I'm mobil tonight. But, S.Heisely put a wet paper towell on some big box luan and it delaminated, then treated with CPES.

[Gage]

.....................But, S.Heisely put a wet paper towell on some big box luan and it delaminated, then treated with CPES.

Key word. Big Box Stores sale nothing but junk plywood no mater what they call it.

[afreegreek]

you CAN NOT determine quality by species.. there is crap Luan and awesome Luan. the same is true for any species of wood used to make plywood.. first there is the quality of the tree itself. is it straight tight grain with no defects? how was the veneer cut? was it flat sliced or rotary? was it rotary sliced from a large log or was it the last bit of a small one? were the sheets of veneer clipped and butted tightly together? or were they left with raw edges and poorly butted with gaps and overlaps? what type of adhesive was used? all these factors and more determine the quality of plywood and the range is from piss poor to perfection. species has nothing to do with it.

plywood is an engineered product and as such is manufactured to meet certain specifications. the 3 layer douglas fir you sheet your house with has little in common with the 7 layer stuff I make drawer boxes with, other than the fact they are both douglas fir and come in 4x8 sheets

[frusteri4]

I might add that I am planning on building an off-road tear, so structural soundness and durability are the biggest factor for me when chosing plywood.

[asianflava]

.....................But, S.Heisely put a wet paper towell on some big box luan and it delaminated, then treated with CPES.

Key word. Big Box Stores sale nothing but junk plywood no mater what they call it.

The luan I bought came from a place called Fine Lumber not a big box. I guess it was fine. Though I did notice that the luan I got during the later stages of my build wasn't as good at the sheets I bought earlier. It would break much easier when bent.

[dh]

What are you building on? Custom frame?

[dh]

I guess my point was that even crap plywood can be be made water resistant. Wasn't trying to knock luan.

[Arne]

I used home depot wood for any thing 1/4" or thicker. For 1/8", I found a supplier about 20 miles away. I think I bought 10 sheets for the inner/outer ceiling...

The exterior is cpes'ed, 2 coats, then marine primer & paint... Never had any ply problems since 2004.

But since it is painted, I wasn't thinking about how it was going to look. My take is the finish is more important than what type of ply I used...

If you are going for the natural wood look then that is different.. Where I wanted to show the wood, like in the galley and underside of the hatch, I used the same wood and used poly with stain in it. No regrets, but I'm not a cabinet maker.. it just has to look good and be functional.