All about plywood thickness

Knowing everything about the thickness of plywood is extremely important for any DIY enthusiast. It is imperative to find out what sheets for furniture are, what are the maximum and minimum standard thicknesses. Both plywood 10 mm and products of a different thickness must necessarily comply with GOST, and this point must be carefully checked upon purchase.

When talking about the thickness of plywood, you must first figure out what factors affect the size of the plywood sheet. There are only three such factors: the type of raw materials used, the number of layers in the general layout, the method of processing the layers. Importantly, 3-21 strata can be used, depending on the desired parameters. How thick the plywood is has a direct impact on its sound insulation performance.

There are several types of plywood, let's take a closer look at them.

The thinnest plywood is made from rotary cut veneer. Its layer is usually 1 mm. When using planed material, each layer is up to 3.5-4 mm. If the total plane is 3 mm or less, they speak of the aviation category of the material.

Nowadays, plywood with a minimum thickness is mainly bought by lovers of modeling. She makes great models. Thanks to its slight bending, this material is attracting more and more attention among interior designers. The size is most often 152.5x152.5 cm or 152.5x183 cm. By default, it is laid out in packs of 130 pieces, the total packing will be 590 or 707 kg, respectively.

But a thickness of 2 mm is already completely insufficient in most cases. The material with a thickness of 4 mm finds many more uses. It is used to make furniture, flooring and wall covering. The most commonly used 3-ply plywood. Basically, its dimensions are 152.5x152.5 cm.

Sheets of five layers have a thickness of 6 or 6.5 mm. They are usually bought by construction and furniture firms. With modern technology, sheets up to 3 m long can be formed. Most often, buyers take blanks:

• 152.5x152.5;
• 122x244;
• 150x300 cm.

Types of material with a thickness of 8, 9 or 10 mm are quite common on the market. In this case, up to 7 layers can be used in the 1st blank. They are used both in the furniture industry and in decorative finishing. It is quite possible to put such material on the floor in a house or apartment in just one layer - the bearing capacity is quite large. Along with squares 152.5x152.5 cm, there are also rectangular sheets 122x244 or 300x150 cm.

If the total thickness exceeds 12 mm, the product will be called a slab. It will include 9 or more veneer sheets. Such structures are needed where there is a heavy load. Plywood boards are used to construct a floor in a number of public buildings, assemble shelves of shelves, and form partitions. Plates with a thickness of 18, 20 mm and further up to 30 mm inclusive contain at least 15 layers of peeled veneer.

A planed analog is sometimes used. However, its layers will already be half as much. This solution is characterized by maximum mechanical strength. It can be safely used in ceilings between floors, in racks for heavy objects, in various floorings. Thick slabs are also used when it is necessary to make formwork for the foundation or even build a detached summer kitchen.

The sizes are quite diverse and allow you to choose the ideal workpiece for yourself - 122x244, 125x250, 150x300, 152.5x305 cm.Standard plywood, in addition to the options already described, can also have a thickness of 9, 15, 21, 24 and 27 mm. According to GOST, the largest permissible deviations will be:

• according to the thickness difference for the polished material with a layer of 0.3-2.4 cm - no more than 0.06 cm;
• according to the thickness difference for the polished material with a layer of 2.7 and 3.0 cm - a maximum of 1 cm;
• by thickness difference for unpolished material with a thickness of 0.3 cm - up to 0.06 cm;
• by thickness difference for unpolished material with a thickness of 4 to 12 mm - no more than 1 mm;
• in terms of thickness difference for unpolished material with a thickness of 15 to 24 mm - a maximum of 1.5 mm;
• in terms of thickness difference for unpolished material with a layer of 27 or 30 mm - up to 2 mm.

It is necessary to determine the required plywood thickness separately for each specific application. When finishing the floor, it is definitely worth choosing thicker sheets. Excessive fineness greatly impairs the prospects for leveling the surface. But the large thickness allows you to refuse additional thermal insulation or reduce it to a minimum. In addition, the thick veneer reduces deflection and increases the rigidity of the entire assembly.

Therefore, it will become possible to push the lags of the roughing base without losing its quality. Important: Contrary to popular belief, thick plywood does not take away useful height from the room. And you can put it without any doubts. Moreover, wear resistance depends on this indicator.

Be sure to take into account the load that will be created on the floor. So, for a parquet floor of 16 mm, a substrate of 10 mm should be created, and a base of 12 mm corresponds to a 20 mm parquet floor. For the thickest varieties of parquet boards, a "foundation" of at least 15 mm is needed; linoleum requires 14-18 mm. With a standard layout for lags, the minimum reasonable indicator is 18 mm. For cabinets and other heavy furniture, the material should be even thicker.

Plywood of various thicknesses is used for furniture - from 3 to 30 mm. The specific choice is determined by the task and the level of load. For the walls of the cabinet and for the bottom of the furniture, three-layer sheets are usually used. The five-layer material is needed for critical items such as countertops.

For information on which plywood is better, see the next video.