Can Baltic Birch be used Outside?

[ron kanter]

I am building two Little Free Library boxes. Would like to avoid the "Plywood-Look" of regular exterior plywood and I have some Baltic Birch/Russian Plywood.
Would Baltic Birch that is painted be safe to use outside or would it start to come apart in a season or two?

[Bill Holt]

BB is not designed for exterior use.  It will give you a very nice look when first finished, but it is not going to hold up to the weather.  That is my 2 cents worth.

[Phil Thien]

Finish plywood has exterior (dark line) glue. Otherwise it looks just like BBP.

[cams2705]

I am building two Little Free Library boxes. Would like to avoid the "Plywood-Look" of regular exterior plywood and I have some Baltic Birch/Russian Plywood.
Would Baltic Birch that is painted be safe to use outside or would it start to come apart in a season or two?

See if you can find a sheet of MDO (Medium Density Overlay) locally.  It is made for outdoor use like comercial signs and can be painted.

[AHill]

Paint it.

[Cooler]

If you have a Menards near you they sell marine plywood.  It is about 50% more than hardwood ply.  Home Depot lists it, but whenever I check none is available within 100 miles of me and is not sold online.

https://www.menards.com/main/building-ma...503795.htm

Menards claims it is made in the USA.

[Roly]

If you have a Menards near you they sell marine plywood.  It is about 50% more than hardwood ply.  Home Depot lists it, but whenever I check none is available within 100 miles of me and is not sold online.

https://www.menards.com/main/building-ma...503795.htm

Menards claims it is made in the USA.

 Menards also has MDO    Roly

[mike4244]

I am building two Little Free Library boxes. Would like to avoid the "Plywood-Look" of regular exterior plywood and I have some Baltic Birch/Russian Plywood.
Would Baltic Birch that is painted be safe to use outside or would it start to come apart in a season or two?

In the early 70's I got several sheets of " Fin Board" from the outfit I worked for when the formwork was done. 
This was 5'-0" x 12'-0" sheets and 4'-0" x 8'-0" sheets that had 13 plies in either 5/8" or maybe 3/4". Long time ago and I don't remember the thickness. The plywood was used but clean from cement.
I used it to build an 8'-0" x 12'-0" house for pigs as I had a farm at the time. I intended to cover the house with roof shingles and siding but never got around to it. I sold the farm 15 years later and the house never delaminated.
The farm was in NJ where rain, sleet and snow are abundant.
If your plywood is similar than exterior use will be fine. Another post recommended MDO , good choice as I have used it for exterior columns, facia etc and it holds up well. 
mike

[ron kanter]

Thanks folks.
I think MDO is what I will go with.

I didn't know about MDO and wanted to get a better finished/painted surface than regular exterior plywood.
In Philadelphia, Teague Lumber (big, multi location outfit) had only 3/4" MDO good two sides at $110 for a 4x8' sheet. WOW. The guy I talked to there was trying to find out why they didn't have any 1/2" available.
Lowes has it in 1/2" but not Home Depot doesn't have any MDO. Strange.
Thanks again everyone.

[KingwoodFan1989]

I thought I remember MacBeath (a hardwood seller with a few locations in the US) telling me that they had exterior grade AND interior grade BB, so I'm sure it exists. Not sure if the core needs to be as sound as high-grade BB (or other furniture grade plywoods) if it's outdoors, but I'm sure as long as you use plywood with exterior glue and a smooth face (to accept the paint well) you'll be fine. Some species are more accepting of coloring finishes (stains, paints, etc.), so make sure you get one in that category so the color will be more even. I've had trouble before with Maple accepting dark-colored finishes, so that's one example of one that might not be good depending on your choice of color.