Oak plywood pricing question

[Duane N]

Just curious what plywood goes for in your area.  I'm starting the planning/pricing process for my kitchen cabinets build and checked with my local hardwood dealer on oak plywood and was quoted $80/sheet of red oak plywood 3/4" X 4' X 8' (grade A/B).

1/2" plywood is going for $78/sheet and 1/4" plywood is going for $39/sheet.

[fredhargis]

Retail price for red oak 3/4", cabinet grade A1 is a little over $90/sheet at my hardwood supplier. (B2 is around $80.) I'm curious about the grade you mentioned. I'm hardly an expert, but the cabinet grade ply I've seen is graded with a letter and then a number, while the construction grade ply is grade with 2 letters as you cited. That aside, why not use a less expensive grade for the carcasses? If you have an exposed side, cover wit with a frame/panel. Personally, I'd rather not have an oak veneer in the interior of my cabinets anyway, mus prefer something with a smoother grain, at least the ones that will have doors. On a drawer cabinet it wouldn't matter (to me).

[jteneyck]

$54 for 3/4" Columbia Purebond at HD; same price at Lowes for whoever's they carry.  My local lumber yard is about $60/sheet but it's no better.  Really top end stuff like A1 with tight specs. on thickness tolerances is well over $100.  Like Fred, oak would not be my choice for cabinet interiors.  I like Melamine personally, but if I were going to use plywood it would be maple or something else light with a tight grain.  

John

[BloomingtonMike]

Menards a/b red oak 3/4" is always $45-$54 a sheet plus 11% gc back mail in rebate many weeks.

[FS7]

Columbia Purebond is around 50 a sheet at the box stores. I haven't bought any in a while so I don't know the exact price. However, if I ever need maple, birch, or oak ply, I get it there. If the stuff available at the hardwood suppliers is any better, either I can't tell or it's of no use to me. HD once stocked walnut plywood on a one-off and it didn't sell, so I loaded up at around $40 a sheet. There's a huge difference in price, but not in quality.

[Phil Thien]

Just make sure you're comparing apples to apples here.

I've found quite a wide range in the quality of face veneers on similarly-graded plywoods.

[jteneyck]

Just make sure you're comparing apples to apples here.

I've found quite a wide range in the quality of face veneers on similarly-graded plywoods.

Ain't that the truth.  Oak tends to be slightly better than most others, but still poor unless you pay big bucks.  The maple and birch crap coming from China and Canada is just awful, about as thick as 2 sheets of paper (literally), and it often curls or twists.  Surprisingly, the maple plywood I've been getting from Lowes has been pretty good, but it's rotary cut so I wouldn't use it for a show surface.  

I get much better quality if I buy veneered MDF, and can specify rift, plain sawn, or QS.  It's not cheap, but at least the veneer is good quality (A1 front) and thicker, and the sheet is dead flat, smooth, and exactly 1/2" or 3/4".  For veneered plywood I've started making my own using shop sawn veneer on Baltic birch.  I wouldn't want to do a kitchen's worth of cabinet boxes that way, but for a "show" cabinet it's a much better alternative in terms of quality.    

John

[Duane N]

The lumber yard told be it was "A" on one side and "B" on the other.  He said the "B" side has slight imperfections and that side should face inward of a cabinet and the "A" side is cabinet grade.  I'm assuming he meant to say A1 and B2 but I'll ask.  I'll also check with my local Lowes for options on different grades of plywood.

[Phil Thien]

The lumber yard told be it was "A" on one side and "B" on the other.  He said the "B" side has slight imperfections and that side should face inward of a cabinet and the "A" side is cabinet grade.  I'm assuming he meant to say A1 and B2 but I'll ask.  I'll also check with my local Lowes for options on different grades of plywood.

I'd just go have a look at it and make sure it is good stuff.

I think, for example, it is possible to have an A face that is rotary cut veneer, and I wouldn't want that.

[DogwoodTales]

$80 or so for the good stuff at the hardwood stores in Cincinnati.
$50 bucks or so for the stuff at the box store.
The good stuff is noticeably heavier to me, has fewer voids in the middle and should have no voids directly under the veneer.