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Building with Plywood- Is it the Future?

24 June 2008

It is recyclable, looks good and easy to use but the UK is only just catching on.

America, Australia and Canada have long been fans of using plywood when it comes to building their houses but in Britain, we have preferred to build with greater permanence in mind; using bricks, metal and concrete.

Plywood is an engineered wood made up from layers of wood veneer. The layers are then glued together and bonded by intense heat and adhesive. A common reason for using plywood instead of plain wood is its resistance to shrinkage, cracking, twisting or warping, and its general high degree of strength and resistance to heat and humidity when treated correctly; make it a versatile and hardy material. Plywood has been so trusted in the past that High-strength plywood, known as aircraft plywood, made from mahogany and/or birch, was used for several World War II fighter aircraft, including the British-built Mosquito bomber.

The beauty of Plywood is also in its design; able to be cut into any shape, then painted or veneered it offers an ideal cladding for design aware constructions. What is more, plywood can be recycled and veneers are environmentally friendly making them suitable for eco-builds.

Glamorgan County Cricket Club recently had Pre Formed Plywood exterior cladding instead of metal cladding. The finish is clean, stylish and looks natural. Pre-Formed Plywood is manufactured to a specifically desired shape which means its memory is not under stress to try and return to a flat sheet state, making it easier to work with. Being plywood it is also easier to maintain and look after in years to come.  If it gets scratched or gouged it can be filled, sanded and then re-painted, whereas a metal based column once scratched requires specialist attention to repair.

Jon Redworth from Jtech Services, the specialist responsible for supplying the Pre- Formed Plywood at the Glamorgan Country Cricket Club, says he hopes the more Plywood will be used in future build projects;

‘Perhaps the more designers and architects look into its uses the more aware we will become of its potential, one application we are currently looking at is to combine two radiuses in an ellipse form as a substrate for a copper clad roof, so it is a very versatile product. It also can be a very beautiful product as different veneers can be used in its make up to make it either contrast or blend in with its surroundings.’

 


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